Kanye West’s presidential campaign runs into trouble in Wyoming after signature-gathers got too close to polling places
Police were called to polling locations in and around Cheyenne after election officials approached signature-gathers who were not staying 100 feet away
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rapper Kanye West's presidential campaign has run into trouble on his first day of attempting to get on the ballot in Wyoming after election officials said signature-gatherers were too close to polling stations.
People who were gathering signatures for West and another presidential candidate for the upcoming election were stationed too close to polling stations, election officials said, the Associated Press reported.
Police were called to polling locations in and around Cheyenne after election officials approached signature-gathers who were not staying 100 feet away from places.
"Some of them became quite aggressive and refused to leave," Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee told the Associated Press.
One concern about the signature-gathers at polling places in Wyoming was the signs that they carried. Ms Lee told the publication that one side had "registered voters sign here" on the front and then "Kanye West" on the back, with the concern voters would think they needed sign-up in order to vote.
Similar violations were also reported in Casper.
There were people also gathering signatures for candidate Brock Pierce, an entrepreneur from Minnesota who is running as an independent in the presidential election.
West, a previous supporter of Donald Trump, announced he was running in the presidential election last month after years of teasing his interest in becoming president.
His campaign filed paperwork on 15 July to the Federal Election Commission under what the rapper coined the "Birthday Party". He has since gained enough signatures to be on the ballot in Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Utah.
Minnesota and Wisconsin are two other states where West has submitted applications to appear on the ballot, but he experienced pushback from Wisconsin.
Republicans in Wisconsin are reportedly hoping West could receive the same amount of votes as Gary Johnson did in 2016 – 107,000 votes – as it could likely take away votes from Democratic candidate Joe Biden, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"I CAN BEAT BIDEN OFF OF WRITE INS #2020VISION," West wrote in a tweet at the end of July.
The impact West could have on the upcoming election will largely reside in swing states like Wisconsin. What that impact could be, depending on if he can get on the ballot for each state or garner write-in votes, won't be determined until after 3 November.
West now has until next Monday to receive 4,025 valid signatures so he can be placed on Wyoming's ballot come November. The state might be a top priority for West, as he now owns and lives on a ranch in Cody.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments