Kanye West barred from Arizona ballot

Kanye West has been barred from appearing on the ballot in Arizona after a judge said a voter had established the rapper’s candidacy would cause irreparable harm to the poll.

Lawyers for an Arizona voter argued putting West on the ballot would cause confusion for the electorate as he is registered as a Republican.

But West’s legal team said his status as a registered Republican in Wyoming was irrelevant to getting on the Arizona ballot, and added they will appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court.

They said when West filed federal election paperwork, he listed his political party as BDY, an abbreviation for Birthday Party.

The ruling by Judge Scott McCoy said the voter who challenged West’s bid in Arizona “established that the relative hardships favour him”.

The decision came a day after West’s campaign turned in nearly 58,000 nominating signatures, well over the 39,000 needed to appear on the Arizona ballot.

West has already qualified to appear on the ballot in several states, including Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Tennessee and Utah.

He has not qualified in Ohio, Montana, West Virginia, Wisconsin and other states, though he has filed lawsuits challenging some of those decisions.

Another judge ordered West’s name removed from ballots in Virginia on Thursday, finding that the rapper failed to meet a requirement that 13 people pledge support for his campaign.

The judge ruled 11 of the 13 Elector Oaths submitted by the West campaign were invalid, including some that were “obtained by improper, fraudulent and/or misleading means”.

It is not known whether West intends to appeal the Arizona ruling.

Earlier this week, Arizona resident Rasean Clayton filed a lawsuit for West to be barred from appearing on the ballot.

The lawsuit accused the rapper of serving as an election spoiler and argued that state law barred him from running as an independent candidate because West is a registered Republican.