On Wednesday, Kanye West completed the requirements to qualify to appear in Oklahoma’s presidential ballot. Oklahoma Board of Elections spokeswoman Misha Mohr confirmed to the Associated Press that the 48-year-old rapper’s representative filed the necessary paperwork and paid the $35,000 filing fee.
West’s team was able to complete the requirements on the deadline for a presidential spot for the state’s November 3 presidential election. The election board said that West is one of the three independent presidential candidates to pay the filing fee before the deadline. Other candidate includes concert pianist Jade Simmons and cryptocurrency entrepreneur Brock Pierce.
In a Twitter post, the Oklahoma State Election Board also confirmed West’s candidacy. “Independent presidential candidate Kanye West has qualified for the General Election ballot in Oklahoma. (Today is Oklahoma’s deadline for Independent & Unrecognized Party presidential candidates to file statements of candidacy with their petitions or filing fee.)” the statement read.
Independent presidential candidate Kanye West has qualified for the General Election ballot in Oklahoma. (Today is Oklahoma’s deadline for Independent & Unrecognized Party presidential candidates to file statements of candidacy with their petitions or filing fee.)
— Oklahoma State Election Board (@OKelections) July 15, 2020
Based on the documents, the “Kanye 2020” team has also filed the first form required by the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC) to run for president, wherein West’s given address was his Wyoming ranch.
The document also stated that the “Yeezy” founder is running under the “BDY Party” or “The Birthday Party,” which West confirmed during his interview with Forbes magazine earlier this July. When asked why he chose that party name, West replied: “Because when we win, it’s everybody’s birthday.”
Uncertain Bid
While Kanye’s team has filed their Statement of Organization, the FEC said they could not confirm if the filing is legitimate since the second form or the “Statement of Candidacy” has not been filed yet.
The Statement of Organization is a political committee registration that authorizes the party to raise and spend money. Meanwhile, under the federal campaign finance law, the Statement of Candidacy is filed once the aspiring president presented proof that he/she already spent more than $5,000 on campaign activities, which will trigger the presidential his candidacy.
On the other hand, West also missed the deadline to qualify for other states ballot, so it is not clear if he will be able to collect enough signatures to be eligible in other states.
Not Backing Out
West team’s filing of necessary documents came a day after his adviser Steve Kramer told the New York Magazine’s “Intelligencer” that the father-of-four is now out of the presidential race, adding that the staff he had hired were disappointed.
Kramer was initially hired to help West get on the Florida and South Carolina ballots.
West, who is the husband of reality TV star Kim Kardashian, first announced his plans to run for the presidency in a July 4th tweet, saying: “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision, and building our future. I am running for President of the United States! #@2020VISION.”