Judge calls for four independent and third-party candidates to be disqualified from Georgia presidential election

ATLANTA (AP) — A judge ruled Monday that four independent and third-party candidates cannot appear on Georgia’s presidential ballot, but the final decision will rest with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

The rulings by Administrative Law Judge Michael Malihi would block the certification of independent candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West, as well as Jill Stein of the Green Party and Claudia De la Cruz of the Socialism and Liberation Party.

Kennedy said on Friday that he would try to withdraw his candidacy in Georgia and several other hotly contested states because he had supported Republican Donald Trump.

Democrats challenged in court whether all four were eligible to run, seeking to block candidates who could steal votes from Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris after Joe Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes in 2020.

Raffensperger must make a decision before Georgia begins mailing ballots to military members and overseas mailers on Sept. 17. Spokesman Mike Hassinger said Raffensperger’s office is reviewing the decisions and will rule on any decision as soon as possible.

If Raffensperger’s convictions are confirmed, Georgia voters would only have the choice between Harris, Trump and libertarian Chase Oliver in the presidential election.

Georgia is one of several states where Democrats and allied groups have challenged third-party and independent candidates. Republicans in Georgia intervened and tried to keep all candidates on the ballot.

In the Kennedy, West and De la Cruz cases, Malihi sided with the state Democratic Party’s argument that independent candidates’ petitions must be filed on behalf of the 16 electors, not the candidates themselves, citing a 2017 change in Georgia law.

“In Georgia, independent candidates are not eligible to vote in the election to serve as President and Vice President of the United States of America,” Malihi wrote. “Rather, individuals seeking to serve as Presidential Elector are eligible to vote in the election to place their presidential or vice presidential candidate on the ballot.”

Attorneys for Kennedy, West and De la Cruz had all argued that this was a misinterpretation of the law, in part because Raffensperger’s office had accepted the petition without protest. The counties later concluded that Kennedy, West and De la Cruz had each collected the required 7,500 signatures to qualify. The campaigns say it would be an undue burden to collect 7,500 signatures for 16 different petitions, for a total of 120,000 signatures.

Malihi also ruled in another case backed by Clear Choice Action, a Democratic-aligned political action committee, that Kennedy should be disqualified because the New York address he listed on Georgia ballot applications was a “sham address.” The Georgia ruling follows a New York court ruling earlier this month that found Kennedy does not live at the address he listed in a New York City suburb.

“The facts presented to the court regarding the defendant’s residence overwhelmingly indicate that the Katonah address is not and never was the defendant’s actual residence.”

The Green Party had hoped to use a new Georgia law that grants a ballot slot to candidates from a party that is eligible in at least 20 other states to present Jill Stein’s name to Georgia voters. But Malihi ruled that it would be impossible for the party to prove it was eligible in at least 20 other states before the deadline for printing ballots in Georgia because the party is not eligible.

Supporters of the other candidates accused the Democrats of undermining voters’ freedom of choice with technical arguments.