Kanye won’t be on ballot in Ohio
Kanye West will not appear on the ballot as an independent candidate for president due to mismatched paperwork, Ohio's top elections officials said Friday.
The Ohio Secretary of State's office determined the signature and information on West's nominating petition and statement of candidacy did not match the documents actually used for petitions signed by voters.
“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," Ohio Secretary of State Frank Larose said in a news release. "There is no doubt that the West nominating petition and declaration of candidacy failed to meet the necessary threshold for certification.”
West's campaign submitted 14,886 signatures and other paperwork earlier this month — he needed 5,000 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters to qualify.
West has qualified for the ballot in Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Vermont, and has pending petitions in a handful of other states. West's campaign failed to meet signature requirements in Illinois and withdrew its petition in New Jersey after the validity of signatures was questioned.
His efforts to get on the ballot in Wisconsin and Montana were rejected Thursday.
West will not appear on enough states' ballots to present a legitimate challenge to President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. That, with the campaign's ties to Republican operatives, has led many to believe the West campaign is intended to siphon votes from Biden to help Trump.
In Ohio, West's ballot paperwork was submitted by an associate at Columbus law firm Isaac Wiles, which has done legal work for Ohio House Republicans in recent years.