Kanye West won’t be on the presidential ballot in his home state of Illinois. The Illinois State Board of Elections unanimously voted to exclude Yeezy from the ballot on Friday (August 21), citing his failure to provide enough valid signatures to qualify as an independent candidate.
West needed 2,500 legitimate signatures from registered voters to be on the ballot in Illinois. According to the Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich, the G.O.O.D. Music founder only had 1,200.
Yeezy and his team reportedly spent $30,000 on their efforts to get him on the Illinois presidential ballot. After submitting his petition in July, the validity of his signatures was questioned in multiple objections to the Board of Elections.
In addition to his home state, West was also rejected from the presidential ballots in Ohio and West Virginia on Friday. Ohio’s Secretary of State Frank LaRose cited discrepancies in the paperwork submitted by West as the reason for his exclusion.
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“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,” LaRose said in a press release. “There is no doubt that the West nominating petition and declaration of candidacy failed to meet the necessary threshold for certification.”
Kanye West Kicked Off Ballot In Crucial Swing State
Despite being denied by West Virginia, ‘Ye claimed it was one of 10 states where he secured a spot on the ballot. But West Virginia’s Secretary of State’s Office declared 7,482 of the 13,865 signatures submitted by Yeezy were invalid. He was 761 signatures shy of legitimately qualifying for the ballot.
Earlier this week, West was unable to get on the ballots in Montana and Wisconsin. He previously missed deadlines or failed to qualify in Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
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Although West says he’s a real voting option in 10 states, he’s still waiting for some of the petitions to be approved. Minnesota, Tennessee and Virginia are among the places he’s submitted petitions, but all three haven’t confirmed he’ll appear on the actual ballots.
View West’s tweet about his presidential campaign below.
