Justices reject bid by Kanye West to get on Ohio ballot

(FILES) In this file photo Kanye West attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party following the 92nd annual Oscars at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills on February 9, 2020. (Photo by Jean-Baptiste Lacroix / AFP)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Rapper Kanye West will remain off Ohio’s fall presidential ballot after a decision Thursday by the state’s high court.

In a unanimous ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court found that Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose acted lawfully when he rejected the nearly 15,000 signatures and other paperwork the rapper submitted. LaRose cited mismatched information on the signature-gathering documents.

Attorneys for West’s campaign in Ohio sued, arguing that it was LaRose’s duty to accept any petition for an independent candidate as long as there is no protest filed against the petition and that it doesn’t violate Ohio law.

Justices ruled LaRose did not abuse his discretion or clearly disregard applicable law.

West has made the ballot in 12 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont.

The business mogul publicly supported Republican President Donald Trump before announcing his own presidential bid on July 4.

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