Judges keep Kanye West off Arizona and Virginia ballots

Judges in Virginia and Arizona on Thursday ordered state election officials to keep Kanye West’s name off the states’ general election ballots in November, dealing a fresh blow to the rapper’s unorthodox presidential bid.

Arizona state Judge Scott McCoy ruled that the plaintiffs in an Arizona lawsuit filed Monday were likely to succeed on the merits in arguing that state law barred West from appearing on the ballot as an independent candidate for president because he’s a registered Republican.

Attorneys for Maricopa County resident Rasean Clayton argued that under Arizona law, West and the slate of 11 electors pledged to support him can gain access to the ballot by gathering enough signatures only if they are “not a registered member of a recognized political party.”

The suit argued that West and 10 of his 11 electors are registered Republicans.
The ruling in Arizona — a presidential battleground where recent polls show a competitive contest between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden — came just hours after a judge in Richmond, Virginia, found that 11 of the elector oaths submitted by West in the state “were obtained by improper, fraudulent and or misleading means or are otherwise invalid because of notarial violations and misconduct.”