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Federal judge to NC elections board: Put Green Party candidates on November ballots

A Federal judge's ruling Friday gets two Green Party candidates closer to placement on North Carolina ballots in November, a decision that for now overrules a vote by the state's elections board.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — A Federal judge's ruling Friday gets two Green Party candidates closer to placement on North Carolina ballots in November, a decision that for now overrules a vote by the state’s elections board, which is conducting a fraud investigation into ballot-access signatures collected on the party’s behalf.
U.S. District Judge James C. Devers III ordered the elections board to place the party’s U.S. Senate candidate Matthew Hoh and a Wake County state Senate candidate, Michael Trudeau, on state ballots, provided the candidates submit requisite paperwork to the state by Wednesday.

It was unclear late Friday whether the board, consisting of three Democrats and two Republicans, would appeal the decision. A spokesman for the North Carolina State Board of Elections said the board was reviewing the order.

Hoh’s placement on the ballot could complicate the election for Democratic former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who is competing for the seat against Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Budd. A far-left candidate could take liberal votes from the more moderate Beasley in a tight race.

“I am grateful for the Federal Court's decision placing the North Carolina Green Party's candidates on November's ballot,” Hoh said. “This is a win for democracy.

"North Carolina voters will now have an option to vote for a Senate candidate who represents working families,” he continued. “Issues that would have otherwise been ignored by the corporate backed candidates, such as healthcare for all, student and medical debt relief, affordable housing, true living wages, a Green New Deal and an end to the war on drugs, will now have a voice and a representative in this year's U.S. Senate election.”

Spokespeople for Beasley and the North Carolina Democratic Party didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment late Friday.

The elections board voted unanimously on Monday to recognize the Green Party as a political party in the state, citing a review from county elections boards showing that the group seeking recognition collected a sufficient number of valid signatures.
But a fraud investigation, underway since at least June, continues into a number of invalid signatures collected for the party. The investigation had caused the board to vote to keep the party's candidates off the ballot. The Green Party, which has denied wrongdoing, sued in response seeking to get the candidates on the ballot.  
The North Carolina Democratic Party, meanwhile, has also gone to the state court in an effort to keep the Green Party off the ballot due to the state board’s ongoing investigation. Devers, in his Friday order, said the federal court has jurisdiction in the matter.
After the order was issued, Jonathan Felts, Budd’s senior adviser, accused Democrats of having tried to disenfranchise North Carolina voters. “We are glad to see their efforts being rejected again,” he said.
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