Carolina Journal
Staff
Leaders of the Justice for All Party tied to left-of-center activist Cornel West filed a federal lawsuit Monday. it targets the North Carolina State Board of Elections and its director. The party challenges the elections board’s decision to keep JFA off the November ballot.
“The Justice for All Party of North Carolina (‘JFA’) timely complied with all requirements under state law to qualify as a new political party and place its candidates on North Carolina’s November 5, 2024 general election ballot,” according to the complaint filed in US District Court in the Eastern District. “Nevertheless, by a divided 3-2 vote, Defendant North Carolina State Board of Elections (‘NCSBE’) declined to certify JFA as a new political party.”
“NCSBE cited no legal authority for its action,” the complaint alleges. “NCSBE claimed to be investigating allegations of ‘fraud’ with respect to JFA’s petitions, but NCSBE conceded that JFA submitted more than enough valid signatures than required under state law.”
The 3-2 vote split the elections board along party lines. The board’s three Democrats rejected JFA as a political party with ballot access in November. The two Republicans supported JFA’s request for ballot access.
JFA has selected West as its candidate for president.
The board rejected Justice for All’s bid during the same July 16 meeting when it voted, 4-1, to approve ballot access for the We the People Party linked to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The state elections board also rejected JFA’s ballot access requests on June 28 and July 9.
Plaintiffs Johnny Thomas Ortiz II, Jimmie Gregory Rogers Jr., and Weldon Murphy are Fayetteville residents. They are “voters and petition signers who supported JFA’s effort to become a ballot-qualified party in 2024,” the complaint explained. “Plaintiffs want to vote for JFA’s nominee in the November 2024 general election. The NCSBE’s failure to certify JFA as a new party makes it impossible for them to do so.”
“Plaintiffs therefore bring this action against the NCSBE for the violation of their rights to cast their votes effectively, to speak and associate for political purposes, to grow and develop their political party, to petition, and of their right to due process, as guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments,” JFA’s lawyers wrote. “Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court declare the NCSBE’s failure to certify JFA as a political party unconstitutional and enter an order directing the NCSBE to certify JFA and place its nominee on North Carolina’s 2024 general election ballot.”
The lawsuit explained the process the party used to secure ballot access. “Under N.C. GEN. STAT. § 163-96(a)(2), JFA was required to submit petitions with 13,865 valid signatures. According to NCSBE, JFA timely submitted petitions containing a total of 30,719 signatures to county boards of elections, and the county boards of elections found that 17,362 of those signatures were checked and determined to be valid.”
JFA’s complaint highlighted efforts from the Democratic Party and Clear Choice Action, a group affiliated with Democratic operative Marc Elias, to keep the new party off the ballot.
“Clear Choice Action was created by Democrats to limit the voices of North Carolina voters in order to protect and advance their own political agenda,” the complaint alleged, quoting a March 2024 Washington Post article: “Allies of President Biden have formed a super PAC called Clear Choice, aimed at stopping any third-party or independent candidates from gaining traction before the November Election.”
“A review of the documents posted on the NCSBE’s website regarding this matter indicates that the basis of the NCSBE’s request for information from JFA on June 21, 2024 was based upon the allegations contained in the correspondences submitted by Democratic operatives,” JFA’s lawyers wrote.
“During the course of JFA’s petition drives, tens of thousands of voters signed JFA’s petitions, and JFA petition circulators spoke with tens of thousands more North Carolinians in addition to the petition signers. On information and belief, not one of those citizens filed a complaint with NCSBE or any county board of elections regarding JFA’s petitioning efforts. On information and belief, only Clear Choice Action, represented by Elias Law Group, has filed such a complaint,” the lawsuit continued.
JFA urges the federal court to declare that the state elections board’s decision to reject the party’s ballot access “is an unreasonable interpretation that is not justified by any legitimate or compelling state interest that severely burdens Plaintiffs’ rights in violation the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.”
The party seeks a court order by Aug. 19 that “directs NCSBE to certify JFA as a new party entitled to place its candidates on North Carolina’s November 5, 2024 general election ballot.” The order would set aside a July 1 state deadline for certification of new political parties.
Comments