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Congratulations, Kanye, ya played yaself — according to reports, the controversial rapper could be facing up to three years in prison for election fraud due to the reported falsification of signatures on petitions.
The rapper has filed petitions to appear on the presidential ticket in 10 states, but so far has only managed to secure a spot on Oklahoma’s ballot, although he has many petitions pending review. While he managed to meet the filing deadlines for Illinois and New Jersey, the two states are now throwing West’s eligibility into doubt after both announced that the majority of the signatures submitted as part of his petition are invalid.
Additionally, a New York Times investigation found there are a number of Republican activists helping West get on the ballot, including Mark Jacoby whose company Let the Voters Decide has been collecting signatures in Ohio, West Virginia, and Arkansas. While working for the California Republican Party in 2008, Jacoby was arrested on voter-fraud charges and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Voter-registration fraud carries a penalty of up to three years in prison, according to CBS News. [via Vanity Fair]
Truthfully, I’ve run out of the energy to find myself concerned with what Kanye West is doing at this point, whether that be having public emotional breakdowns or attempting to launch shotgun Presidential campaigns. As Bruce Banner says about time travel in Avengers: Endgame, it’s either all a joke or none of it is. If Kanye West is a legitimately mentally ill man going through a serious episode right now, his family and friends need to get him some help. If he’s just being the Kanye we’ve always known — the Kanye who treats attention like Smeagol treats his precious — then he’s absolutely fair game and deserves all the potential ramifications that are coming his way.
Our democracy, despite how repeatedly it’s defiled, is neither a game nor a joke, and the fact that Kanye West thinks he can treat it like one should enrage you no matter what side of the political spectrum you find yourself on.