LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In the grand tradition of “protecting democracy,” the Democratic Party seems to be redefining what it means to keep elections “free and fair.” Adding to their former efforts to keep both former President Trump and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off the ballots is their latest legal blitz in Michigan against independent Black presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West.

Although the media and the Democratic Party have made it appear that VP Kamala Harris has the election already won, their actions show otherwise as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and their attorneys with Democratic-aligned PAC Clear Choice continue to fight their competitors from appearing on the ballot as presidential candidates.

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Clear Choice PAC was founded by Biden’s old deputy campaign manager Pete Kavanaugh, according to the Washington Post and focuses on countering third party candidates so they don’t become “spoilers” in elections.

Democratic power moves.

In New York recently, a Democratic judge ruled that Kennedy is disqualified from the ballot because of a false residency claim (the ruling is being appealed) and in Michigan, Democratic-linked group Clear Choice has one of their Democratic attorneys fighting to keep West off the ballot.

In late July, Bay City political activist Rosa Holliday, lodged a complaint with the Michigan Board of State Canvassers with the help of Goodman Acker PC attorney Mark Brewer, and that has been is followed up with a lawsuit against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to keep independent presidential candidate Cornel West off the November ballot. Holliday and Clear Choice’s Brewer are challenging West’s petitions that were collected to get on the Michigan ballot, accusing him of having petitions that are “infested with forged signatures.”

Mark Brewer’s triple play: targeting Kennedy, Trump, and now Cornel West.

Election attorney and former Michigan Democratic Party Chairman, Mark Brewer, had been hired by the national group Clear Choice to challenge Kennedy’s spot on the state ballot, according to the Detroit News. Brewer, who was also involved in a lawsuit to remove Trump from Michigan’s ballot, is now entangled in the battle to disqualify West as well.

Signature shenanigans or democracy defended? The case against Cornel West.

Holliday’s complaint, filed with the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, says, “The West petitions and the sample drawn from them are rife with forged signatures.” West’s campaign boasted about submitting 27,049 signatures and the Michigan Bureau of Elections will need to find at least 334 of 754 signatures legit before they can recommend his spot to the Board of State Canvassers.

The lawsuit against Secretary of State Benson has landed in the Michigan Court of Claims, where Judge Christopher Yates, who was appointed by Gov. Whitmer, will be presiding over the case. Brewer said, “We filed because the (secretary of state) hasn’t made a decision and the deadline to finalize the ballot is only a few weeks away.”

Who is West?

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Dr. Cornel West is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, politician, and social critic. He is a former University Professor at Harvard University and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University, according to his presidential website which also says he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard in three years and obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Princeton. He is the first Black person to receive a Ph.D. In Philosophy from Princeton University and has also written 20 books. He is best known for his classics, Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and for his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.

West describes this moment in time as a “national crisis of moral bankruptcy and spiritual obscenity driven by a derelict duopoly of both major parties that equally places profits over people and the planet.” His purpose, the website says, is to empower poor and working people everywhere and unite in solidarity with movements of “truth and justice” who seek a better choice “beyond empire, white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy, and the confines of the corporate-dominated two-party system.”

What is the future of the Michigan presidential ballot?

As the deadline for finalizing ballots looms and ballot printing starts on September 6th, the Democrats are playing their usual card – legal maneuvers – with the lawsuit against Benson, announced on X by Brewer on August 12th.

The Democrats are, of course, wrapping their efforts in the noble rhetoric of “electoral integrity.” But what they are really hoping for, many say, is to ensure their chosen Democratic candidate doesn’t have to compete with any pesky independents who might siphon off votes.

The West response.

West’s campaign has hit back against the efforts to keep him off the ballot. West spokesperson Edwin DeJesus said in a statement, “These accusations as part of a broader attempt to undermine the democratic process rather than legitimate legal objections. Our campaign calls on the authorities to uphold the principles of democracy and reject these baseless challenges, affirming the rights of all voters to participate in a fair electoral process.” He went on to say, ”We remain committed to transparent engagement with voters and advocating for policies that address the pressing needs of all Americans.”

As the Board of State Canvassers prepares to review West’s petitions later this month on August 26th, one thing is clear: the battle over who gets to be on the ballot isn’t just about signatures – it’s about who gets to define democracy – and who gets left out.