Entertainer Kanye West filed some 2,800 signatures in his bid to qualify for Wisconsin’s presidential ballot, above the minimum needed under state law, according to a WisPolitics.com review of his nomination papers.

Still, the papers had a host of problems, including incomplete entries and duplicate signers, that could invalidate numerous signatures as the Election Commission completes its review of the filing.

In at least two instances, signers listed their names as Kanye West. A third originally signed as Kanye West before crossing out that signature and replacing it with a different name.

West hired the petitioning firm Let The Voters Decide to aid with his last-minute push to qualify for the Wisconsin ballot. The papers were then dropped off right at Tuesday’s deadline by attorney Lane Ruhland, who has worked for the state GOP. Ruhland, who represented the Trump campaign in a lawsuit against a Rhinelander TV station over an ad it aired from a Dem group, didn’t respond to a voicemail left by WisPolitics.com this afternoon.

The state Dem Party also declined comment on West’s filing.

West’s papers are rife with signatures that were crossed out, making it difficult to ascertain an exact number of signatures that will be the beginning point for the commission’s review. One page, for example, had 10 signatures on it. But there was an X over at least nine of the signatures that appeared to also cover the 10th. The Elections Commission doesn’t count crossed out signatures in its review.

An Elections Commission spokesman said it would be at least tomorrow before the agency released its initial review of the papers.

Even if the commission certifies 2,000 valid signatures, there will be a window to challenge the papers.

The commission begins its review of nomination papers with a presumption of validity for signatures. That means it wouldn’t look to strike out a signer who listed the same name as a celebrity, instead requiring a challenge to be filed and upheld for such signatures to be stricken.

Some of the issues WisPolitics.com saw in the papers include:

*identical handwriting on more than one signature:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/200805West7.png
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/200805West15.png
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/200805West17.png

*signers who only listed one name:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/200805West11-1.png

*the same signer on back-to-back lines:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/200805West9.png

See the nomination papers:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/200805West.pdf

See the two signatures from Kanye West:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/200805West.png
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/200805West14.png

And the West signature that was crossed out:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/200805West13.png

Print Friendly, PDF & Email