Kanye West is suing Wisconsin and Ohio in a last-ditch effort to appear on the ballot
- Kanye West's presidential campaign is suing the states of Ohio and Wisconsin after they denied him access to their November ballots.
- The Wisconsin Election Commission on August 20 said in a 5-1 decision that West missed the deadline to file as a candidate for president by 14 seconds.
- Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on August 21 said that West did not meet the requirements to file as a candidate in the state.
- Lawyers for the rapper and fashion designer argue West didn't miss the deadline in Wisconsin, and that the Ohio secretary of state must accept West's application.
- West has been booted from the ballot in several states and had already missed several deadlines before he announced his controversial longshot bid for the Oval Office.
Rapper-turned-presidential-candidate Kanye West is suing the states of Wisconsin and Ohio after election officials earlier in August denied his applications to appear as a candidate on their November ballots.
On August 20, the Wisconsin Elections Commission ruled in a 5-1 decision that West had missed the state deadline to file as an independent candidate for president, NBC 15 reported. In submitting his paperwork at 5:00:14, the WEC said West missed the state's deadline by 14 seconds. In suing the WEC on Friday, lawyers for the "Jesus Is King" argued that he should be allowed to appear because he submitted his name before 5:01 p.m., which they argue meets the state's deadline, according to the report.
On Wednesday, West's campaign sued Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, after he on August 21 said West failed to meet the minimum requirements necessary of an independent presidential candidate. The West campaign in its lawsuit argued LaRose must accept any independent candidate petition so long as it doesn't violate Ohio law and there is no protest filed against it, according to Fox 8.
West has similarly been denied access to the ballot in a number of states, including Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, and Montana after officials deemed his application to appear insufficient. When he announced his candidacy on July 4, West had already missed the deadline to file in several states, including North Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, and Indiana.
The West campaign earlier this month pulled its application from New Jersey following questions about the legitimacy of signatures on the ballot.
The longshot candidate will appear on the ballot in at least eight states: Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Vermont, Idaho, Minnesota, and Tennessee, according to Forbes.
West, who had previously been a public supporter of President Donald Trump, announced his presidential bid on July 4. In the months that have followed, his campaign has been shrouded in controversy including the issues with ballot applications, late-night tweets about his wife Kim Kardashian, emotional comments about abortion, and accusations that his bid is an effort to siphon votes from the Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, to help reelect Trump.
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