This news story says that Kanye West is petitioning in multiple states. That part of the story is near the bottom.
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U.S House member John Lewis died last week. He represented Georgia’s Fifth District. The Georgia primaries were held on June 9 (although the run-off primaries still haven’t been held), so the law lets the Democratic Party state executive committee choose a new Democratic nominee. See this story. That meeting will be Monday, July 20. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.
On July 16, a statewide petition was submitted in Illinois for the Willie Wilson Party. It lists Willie Wilson as its candidate for U.S. Senate. Wilson is a wealthy businessman who, in the past, had sought the Democratic presidential nomination.
This petition would not have been possible before 2017, when the Libertarian Party won its lawsuit against the law that formerly required new parties to submit a complete list of nominees. Under the old law, the Willie Wilson Party would have been required to run someone for president as well as U.S. Senate. President and U.S. Senate are the only two statewide offices up in Illinois this year.
If Wilson polls at least 5% of the vote, his party will then be ballot-qualified for all statewide offices in 2022 in Illinois. Thanks to Brad Cox for this news. Here is a Chicago Tribune story about the Wilson campaign.
Perhaps this development will stir interest in ranked-choice voting among leaders of the Illinois Democratic Party.
Sunday, July 19, is the last full day for independent presidential candidates to petition in South Carolina. The petition is due at noon, Monday, July 20. Kanye West is holding a rally in North Charleston on July 19, hoping to attract enough supporters to complete his petition. See this story. Attendees must have signed up in advance; social distancing will be enforced.
This technique is somewhat similar to the methods George Wallace used to get on the general election ballot in 1968, in the states with difficult requirements. In California, Wallace held many rallies to attract supporters, so that they could re-register into his American Independent Party at the meetings.
New York magazine has this story about Kanye West’s petitioning in South Carolina.
The end of the article says Michigan requires 30,000 signatures, but that is not accurate. Michigan requires 12,000. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
UPDATE: see this article, which says that South Carolina does accept some kinds of electronic signatures.