When rapper, fashion mogul, husband of Kim Kardashian and noted Twitter all-caps-er posted in July that he would be running for President of the United States, people were unsure if this was just another one of Ye's tangential rants/spirals due to what is an obviously difficult and public struggle with mental illness or if he was being serious.
We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States 🇺🇸! #2020VISION
— ye (@kanyewest) July 5, 2020
Turns out he was being serious.
West has since continued to tweet about his #2020Vision, how he "CAN BEAT BIDEN OFF OF WRITE INS" and even preemptively declared victory in a message addressed to Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
I know my mom and Kamala Harris would have been friends ... congratulations on being the democratic Vice President nominee 🙏🏾 ... all love and respect from the future president 🕊 It’s an honor to run against you pic.twitter.com/5NYcyq9Gob
— ye (@kanyewest) August 15, 2020
West has been actively applying to appear on states' ballots as a third party candidate for the November General Election. A Christian preacher from Wyoming named Michelle Tidball is his running mate, which makes sense since West's platform is heavily rooted in "the creation of a culture of life, endorsing environmental stewardship, supporting the arts, buttressing faith-based organizations, restoring school prayer and providing for a strong national defense," as per Wikipedia — and also because of his whole Sunday Service "not cult" thing.
So far, West has qualified for presidential ballot access in Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah and Vermont and has been dismissed or denied in Illinois, Montana, New Jersey, Wisconsin and, now, Ohio.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office said today in a press release, "Mr. Kanye West and Ms. Michelle Tidball failed to meet the requirements necessary to appear on the presidential ballot in Ohio for the November 3, 2020 General Election. Based on a review of the documents submitted by the West campaign, both the information and a signature on the original nominating petition and statement of candidacy submitted to the Secretary’s office do not match that of the nominating petition and statement of candidacy that was used to circulate part-petitions."
To appear on the ballot in Ohio, independent presidential/vice presidential candidates must file "a valid and sufficient joint nominating petition and statement of candidacy that complies with the law and at least 5,000 valid signatures from Ohio voters and a slate of 18 presidential electors."
“A signature is the most basic form of authentication and an important, time-honored, security measure to ensure that a candidate aspires to be on the ballot and that a voter is being asked to sign a legitimate petition,” said LaRose. “There is no doubt that the West nominating petition and declaration of candidacy failed to meet the necessary threshold for certification.”
View West's nomination petition and declaration of candidacy forms at ohiosos.gov.
