West Virginia: Kanye West short on ballot signatures

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s secretary of state says rapper Kanye West’s bid to get on the ballot for president came up short on qualified signatures.

Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office told media outlets Friday that West needed 7,144 signatures from registered voters in West Virginia. West submitted 15,000 signatures, but only 13,865 were legible, and only 6,383 were confirmed West Virginia registered voters, according to Secretary of State spokesperson Mike Queen.

State law requires the secretary of state to certify the ballot by Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Wisconsin election officials on Thursday decided to keep West off the ballot because his nomination papers were turned in moments after the deadline. He has qualified in Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Utah.

West announced a presidential bid in July, saying he’s seeking the nation’s highest office on a ticket he calls the “Birthday Party.”

West has since been gathering signatures to get on the ballot in several states. Democrats claim Republicans are pushing West’s candidacy in several swing states to siphon Black votes away from Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

West, who once backed Republican President Donald Trump, announced last month that he had broken with Trump and would launch his own presidential bid.

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Kassie Simmons
Kassie Simmons joined the team in January 2019 as a weekend journalist. She graduated from Virginia Tech in just two and a half years with a BA in multimedia journalism. During her short time at Virginia Tech, she served as the editor for the university’s chapter of The Tab. Kassie was named the top reporter for The Tab at Virginia Tech on multiple occasions and made the list for the top 30 reporters for The Tab in the U.S. She also studied theater performance and minored in creative writing. Before coming to WOAY, Kassie interned at WSLS in Roanoke and the Tidewater Review in her hometown of West Point, Va. She has loved following breaking news since her childhood and has a passion for delivering the stories people care most about. Kassie is excited to be working in Southern West Virginia and looks forward to all the adventures ahead of her. You can follow her on Twitter at @KassieLSimmons and like her page on Facebook. If you have a story you think she should check out, send her an email at ksimmons@woay.com.