In a ruling September 3 about a case brought against the campaign of Kanye West in Virginia, a judge has ruled that he may not appear on the ballot in November. The case was brought by two supposed West electors who nevertheless maintained that they never knowingly signed a petition for him, and that they were duped. In fact, seven of the 13 electors that West submitted said they were either unaware that they signed up to cast electoral votes on his behalf, or that they were unaware that they had signed notarized paperwork connected to the rapper’s presidential bid at all.

“Is this a joke?” one “elector” asked. “Holy guacamole,” she replied when informed it was not. “I’m certainly not supporting Kanye West,” she made clear before ending the conversation. Another “elector” said that someone approached her at the mall for what she was told was “a petition just to put somebody’s name on the ballot.” She went on to ask, “Is there any way I can take my name off?”

In recent days, West was likewise denied a place on the ballot in five other states, either because he filed an insufficient number of valid signatures or because he did not file on time, or because the information and signatures on West’s nominating petition and his statement of candidacy did not match those on petitions circulated for signature. West filed in several other states last week, but it is unclear if he will ultimately qualify to appear on the ballot in those states.

Thus far, West is on the ballot in four states: Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Vermont — but almost certain to appear in several others, including Louisiana and Utah. 

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