Kanye West's petition to appear on New Jersey's ballot as a presidential candidate fails to pass legal muster because signatures are incomplete, and in some cases appear written with very similar handwriting, according to a formal complaint filed with the state on Wednesday (US time).
Election law attorney Scott Salmon, a registered Democrat, filed the objection with the state Division of Elections after reviewing the more than 1300 signatures the rapper had submitted.
New Jersey requires presidential candidates to get 800 signatures to appear on the ballot, but Salmon said in an interview that he counted more than 600 that were in some way defective.
![Kanye West makes his first presidential campaign appearance earlier this month. Photo / AP](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/3L6KUQ6PYOWEKVFNTLED6TQXSQ.jpg?auth=87f050505ed48e9e88c0c259f60f9cbbbbbee02cf6763e92aad2d470bf400b09&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
"Mr. West's petitions do not contain the valid signatures of 800 qualified voters and should have been rejected by the Division," Salmon wrote in the complaint.