PHOENIX — A Maricopa County judge ruled Thursday that Kanye West’s name will not be on Arizona’s Presidential Ballot even if he obtains the required number of signatures for independent candidates to make the ballot.
West’s lawyers were hauled into court Thursday after resident Rasean Clayton filed a lawsuit Monday challenging West’s right to file as an independent, claiming West is a Republican.
West’s lawyers said their client’s status as a registered Republican in Wyoming was irrelevant to getting on the Arizona ballot. They said when West filed federal election paperwork, he listed his party as “BDY,” an abbreviation for Birthday Party.
West’s campaign turned in nearly 58,000 signatures Wednesday, well over the 39,000 needed to appear on the ballot. Those signatures, however, have not yet been verified.
This comes after a similar decision in Wisconsin, when the state Elections Commission decided that West missed the deadline for filing his nomination signatures by anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes on Aug. 4.
Lawyers for Pima County argued placing West’s name on the ballot presented the possibility of "irreparable injury." Lawyers for West told the judge that since West is running as a candidate of the Birthday Party, he is not subjected to the same rules as Republicans or Democrats running as an independent. West’s 11 electors did change their affiliation to Independent in order to comply with Arizona law.
In his ruling, the judge said, the court finds that public policy cuts both for and against issuing an injunction in the circumstances, and that the plaintiff had demonstrated a possibility of irreparable injury.
It is not known at this time if West's attorneys are planning to appeal the ruling.
