Kanye West gets backlash on Twitter for telling his followers to write his name for president on the ballot. He shared a picture on Twitter of his friend writing his name on the ballot. A majority of the responses emphasize that writing in Kanye’s name is just not a good idea.
The hip-hop star tweeted out this picture which immediately put him under fire.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1314407219434196993?s=20
The Backlash
People slammed West for intentionally taking away votes from Joe Biden. Some explaining that a vote for Kanye is simply a vote for Trump. But a majority of people are telling people it’s a waste of a vote do not to do it.
https://twitter.com/sarahhuxtablee/status/1314700387505434624?s=20
A vote for Kanye is the vote of an idiot.
Let’s not make politics a joke like Mr. West is attempting to do.
Get out there, make your voice heard and let’s all treat this election a bit more serious than Kanye West. https://t.co/1cvYWwb67Q
— Nick Major (@Nick_Major) October 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/galandherjokes/status/1314695292869136384?s=20
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Don’t do this for the “gram” or the “snap”. Don’t waste a vote so you can have a laugh with your friends on social media. https://t.co/uacs7aZksI
— . (@rajsnngh) October 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/dianasilvers13/status/1314670193465909248?s=20
https://twitter.com/obsidianshakti/status/1314629295575388165?s=20
Get a load of Jill Stein here… https://t.co/qV9nRhDKoZ
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) October 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/DanielNewman/status/1314570264332636161?s=20
https://twitter.com/taylorfreund047/status/1314408030470057984?s=20
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This user even informed everyone that it is actually illegal to post pictures of your ballot on social media.
1. Please no not write-in Kanye.
2. It is actually illegal to post a picture of your ballot, partial, or full, on social media. https://t.co/TuYMRXjHhN— Sensei Ryan (@horridpoplyrics) October 9, 2020
Kanye’s Name On The Ballot
Kanye’s name is actually listed as an independent party on some ballots as vice president alongside Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente Guerra as president. Users on Twitter questioned why West even told people to write in his name on the ballot when he is already listed.
De La Fuente found out that Kanye West was going to be listed as his California running mate in California when it was made official. In an interview with Newsweek, De La Fuente said, “I was not consulted to see if I wanted Mr. West as my running mate. Obviously, we’re a weird-and I wanted Mr. Richardson as my running mate but it was their decision and their decision only.”
Roque De La Fuente is listed on ballots for 16 states and is eligible as a write-in for 12 states. In California, he is listed running with Darcy Richardson, an author. He emphasizes to voters how he thinks it’s important to create a better three-party system. He explains that this is important for American voters so that they don’t feel forced to choose between two candidates that they don’t support or are controversial.
The election has caused U.S. citizens to feel trapped. Many people aren’t comfortable with their options. Democrats and even some Republicans just want President Trump out of office. Campaigns like “Just Joe” and “Settle for Biden,” have been circling around Joe Biden because people don’t necessarily like him as an option. “It’s not about Joe. It’s about getting Trump out,” is a popular phrase being said across social media. It is a call to action, urging people to go out and vote Trump out of office. People unsure of their options are still leaning towards Trump’s re-election.
Stealing Votes
Activists quickly took to social media to inform citizens not only of the importance of voting, but also the importance of voting for a qualified candidate. Using Kanye as an example, they point out that he has been very upfront about his support for Donald Trump. With that argument, activists have explained that writing Kanye’s name on the ballot is pretty much the same thing as writing Trump’s name.
https://twitter.com/pat31517/status/1314679489696165888?s=20
Twitter users also expressed that Kanye’s tweet was, “attempted voter suppression.” They reminded voters that this is a way for West to take votes away from Biden, because of West’s connection with Donald Trump. Many Democrats are concerned this will take away Black or swing-state votes from Biden.
Harambe
The Harambe example is also being referred to help people understand how you are wasting a vote by writing Kanye’s name in the ballot. For the presidential election back in 2016, votes for a dead gorilla were all over the internet. Many were surprised to see that people used their civic duty rights on Harambe.
In case you didn’t know, Harambe was a silverback gorilla that was shot at a zoo in the Cincinnati Zoo. Zoo personnel shot the gorilla after a 3-year-old fell in his exhibit. Far-right liberals were looking for a reason as to why Hillary Clinton lost the election. It didn’t make much sense to people but after seeing how many votes Harambe received, they decided that those votes could have been a factor.
Now, obviously, a dead gorilla isn’t an option for president but it showed that people were more willing to vote for an animal than anyone that was listed on the ballot. Harambe received over 10,000 write-in votes. Just to clarify here, a dead gorilla received over 10,000 write-in votes for President of the United States. This example shows the potential outcomes of not treating an electoral ballot seriously, and bringing it back to the present day Kanye situation, it seems eerily similar to the Harambe one.
For many states, write-in paperwork is to be filed before the election. Only seven states allow write-in votes. Write-in candidates are mostly just treated like absentee ballots, which is why many urge voters not to write-in any candidates at all.
There are only 24 days left before the election and every vote counts. Make sure to check your voter registration and deadlines!
