There’s still time for Kanye West, who may or may not be running for president, to get on the ballot in Ohio.
The rapper and clothing designer has until Wednesday at 5 p.m. to submit 5,000 valid signatures — and no more than 15,000 signatures — to the Ohio secretary of state’s office to appear on the ballot as an Independent presidential candidate.
In addition to the signatures, he would need to submit the name of a vice president and a slate of 18 electors.
Mr. West also has until Aug. 25 to file to run as a write-in candidate, which wouldn’t require collecting any signatures.
Entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang expressed an interest in running as a write-in candidate for Ohio’s Democratic presidential primary after he failed to qualify for the ballot.
Mr. West’s campaign could not be reached for comment.
Ohio is among the states where filing deadlines haven’t passed.
Collecting enough valid signatures in such a short period of time is close to impossible without an unlimited budget and a large team of paid signature collectors fanned out across the state, though.
More than a dozen states have filing deadlines approaching this week.
New York magazine reported over the weekend that Mr. West’s campaign was actively collecting signatures in the state, but The Blade was unable to confirm that. A California-based firm reportedly heading up the signature-gathering operation for Mr. West in Ohio did not return calls.
A spokesman for the Ohio secretary of state’s office said it hasn’t heard from anyone with Mr. West’s campaign.
A candidate committee called Kanye 2020 based in Cody, Wyo., where Mr. West owns a ranch, has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.
While Mr. West has missed the deadline to run as an Independent candidate in other battleground states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania, he managed to make the cut in Oklahoma, where he paid $35,000 to get on the ballot. New York magazine reported that Mr. West also submitted signatures in Illinois, Missouri, and New Jersey, but that it’s unlikely he will make the ballot in those states.
Mr. West, who’s married to reality-television star Kim Kardashian West and has expressed past support for President Trump, announced his presidential bid on July 4 and kicked it off with a rally in South Carolina. Since then, it’s been reported that he’s dropped out of the race before ramping up signature-gathering efforts.
It’s unclear whether Mr. West is building the campaign infrastructure necessary to seriously compete as a third-party candidate.
First Published August 3, 2020, 6:55 p.m.
