Election: Kanye West voted for himself for president, but it won’t count unless he does some paperwork

The rapper, music producer, fashion designer and husband of reality-TV star Kim Kardashian launched a campaign for president over the Fourth of July weekend, while simultaneously starting to promote a new album that has since been delayed. His announcement came after the deadline to register a presidential campaign in most states, and West and running mate Michelle Tidball appeared on ballots in only a dozen states Tuesday.

Wyoming, where West voted Tuesday for what he said was the first time in his life, was not one of those states, so West tweeted out photos and videos in which he wrote in his name for president and Tidball’s name for vice president.  None of the other races on the ballot were filled out in the video West posted.

That vote will not be counted as a vote for Kanye West without some more work, though. Wyoming does not automatically count write-in votes individually for the candidates whose names are written in unless they win the election — The Associated Press called the state for President Donald Trump soon after polls closed in the state Tuesday — or file paperwork and pay a fee with the relevant elections officials in the state. They are catalogued as generic “write-in votes,” Wyoming secretary of state spokeswoman Monique Meese confirmed Tuesday.

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Meese told MarketWatch on Tuesday that no candidate had filed to count their write-in votes in the 2020 presidential election so far, though they can apply and pay the fee up to two days after the election. Kanye West’s campaign did not immediately respond to MarketWatch’s inquiry if it plans to file the necessary paperwork in Wyoming.

West received the backing of friend Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla Inc. TSLA, +5.84%, after announcing his candidacy, but eventually only held one official campaign event. At a rally in South Carolina, West made controversial statements like, “there’s no such thing as an illegal immigrant” and “Harriet Tubman never actually freed the slaves.” Kardashian later described the South Carolina event as a bi-polar episode.

West had asked voters to write his name in for president in his other home state of California, after the American Independent Party placed his name on the ballot as its vice presidential candidate without his permission. However, West did not fill out the paperwork to be approved as a write-in candidate in California, which recognized five write-in candidates for the 2020 presidential election, including former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura.

West, who is on the presidential ballot in 12 states, according to the New York Times, is unlikely to win any electoral votes.

“God is so good,” West wrote on Twitter TWTR, +5.72%. “Today I am voting for the first time in my life for the President of the United States, and it’s for someone I truly trust…me.”