Many people don’t want Kanye West to be president and have chosen to take matters into their own hands, including one Arizona resident who has requested a judge to bar the rapper from appearing on the state’s November 3 ballot.
Rasean Clayton is not here for West’s presidency bid, and he’s accusing the rapper of serving as an election spoiler and argues that a law prohibits him from running in Arizona as an independent presidential candidate, Billboard reports.
Like many of us, Clayton doesn’t even want to entertain West antics but considering that this upcoming November election is important, if not the most crucial election in U.S. history, we must stop West’s intentional or unintentional attempt to mess up votes.
Lawyers for the Yeezy shoe mogul reported filing a little under 58,000 signatures, which is over the 39,000 required for independent candidates to get on the ballot.
But it looks like Clayton’s lawyers mean business. They have argued that an independent presidential candidate can appear on the state’s ballot if they aren’t registered with a recognized political party and gather enough voter signatures to nominate them. In Ye’s case, he not only paid top dollar to dozens of workers gathering petition signatures in Arizona, but he also registered as a Republican.
Luckily, even if his gang of signatures fits Arizona’s standards, the lawsuit claims his late in the game campaign would make no difference to his chances of winning the race.
“West will not be able to qualify for the ballot in enough states to muster enough electoral votes to prevail,” Clayton’s lawyers wrote. “West’s minimal interest in playing a spoiler candidate on Arizona’s ballot is not enough to outweigh the factors favoring emergency relief.”
West has been qualified to appear on the ballot in several states, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Tennessee, and Utah.
A judge in Maricopa County will hear arguments on the legal battle on Thursday afternoon. West has hired attorney Tim LaSota to represent him in his Arizona case.
LaSota has said the lawsuit is a “last-ditch effort on the eve of the (signature filing deadline) to deprive voters of a choice.” He also brushed away the backlash that his client was trying to be a spoiler for Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s chances in Arizona.
“That’s just political hyperbole,” LaSota said. “I don’t want to get into the politics of it. But obviously, I think there is a lot to be achieved by someone else running for president.”
Clayton’s attorney wants the lawsuit to move forward quickly; the deadline to print Arizona’s ballots is September 8 and 9.
In a statement, Clayton says he is a Navy veteran who cares about the November election.
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“I filed this case because I don’t want people to get confused voting on ballots that have disqualified people listed with everyone else who followed the law,” Clayton said.
