Kanye West submits petitions to appear on Arkansas ballot

Kanye West makes his first presidential campaign appearance, Sunday, July 19, 2020 in North Charleston, S.C. Rapper Kanye West, in his first event since declaring himself a presidential candidate, delivered a lengthy monologue Sunday touching on topics from abortion and religion to international trade and licensing deals. Whether he’s actually seeking the nation’s highest office remains a question. (Lauren Petracca Ipetracca/The Post And Courier via AP) (Associated Press)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Rapper Kanye West on Monday filed signatures to appear on the Arkansas ballot this fall as an independent presidential candidate.

Representatives of West submitted 1,723 signatures with the secretary of state’s office, which has 10 days to verify that he’s submitted the 1,000 signatures from registered voters required to appear on the Arkansas ballot.

West, who once backed Republican President Donald Trump, announced last month that he had broken with Trump and would launch his own presidential bid.

West has since submitted paperwork to appear on the ballot in neighboring Oklahoma. A formal complaint was filed in New Jersey last week challenging the signatures he submitted to appear on that state’s ballot.

West’s wife, reality TV star and beauty mogul Kim Kardashian West, asked the public on social media last month to show compassion and empathy toward her husband because he is bipolar.

Arkansas is a solidly Republican state that Trump won easily in 2016.

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