These candidates have the signatures to be on presidential ballot here in GA but challenges remain

ATLANTA — The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office says three third-party presidential candidates have gotten the signatures to be on the ticket in November but they must clear any legal challenges first.

The official count of verified petition signatures reveals that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has 11,336 signatures, Cornel West has 8,075 signatures, and Claudia De la Cruz has 7,682 signatures.

According to Georgia law, independent candidates for President need at least 7,500 signatures from eligible Georgia voters to qualify.

While Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians have secure places on the Georgia ballot, other parties and independent candidates can qualify by petition.

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But Georgia Democrats are still legally challenging efforts to place the three candidates and Green Party nominee Jill Stein on Georgia’s ballots. It is part of a nationwide effort to block candidates who could siphon votes from Vice President Kamala Harris.

Hearings on the Georgia challenges are scheduled to begin Monday. After an administrative law judge makes a recommendation, Raffensperger will issue a final ruling. A decision must be made in time for Georgia to mail military and overseas ballots beginning Sept. 17.

Until this year, the only road to getting on the ballot in Georgia was by collecting signatures from 7,500 registered voters statewide. But Georgia’s Republican-majority legislature passed a law directing the secretary of state to also place on the ballot candidates of any party that makes ballots in at least 20 other states. That move was widely interpreted as trying to make trouble for Biden, although former President Donald Trump’s Republican campaign has also regarded the Kennedy campaign with suspicion.

The Green Party, which has nominated Stein, says it aims to make Georgia ballots using the 20-state rule.

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