Looks like Kanye West won't be on the Illinois ballot after all, TMZ reports. The politically inspired rapper handed in his petition to appear on his home state's presidential ballot in November, but officials rejected 1,928 of his submitted signatures—more than half—which leaves him over 1,000 short of the 2,500 he needs. State officials aren't giving details, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the state Democratic party complained about fake addresses and phony signatures including "Bernie Sanders" and "Mickey Mouse." "If the affidavits are true … crimes were committed by the West campaign," says an attorney working with the Democrats.
Kanye says his "goal is to win," and the Chicago Tribune reports that GOP operatives seem to be helping him, so his political ambitions are no joke. President Trump himself said he liked "Kanye very much," and Kanye has all but admitted that he's running to draw Black votes away from Joe Biden: "Trump is the closest president we've had in years to allowing God to still be part of the conversation," he told Forbes. When asked whether he hopes to hurt Biden's run, he said, "I'm not denying it; I just told you." Meanwhile, Illinois hasn't fully rejected him: The preliminary finding about his ballots still has to run through the system, including a final vote by the Illinois State Board of Elections, possibly at its Aug. 21 meeting. (More Kanye West stories.)
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