Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images.
A judge has barred Kanye West from appearing on the presidential ballot in Arizona, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Judge Scott McCoy’s decision was based on the lawsuit of Arizona resident Rasean Clayton, who challenged West’s candidacy and concluded the bid would “create confusion for voters,” and cause “irreparable harm.”
This comes just a day after the rapper's campaign turned in 58,000 signatures in order to appear on the ballot. Clayton’s lawsuit accused West of serving as an “election spoiler,” going on to explain that state law should prevent West, a registered Republican, from running as an independent candidate. West’s attorneys confirmed they will appeal the barring to the Arizona Supreme Court.
Since announcing his on-again, off-again presidential campaign back in early July, West has had varying luck in a number of states. While he qualified to appear on ballots in Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Tennessee, and Utah, he did not qualify in Ohio, Montana, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and a few other states. He was removed from the ballot in his home state of Illinois due to a large number of the submitted signatures being deemed “invalid,” and his removal from the Virginia ballot came after a judge found that 11 of the 13 required “Elector Oath” campaign support pledges were “obtained by improper, fraudulent and/or misleading means.”
So far, West's legal team has filed lawsuits to challenge some of these decisions.
