Green Party calls on Supreme Court to intervene in Nevada election dispute

CNN
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The Nevada Green Party on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in an election dispute that could have significant implications for the presidential race, asking the court to stay a state court ruling that would disqualify candidate Jill Stein from the ballot.

Green Party candidates have been “ripped off the ballot,” the urgent appeal says, and “Nevadans who would vote for them in this election are being deprived of that opportunity.”

The Greens are represented by Jay Sekulow, one of former President Donald Trump's personal lawyers.

The emergency motion followed a decision by the Nevada Supreme Court last week that found that the Green Party had used an incorrect form to collect signatures to include its candidates' names on the ballot.

The original lawsuit against the Green Party was filed by the state Democratic Party. The dispute underscores the importance of third-party candidates on the ballot in a state where polls show a narrow lead between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Nevada State Democratic Party sued the state Green Party to disqualify Stein from the ballot, arguing that the Green Party used the wrong form to collect and submit the signatures needed to put that candidate on the ballot.

A lower state court ruled in favor of the Green Party, but the Nevada Supreme Court ruled this month that Stein should not be placed on the ballot because the Green Party “failed to substantially meet the requirements” that needed to be met to put Stein on the ballot.

The state Supreme Court said in its ruling that a “regrettable error” occurred when the Nevada Secretary of State's office gave the Green Party the wrong signature collection form.

The request was submitted to Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees emergency cases in some western states.