Kanye West has shared a photo of a ballot with his name written in—despite his name being printed on the page already.
The rapper shared the photo to tweet about the support he was receiving from friends, writing: “Friends writing me in.”
Many on Twitter were left confused as to why though when this particular ballot already included the independent candidate.
He shared a shot of a ballot on which he’s listed for the American Independent Party as a vice presidential candidate alongside his running mate, De La Fuente car dealerships proprietor Roque ‘Rocky’ De La Fuente Guerra.
Per an earlier interview with Newsweek, the VP listing on the California ticket is a possible attempt to hurt the Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
The American Independent Party’s Vice Chairman Markham Robinson told the outlet party leaders nominated West to be on the ticket with De La Fuente at their state convention in late August without consulting West.
The party reportedly chose the “Jesus Is King” performer because of his political views, as well as his celebrity connections.
Robinson told Newsweek: “Kanye is an example of a good thing that we found along the way,” Robinson said. “His platform is was really pretty good. We loved the fact that he used scriptural references to justify his points.”
Getty/Rich Fury/VF20
West is not officially running for President in every state, but he’s still on California’s ballot for this reason and he is still running for President in a handful of states.
Is writing in a candidate allowed? In some states, yes.
There are seven states—Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota—that do not allow write-ins at all.
West announced his bid for president on July 4 of this year. During his one and only campaign event—held in North Charleston, South Carolina on July 19—West wore a bulletproof vest and claimed that Black abolitionist Harriet Tubman never freed any slaves.
A noted Trump supporter, West’s candidacy has been labeled a spoiler campaign to take away votes from Joe Biden—something West admitted himself. Though his mental health problems and struggle with bipolar disorder have been very publically played out throughout the summer.
West’s name will appear on the ballot in 11 states—including Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont.
During Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate West tweeted a video showing Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris wearing a hat that read “Vote Kanye” and Republican Vice President Mike Pence wearing a hat that read “Kanye 2020 Vision.”
Newsweek has contacted West’s campaign for comment.
