Cornel West loses Supreme Court bid to get on the Pennsylvania presidential ballot

WASHINGTON — Third-party presidential candidate Cornel West on Thursday lost a Supreme Court bid to be included on the presidential ballot in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Justice Samuel Alito refused his emergency appeal in a brief order. Alito handles appeals originating in Pennsylvania.

West, a liberal academic currently serving as professor of philosophy and Christian practice at Union Theological Seminary in New York, would likely draw far more votes away from Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris than from former Republican President Donald Trump. West’s lawyers in the case have deep Republican ties.

The refusal comes after a rejection by U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, who expressed sympathy for West’s claim earlier this month but found it was too late to reprint ballots and retest election machines without increasing the risk of error.

Ranjan cited federal precedent that courts should not disrupt imminent elections without a powerful reason for doing so.