By Lynn Bonner

NC Newsline

The group Justice for All in North Carolina plans to sue in federal court to be recognized as a political party, which would allow presidential candidate Cornel West to appear on the November ballot.

The state board of elections on Tuesday rejected Justice for All’s petition to become an official party with a 3-2 vote, with the board’s three Democrats voting against it.

Italo Medelius, chair of the Justice for All Party North Carolina, said in an email that a federal claim will be filed later this week.

He referenced a 2022 board decision not to recognize the Green Party. In response, the Green Party sued for ballot access.

“We’re essentially on the same boat as the Green Party in 2022 and is almost a carbon copy of their denial,” Medelius wrote.

The board ended up reversing its decision rejecting the Green Party, but the party needed a federal court order to get its candidates on the 2022 ballot after a legal deadline.

The board’s initial rejection of the Green Party and its rejection of Justice for All were over questions about voter signatures gathered on petitions.

On Tuesday, Board Chairman Alan Hirsch was skeptical about the signatures collected by a group called People Over Party, which volunteered to help Justice for All with its petition effort. The board voted 4-1 Tuesday to recognize the We the People party after a delay. That recognition will allow presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to appear on the November ballot. At a previous meeting, the board accepted the Constitution Party’s petition to become a political party.

State and congressional Republicans have leveled criticism on the board for delays in recognizing alternative parties and for the Justice for All rejection, claiming Democrats’ decisions are blatantly partisan. A state House oversight committee called Hirsch and state Elections Director Karen Brinson-Bell to a July 23 meeting to explain.

Third-party candidates are likely to take more support from President Joe Biden than from former President Donald Trump.

State Democrats and a super PAC aligned with Democrats worked to convince the board to reject Justice for All and We the People.

Investigative Reporter Lynn Bonner covers the state legislature and politics, as well as elections, the state budget, public and mental health, safety net programs and issues of racial equality.