Kanye West dropped from New Jersey ballot consideration for invalid signatures
'Literally every single signature on there came from the same person,' an election lawyer told Fox News
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rapper Kanye West has been dropped from presidential ballot consideration in New Jersey after a court order ruled that the signatures on his petition were invalid.
Election lawyer Scott Salmon had filed the challenge to West’s filing last week, accusing the rapper’s campaign of having invalid signatures.
“Literally every single signature on there came from the same person,” Salmon told Fox News. “Signatures that were clearly identical signatures where the signed name didn't match the printed name, where there was a first name but no last name, where it included a street address but, no town."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}KANYE WEST HIRES PETITIONING FIRM TO HELP HIM GET ON BALLOT IN WISCONSIN
The New Jersey petition reportedly showed a number of signatures looked nearly identical, including lower-case I’s dotted with a small circle.
Yesterday, West filed to appear on the ballot in West Virginia. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State in West Virginia told Fox West had an estimated 14,800 signatures before the midnight deadline Tuesday. He needed signatures from 7,144 registered voters to get on the ballot in the state, and there will still be a seven to 10 day challenge period and certification timeframe.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}West also filed to be on the ballot in Vermont and Arkansas yesterday before the filing deadline. In Vermont, it was the first time he had his running mate appear on the filing form -- Michelle Tidball from Cody, Wyo., who runs an online Bible study.
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On Monday, West reportedly hired petitioning firm Let The Voters Decide to help the rapper/producer get the necessary 2,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot in the swing state of Wisconsin. West has until Tuesday at 5 p.m. to turn in the signatures.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It remains to be seen whether he’ll make a push to get on the ballot in states like Ohio, with a Wednesday filing deadline.
West has already submitted documents to appear on the ballot in November in Oklahoma, Illinois and Missouri. He missed the deadline in South Carolina last month.
The musician’s on-again, off-again presidential campaign has been roiled with controversy since the start as many people question his mental state following a number of inflammatory and embarrassing tweets and appearances in recent weeks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Most recently, West called out abortion in the Black community and blasted his critics for getting so "concerned" about him crying over potentially aborting his first-born child.
"I cried at the thought of aborting my firstborn and everyone was so concerned about me... I’m concerned for the world that feels you shouldn’t cry about this subject," he tweeted on Friday.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}His comments came after a viral campaign stop in which he cried while discussing how he and his wife apparently considered abortion. The emotional display prompted speculation about his psychological health while his wife, reality television star Kim Kardashian West, posted a video discussing his struggle with bipolar disorder.
Fox News' Andrew O'Reilly contributed to this report.