Kanye West files to appear on Ohio ballot

Rapper Kanye West has filed to appear on the ballot for the presidential election in Ohio as an independent candidate. 

In order to qualify as an independent candidate for president, West needs 5,000 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters. According to documents from the Ohio Secretary of State, on Wednesday West’s campaign submitted 14,886 signatures.

The filing listed Wyoming spiritual coach Michelle Tidball as West’s running mate. 

West, who announced his candidacy on Twitter on July 4, was reportedly helped by GOP operatives through the petitioning company Let the Voters Decide. The organization is led by Mark Jacoby, who was arrested on charges of voter fraud while working in California for the Republican Party in 2008, The New York Times reported.

Of the 19 electors listed in West’s paperwork in Ohio, six of them reportedly have the same address with several others also reportedly having repeating addresses in the Cleveland area. 

The award-winning musician and producer has already missed the filing deadline is a slew of states, including key swing states like Texas, Michigan and Florida.

West, who was once a supporter of President Trump, has said he no longer supports his reelection bid. Trump won Ohio in 2016, but recent polling has shown the state has become increasingly competitive.

West obtained the required number of signatures to appear on the ballot in Illinois, Missouri and New Jersey, but has been slapped with allegations of election fraud in New Jersey over his signature submissions. Officials in Illinois are challenging his signatures and paperwork as well.

In a national poll last month West received just 2 percent of the vote