As AG Mark Herring’s office told us yesterday, a hearing is scheduled for 2:30 PM this afternoon “in Richmond Circuit Court in front of Judge Joi Taylor” regarding “the lawsuit seeking to block Kanye West from being added to the ballot in November’s election.” AG Herring’s office added:
As Attorney General Herring notes in the response brief, “The Commonwealth of Virginia, including the state elections officials and entities named as Defendants, does not tolerate any type of election fraud. Similarly, this Court has had little patience for keeping candidates on the ballot who have used underhanded and fraudulent tactics to ‘steal a spot on the ballot.’”
The brief also highlights the concerning evidence brought forth saying that “Plaintiffs present evidence of concerning deficiencies in all thirteen elector oaths.”
You can read the “Response Brief” by the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE); Robert H. Brink, John O’Bannon, and Jamilah D. LeCruise, all in their official capacities as Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary, respectively, of SBE, and the Virginia Department of Elections (ELECT) here. As the Brief states:
- “Since August 21, 2020 when West appeared to qualify for the Ballot, serious allegations have been made that the qualification papers of West’s purported electors, including Plaintiffs, were obtained fraudulently and/or contained attestations in violation of Virginia law.”
- “…the Commonwealth Defendants request that the Court expeditiously resolve the questions presented by the Plaintiffs as to the validity of the qualification documents and their impact on West’s qualification so that ballot printing may begin.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Virginia has been busy calling around to folks who signed petitions to get Kanye West on the ballot. Some of the comments made by voters are very revealing, such as:
- A voter in Springfield “[s]ays he never signed anything to put Kanye on the ballot. Seems like he was lied to.”
- A voter in Reston “[s]ays [the petition gatherers for Kanye West] said ‘Do you think anyone has the right (to run for president)?’ Thought she was signing a petition for allowing anyone to run for president. Says there was no name. Has zero intention of putting Kanye on the ballot.”
- A voter in Herndon said: “Didn’t mean to [sign the petition]. Would never sign a petition for Kanye. Doesn’t remember signing anything. Thinks maybe someone got her information possibly.”
- A voter in Springfield said, “I was told that I was signing a petition for a local candidate. I would not sign for Kanye.” (Signed at the Walmart in Kings Town)”
That’s just a sampling, but it certainly doesn’t instill confidence in how voters were approached by the Kanye West petition gatherers. On the other hand, it’s very much in line with the many legal challenges, Republican operatives, Trump connections, “deceptive signature gathering,” etc. swirling around this bizarre campaign.
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