Jane C. Timm
8/3/24
(NBC News) Cornel West and his campaign broke campaign finance laws while attempting to qualify for the ballot, a new complaint to the Federal Election Commission alleges.
The complaint, filed by End Citizens United, a progressive group that advocates for campaign finance reform, points at “brazen and clear patterns of activity” of Republican-linked firms providing “millions of dollars” worth of in-kind donations, in the form of paid signature gatherers and other assistance qualifying for the ballot.
NBC News reported earlier this year that Republican-linked firms were paying signature gatherers to try to help West qualify for the ballot in North Carolina and Arizona, key states in the presidential contest where Democrats fear third-party candidates could siphon off votes from Vice President Kamala Harris.
It’s unclear who is footing the bill for the million-dollar signature gathering operation, but the complaint argues it is clearly not the West campaign, which is functionally broke and did not respond to a request for comment.
“The sheer scale of this operation, spanning multiple states, involves millions of dollars being illegally spent to get West on the ballot. This level of collusion sets an incredibly dangerous precedent for election interference,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “With less than 100 days until the election, the FEC must immediately investigate Cornel West and every GOP group involved in this scheme and hold them accountable for these egregious violations.”