Illinois Elections Board Boots Kanye West Off Ballot

Chicago’s ABC News affiliate reports:

Rap superstar and Chicago native Kanye West was officially kicked off of the presidential ballot in Illinois on Friday, the state elections board ruled.

The Illinois State Board of Elections voted unanimously, 8 to 0, to remove West from the ballot after he failed to submit enough petition signatures to qualify for the race, Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich said.

West filed 412 pages of signature sheets last month in order to appear on the ballot as an independent, Dietrich said at the time. At least 2,500 valid signatures of registered Illinois voters were required to appear on the ballot, per state election law. Dietrich said Friday that West was 1,300 signatures short.