Administrative Law Judge Michael Malihi ruled Monday that “four independent and third-party candidates are ineligible to appear on Georgia’s presidential ballot.” Malihi’’s rulings “would block the qualifications of independents Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West, as well as the Green Party’s Jill Stein and the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Claudia De la Cruz.” The final decision on the qualification of the candidates “will be up to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.”
Because he has formally endorsed Trump’s presidential bid, Kennedy Jr. said on Friday he would withdraw his name from the presidential race in Georgia and from “some other closely contested states.”
As reported, Democrats strategically challenged “whether all four qualify for the ballot, seeking to block candidates who could siphon votes from Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris after Joe Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes in 2020.”
Reporting discloses that “Raffensperger must make a decision before Georgia mails out military and overseas ballots starting Sept. 17.” Spokesperson Mike Hassinger said Raffensperger’s office is reviewing the decisions and will decide each as soon as possible. If affirmed by Raffensperger, the rulings mean that Georgia voters will choose only among Harris, Trump and Libertarian Chase Oliver in the presidential race.
Unsurprisingly, the issue of which people appear on the ballot is highly partisan and, thus, a contentious litigation issue. “Georgia is one of several states where Democrats and allied groups have filed challenges to third-party and independent candidates. Republicans in Georgia intervened, seeking to keep all the candidates on the ballot.”
In part, Judge Malihi ruled on a technical legal issue. Regarding the Kennedy, West and De la Cruz cases, Malihi agreed with arguments made by the state Democratic Party that “petitions for independent candidates must be filed in the name of the 16 presidential electors, and not the candidates themselves, citing a change made to Georgia law in 2017.”
Judge Malihi addressed the technical aspect of the law. “In Georgia, independent candidates do not themselves qualify for the office of president and vice president of the United States of America for the ballot.” Malihi added: “Rather, individuals seeking the office of presidential elector qualify for the ballot to have their candidate for president or vice president placed on the ballot.”