Kanye West will face considerable hurdles getting on the ballot should he decide to go through with his presidential bid.
With just four months until the November general election, the music superstar has already missed filing deadlines for independent candidates in Indiana, Texas, Maine, New Mexico and North Carolina.
Additionally, West faces fast-approaching deadlines in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Utah and Wyoming.
According to an analysis by Forbes, these states leave the sneaker mogul ineligible for as many as 187 of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election. Candidates need 270 to win the presidency.
Speaking to Billboard, an FEC spokesperson said West did not appear to have filed any paperwork to declare his candidacy or get on the ballot.
“Candidates who’ve won the presidency tend to have gotten into the race much sooner than this. If you’re running for any federal office, four months out seems pretty late based on my experience,” the spokesperson said.
Additionally, West will need to quickly gather tens of thousands of signatures from nearly every state across the country in order to gain “ballot access.”
Currently, West has not built a campaign infrastructure and has hired no staff. His two notable supporters are superstar wife Kim Kardashian and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The billionaire rap icon announced his late-entry bid for the presidency in a July 4 tweet: “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States.”
Speaking to Forbes magazine in an interview published Wednesday, the musician said he was “taking the red hat off, with this interview,” and starting his own party for 2020, “the Birthday Party.”
If President Trump weren’t already the GOP candidate, West told the magazine, he would run as a Republican, adding, “I will run as an independent if Trump is there.”
Asked why his political party will be called the Birthday Party, he explained, “Because when we win, it’s everybody’s birthday.”
As for how he will get to the Oval Office, West believes it is all in the hands of God.
“Let’s see if the appointing is at 2020 or if it’s 2024 — because God appoints the president. If I win in 2020 then it was God’s appointment. If I win in 2024 then that was God’s appointment,” he said.