COLUMBIA – Rapper Kanye West did not submit any of the 10,000 petition signatures needed to enter South Carolina’s 2020 presidential ballot before the noon Monday deadline despite hosting a state rally the day before.
The failure of West’s petition campaign at the last minute means he surely won’t be able to mount a quixotic third-party campaign in Palmetto state after recently voting in Oklahoma, where only a $ 35,000 filing fee is required.
When the deadline ended at noon, neither West nor any representative of his impromptu campaign had arrived to deliver the petition to the South Carolina Election Commission, according to commission spokesman Chris Whitmire. “Late registration” will not be allowed.
The only remaining path for West in South Carolina would be to receive the presidential nomination from one of the 10 certified political parties in the state. He had previously announced that he would run as a candidate at his own “Birthday Party”.
West had posted ads on social media in South Carolina over the weekend asking voters to sign the petition and had sent people to places around the Charleston area to try to collect signatures.
But several of the petition venues West had announced saw little activity the Sunday before their unusual rally in North Charleston.
This story is unfolding. Check back for updates.
Follow Jamie Lovegrove on Twitter @jslovegrove.
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