COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Andrew Yang will not appear on the March Democratic primary ballot in Ohio due to issues with the required candidate paperwork his presidential campaign submitted to the state.

The Yang campaign announced late Friday it was withdrawing its candidate paperwork, and would instead mount a write-in campaign, according to The Hill.

Had Yang not withdrawn the paperwork, which includes signatures from registered Ohio voters, it likely would have been rejected. His campaign failed to include a section of the candidacy paperwork that signifies which candidate voters are providing their signatures for, according to state officials.

“As secretary of state, I’m duty-bound to follow the law, and the law is clear -- when Ohioans sign a petition, they deserve to know what they’re signing,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, said in a statement. “This is why petition forms must be submitted, complete with a statement from the candidate stating their intention to run. By their own admission, the Yang campaign failed to do that.

”I sincerely sympathize with those who hoped to support his candidacy in the Ohio primary -- it’s truly unfortunate that the Yang campaign has let them down," said LaRose, Ohio’s top elections official.

LaRose added that many other candidates, including presidential candidates, have successfully completed the paperwork requirements since it became law decades ago.

In an email to cleveland.com, Yang’s campaign shared comments he also made to The Hill in a story published Friday and said it would launch a write-in campaign.

“My campaign submitted nearly three times the amount of signatures needed,” Yang said in the statement sent to cleveland.com. “Nevertheless, because of a bureaucratic paperwork issue caused by an awkwardly-worded law, nearly 3,000 Ohioans’ First Amendment rights have been denied.”

The story from The Hill also included a supportive statement from Mary Jo Kilroy, a former Democratic congresswoman from the Columbus area. The story said Kilroy is not endorsing Yang, but supports his write-in effort.

Yang is not considered a top-tier presidential candidate, but his outsider campaign has attracted an unexpected level of support, especially on social media. The New York entrepreneur and first-time candidate has shown resilience, staying in the race as several more experienced candidates have dropped out.