Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s efforts to block independent presidential candidate Cornel West from the Michigan ballot suffered a third and final defeat when the state’s highest court refused to overturn lower court rulings on Monday.

Benson’s Bureau of Elections disqualified West from the ballot on Aug. 16, based on alleged defects in his affidavit of identity highlighted by the Michigan Democratic Party, and activist attorney Mark Brewer, the party’s former chair.

Michigan Court of Claims Judge James Robert Redford found Benson “misapplied the law” by excluding West, and ordered the state on Aug. 24 to include him and his running mate Melina Abdullah on the presidential ballot. Benson appealed the decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals, which upheld Redford’s order in a 3-0 opinion on Aug. 30, the Detroit Free Press reports.

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Benson did not appeal the Court of Appeals ruling, but Brewer did, resulting in Monday’s Michigan Supreme Court order.

“The application for leave to appeal the August 30, 2024 judgement of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court,” the order read.

Justice Elizabeth Clement concurred with the ruling, though she noted plaintiff Rosa Holliday, a Democratic activist represented by Brewer, “raises a potentially meritorious argument that the Board of State Canvassers failed to fulfill a clear legal duty … to investigate and resolve all challenges to nominating petitions before deciding to certify a candidate.

“However, plaintiff failed to raise this argument below in her complaint for writ of mandamus, and this Court does not typically address arguments that were not raised and decided below,” Clement wrote.

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The case centered on claims West, a civil rights activist who teaches at prestigious U.S. universities, bungled an affidavit of identity, and included ineligible signatures on a nominating petition. Redford ruled that state law does not require West to file an affidavit of identity, and found the independent candidate submitted more than enough signatures to meet the 12,000 signature threshold required.

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted 3-1 to certify West for the ballot on Aug. 26.

West has worked to court Arab American voters who are upset with the Biden-Harris administration’s approach to Hamas’ ongoing war against Israel. More than 100,000 Democrats voted uncommitted during the Michigan presidential primary in an effort to pressure President Joe Biden into calling for a permanent ceasefire and halting all military aid to Israel. The movement has since expanded to more than 700,000 voters across the nation.

The ceasefire demands later shifted to Vice President Kamala Harris, who took over Biden’s campaign in July.

West previously celebrated Redford’s ruling, describing the effort to oust him from the ballot as “frivolous and unfounded.”

“This ruling is not just a legal victory – it is a moral victory for everyone who believes in the sanctity of the democratic process,” West said in a statement cited by The Hill. “Our campaign submitted over 26,000 signatures, significantly more than required, which the court recognized as a legitimate expression of the people’s will.”

West continues to battle for ballot access in other states, as Democrats work to limit competition for Harris. Similar efforts by Brewer to challenge Natural Law Party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ballot access also faced defeat, as did efforts to block former President Donald Trump last year.

West has now secured ballot access in 14 states. In five others, petitions for access are pending state certification, while West has qualified as an official write-in candidate in another 25, according to a tracker on his campaign website.

In a separate case, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled on Monday Kennedy’s name will remain on the ballot, despite his exit from the race to back Trump.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie LeDuff noted an important distinction, however. In a post on X, LeDuff remarked: “It should be noted that the Michigan Supreme Court did not rule today that RFKJr’s name must remain on the ballot as a matter of law. Rather, the high court ruled there is no law PREVENTING Sec. of State Jocelyn Benson (D) for keeping his name on the ballot, even though Kennedy wants his name removed.”

“That is, Benson doesn’t have to, and she doesn’t want to,” LeDuff continued. “The Math — Benson tried (and failed) to remove Dr. Cornell West, a black man, from the ballot because that will help Harris. She hamstrings Kennedy, a white man, because it will hurt Trump. Scale tipping our ‘sacred elections.’ These are troubling days. * Also — Benson sent the official slate of candidates to the various clerks on Friday as required by law. Kennedy’s name was not among them. See you in court again, I guess,” he added.