Kanye West sues to get on West Virginia ballot

Kanye West has filed a lawsuit to get on the West Virginia ballot as a presidential candidate, local news outlets reported Monday.

West filed his complaint in federal court last Friday against the West Virginia secretary of state’s office after the rapper was informed he did not submit enough signatures. 

The lawsuit argues that the office gave West “no opportunity to challenge” its decision, violating his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

It also said West Virginia “made accommodations” for this year’s primary elections such as moving the date and providing absentee ballot forms, but “no such accommodations have been made for individuals with no party affiliation wishing to avail themselves to the ballot access process.”

West’s legal team called for an emergency hearing and a ruling to add his name to the ballot.

State election officials told The Hill last month that West turned in more than 14,000 signatures in his 2020 petition but only 6,383 were considered valid. He needed 7,144 signatures to qualify. 

West has seen varying degrees of success getting his name in front of voters across the country. He has made it on the ballots in a number of states including Minnesota, Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah and Vermont. 

But he’s come up short in states including Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and Wyoming. West also filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission last Friday after he failed to make  the ballot there when the commission voted that he missed the deadline.