Virginia Judge Cites Fraud In Kanye West Paperwork, Orders Him Off November Ballot

TOPLINE

A  Virginia Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday that the name of rapper turned presidential contender Kanye West can not appear on the November ballot because part of the paperwork he used to qualify involved “improper, fraudulent or misleading” tactics.

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West’s bid, announced July 4, after he already had missed crucial filing deadlines in some states, has raised eyebrows among Democrats because the one-time supporter of President Trump is reportedly being aided in his bid by key Republican operatives. Forbes reported last month that he speaks regularly with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and a White House adviser. And Virginia is not the first place West’s paperwork has been questioned. In Wisconsin, some registered voters said they were tricked into signing petitions to put West on the ballot there and some names — including Bernie Sanders — were obviously bogus. West missed being on the ballot in that state because the petitions were delivered seconds past the deadline. In late August, West added three states — Idaho, Minnesota and Tennessee — to a handful of others where he has qualified to run including Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Vermont. He has no mathematical chance to win the electoral votes needed to secure the presidency, leading to speculation that the intent is to pull Black votes away from Democratic nominee Joe Biden. West’s Twitter page did not mention the Virginia ruling Thursday.