[EL] Could Kanye West become President?

[Richard Winger]

Realistically, Kanye West probably will receive less than one-half of 1% of the vote in every state in which he is on the ballot.  Just because someone is famous and appears on the November ballot for president doesn't mean he or she gets many votes.  In 1952 General Douglas MacArthur was on the November ballot in 8 states, but he generally got under one-fifth of 1% for president.  Only in Washington state did he get more than one-half of 1%, and that was .66%.  His ballot label was "Constitution Party" in some states and "Christian Nationalist" in others.
MacArthur was very famous in 1952.  He gave the Republican national convention keynote speech that year, and some thought he had a chance for the Republican nomination.  He had famously been fired by President Truman the year before.
Also in 1968 Eugene McCarthy was on the November ballot in a few states, but got very few votes.  In Arizona, .56%; in Montana, .17%; in New Hampshire, .14%; in Vermont .36%.  He was extremely famous that year.

Richard Winger 415-922-9779 PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147 

    On Friday, August 7, 2020, 11:05:04 AM PDT, Mark Scarberry <mark.scarberry at pepperdine.edu> wrote:  
 
 The Forbes article about Kanye West is wrong (though not in any meaningful way). The article states:
"When it was pointed out that he actually can’t win in 2020—that he won’t be on enough ballots to yield 270 electoral votes, and that a write-in campaign isn’t feasible—and thus was serving as a spoiler, West replied: 'I’m not going to argue with you. Jesus is King.' "

We all know that a candidate does not necessarily need 270 electoral votes to become President. If no one gets 270, the decision would go to the House. Being in the top three would be enough for West to be chosen by the House. Of course that's not going to happen, but who could have predicted a President Trump back when he first threw his hat in the ring (other than maybe Scott Adams)?
Mark

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Caruso School of Law
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Mark S. Scarberry |
| Professor of Law
mark.scarberry at pepperdine.edu |
| Personal: mark.scarberry at gmail.com
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On Fri, Aug 7, 2020 at 7:57 AM Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu> wrote:
...


 

“Kanye West Indicates That His Spoiler Campaign is Indeed Designed to Hurt Biden”

Posted on August 7, 2020 7:30 am by Rick Hasen

Forbes:

Amid various reports that Republican and Trump-affiliated political operatives are trying to get Kanye West onto various state ballots for November’s presidential election, the billionaire rap superstar indicated, in an interview by text today, that he was in fact running to siphon votes from the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden.

Asked about that directly, West said that rather than running for president, he was “walking,” quickly adding that he was “walking . . . to win.”

When it was pointed out that he actually can’t win in 2020—that he won’t be on enough ballots to yield 270 electoral votes, and that a write-in campaign isn’t feasible—and thus was serving as a spoiler, West replied: “I’m not going to argue with you. Jesus is King.”

West rebuffed various attempts to clarify who was driving his ballot access or strategy and whether it’s being coordinated by or with Republican-affiliated officials. He does, however, appear to have a continuing relationship with the Trump White House. West says that he’s “designing a school within the next month” and that “I’m meeting with Betsy DeVos about the post-Covid curriculum.” (The Secretary of Education’s press office hadn’t responded to a request for comment by the time we published.)



Posted in ballot access, campaigns, chicanery


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