Kanye West has asked fans to sign a petition calling for him to be added to the presidential election ballot in South Carolina.

The rap superstar announced he was running for the White House earlier this month, but doubts persist over how seriously to take his bid.

This week it emerged he has qualified to appear on the presidential ballot in Oklahoma after making Wednesday’s deadline to register as an independent candidate.

However, it appears he missed the cut-off to run in South Carolina. According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), that state also had a deadline of Wednesday.

West appears to be hoping public opinion can sway officials and he shared a petition on Twitter.

He said: “If you’re a voter in South Carolina, please sign this petition to place me on the ballot Sponsored by Ye 2020.”

The online petition is paid for by the Kanye 2020 political committee. The committee filed paperwork with the FEC this week, indicating West, who is married to the reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, is serious about running.

Though that appeared to be contradicted by New York Magazine’s Intelligencer, which reported West adviser Steve Kramer saying “he’s out”.

While the Kanye 2020 committee has filed the statement organisation form, also known as FEC Form 1, the next step would be filing a statement of candidacy, or FEC Form 2, the FEC said.

That is filed when an individual has raised or spent more than 5,000 dollars (about £3,900) in campaign activity, triggering candidacy status.

No record of a Kanye 2020 FEC Form 2 appears online as of Friday.