CHICAGO (CBS / AP) – The Chicago native, rapper, and now presidential candidate Kanye West has enough signatures to make it to the Illinois ballot.
On Monday night, the Illinois Board of Elections confirmed with CBS 2 that West submitted 412 petition sheets around 5 pm
West needed 2,500 registered voter signatures in Illinois. In a typical year, 25,000 signatures are needed, but due to the pandemic, new party and independent candidates need fewer signatures this year.
So if all the signatures are valid, you will see Kanye West as an independent candidate on the ballot in November.
Meanwhile, there were new questions Monday about West’s preparation for a presidential race.
He tweeted out a series of strange statements Monday night, including something about what a possible intervention organized by his family could be.
West even mentioned Bill Cosby in one of his tweets.
On Sunday, West, in her first event since declaring herself a presidential candidate, raged against historic figure Harriet Tubman, saying the director of the subway “never freed the slaves, simply made them work for other white people,” comments that caused screams. of opposition from some in the crowd.
West delivered a long monologue, touching on topics from abortion and religion to international trade and licensing deals, before a crowd in North Charleston, South Carolina. Whether you’re really looking for the highest office in the country is still a question.
Tubman is one of the most respected figures in 19th century America. African American woman who escaped slavery, helped black slave men and women travel north to freedom, and fought for the Union during the Civil War. Later she became a supporter of women’s suffrage.
On abortion, West said that while he believes it should be legal, financial incentives to help struggling mothers could be a way to discourage the practice.
“Everyone who has a baby gets a million dollars,” he said as an example.
# 2020VISION pic.twitter.com/XqoTp6UQCE
– ye (@kanyewest) July 19, 2020
Wearing a protective vest and a shaved “2020” on his head, the artist appeared in a live broadcast of the event. Several hundred people gathered at a place where gospel music was playing before West’s appearance.
The event was reportedly for registered guests only, though the campaign website had no registration or RSVP information.
Speaking without a microphone, West became tearful at one point while talking about his mother, who died after complications from plastic surgery in 2007.
West did not meet the deadline to qualify for the ballot in several states, and it was unclear whether he was willing or able to collect enough signatures required to qualify in others. Last week, he qualified to appear on the Oklahoma presidential ballot, the first state where he qualified before the filing deadline.
West needed to collect 10,000 signatures before noon Monday to appear on the South Carolina ballot, according to state law. The artist tweeted a list of locations around the Charleston area where petitions could be signed. Email to an address allegedly associated with the campaign was not returned on Sunday afternoon.
West, who is married to reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, initially announced his candidacy on July 4.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. CBS News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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