Independent presidential candidate Cornel West can appear on the ballot in Maine, the state’s secretary of state has ruled. Shenna Bellows’ decision came Tuesday, about a week after the withdrawal of a challenge to another long-shot candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The presence of multiple third-party candidates on the Maine ballot is potentially significant because the state uses ranked choice voting to determine a winner.
Quick Read
- Independent presidential candidate Cornel West has been cleared to appear on the ballot in Maine, a state that uses ranked choice voting, which could impact the election outcome.
- Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows confirmed West’s eligibility despite some fraudulent signatures, stating that there were still enough valid signatures for him to qualify.
- Ranked choice voting in Maine allows voters to rank candidates by preference, potentially affecting the final result if no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes.
- Maine’s electoral votes are split by congressional district, with the rural 2nd Congressional District previously going to Donald Trump, making the presence of multiple third-party candidates significant.
- West is a leftist academic and progressive activist, and his presence on the ballot has raised concerns among Democrats that he could draw votes away from Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Associated Press has the story:
Cornel West cleared to appear on ballot in Maine, where ranked voting is in play
Newslooks- AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) —
Independent presidential candidate Cornel West can appear on the ballot in Maine, the state’s secretary of state has ruled. Shenna Bellows’ decision came Tuesday, about a week after the withdrawal of a challenge to another long-shot candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The presence of multiple third-party candidates on the Maine ballot is potentially significant because the state uses ranked choice voting to determine a winner.
Bellows ruled that some signatures in support of West were gathered fraudulently but that there was a significant number of valid signatures for the candidate to appear on the ballot. She said in a statement that “the bad actions of one should not impugn the valid First Amendment rights of the many.”
In ranked choice voting, voters rank their choice of candidate by ordered preference, with those rankings used to determine a winner in the event no candidate wins a majority of ballots on which they appear as voters’ first preference.
Maine is also one of two states that apportions electoral votes by congressional district. The Democratic candidate consistently wins the statewide vote, but the rural 2nd Congressional District has gone to former President Donald Trump twice in a row. Multiple third-party candidates could change the complexion of the race for that vote.
West is a leftist academic and progressive activist. Republicans in Arizona and other states have sought to keep him on the ballot amid Democratic fears he could siphon votes from Vice President Kamala Harris.
