Republicans Helping Kanye West Gain Ballot Access

In at least four states Republicans appear to be assisting Kanye West to get on the ballot for November's presidential election, as NBC News reports. Marred by missed deadlines and faulty fillings, the rapper and producer's presidential bid has caused West to not make the ballot in enough states to actually win the presidential election. This comes as West's wife, Kim Kardashian, has said that her husband is struggling with mental illness.

On Tuesday, Vice reported that an experienced GOP operative with ties to President Trump’s campaign, Lane Ruhland, dropped off the signatures that would qualify West for his presidential bid in Wisconsin.

Other people connected to Republican politics have helped to get the megastar on the ballot in states, including Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois.

Kanye West won't officially secure ballot access until the state's Election Commission can validate his signatures. This move ups the stakes for the producer's campaign because of him being featured on a ballot in such a key state.

"It's hard not to feel like Republican operatives are using a mentally ill, very famous rapper who is not going to be president because they think for some reason that it's going to take Black votes away from Joe Biden," said Jesse Lehrich, a Democratic strategist who worked for Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016.