Illinois elections board votes to keep Trump on primary ballot

The Illinois State Board of Elections ruled Tuesday that former President Trump can remain on the state’s primary ballot, marking a key victory in the Democratic stronghold.

The eight-member state commission, including four Republicans and four Democrats, made the decision unanimously.

The former president’s position in the Prairie State primary, scheduled for March 19, was announced earlier this month by a group of voters represented by the national nonprofit group Free Speech for the People. Questions were raised after he filed a petition asking that his name not be published. Voted citing the “insurrection” clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Trump celebrated the decision in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.

“I’m grateful that the Illinois State Board of Elections made an 8-0 decision to protect our people from the radical left lunatics who want to destroy our country,” he wrote. “The vote was 8-0 in favor of keeping your favorite president (me!) on the ballot. I love Illinois. Let’s make America great again!”

group of voters claimed in the submitted documents Under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Trump was ineligible to run for president. The article states that certain officials who take an oath to “support the Constitution of the United States” “may be disqualified if they engage in rebellion.” ”

Hearing Judge Clark Erickson, a former Republican judge, discussed prior to the Illinois Board of Regents meeting. “I cannot imagine that the Board would decide whether candidate Trump is disqualified under Article III without conducting a significant and sophisticated constitutional analysis,” he said, urging him to reject the motion to exclude President Trump from the vote. Recommended.

But Erickson suggested Trump’s name should be removed from the primary ballot “if the board decides not to follow the hearing officer’s recommendation to grant the nominee’s motion to remove.”

Ahead of the state board’s vote, Marni Marowitz, general counsel for the Illinois State Board of Elections, advised its eight members not to remove Trump’s name from ballots, and election officials said the 14th Amendment It explained that the legal question as to whether the Article 2 challenge applies would need to be addressed. Go to the president’s office.

All board members voted to keep Trump on the ballot, but one board member prefaced the vote by saying he believed the former president had committed an insurrection.

“I want to be clear that this Republican believes there was a riot on January 6th. There’s no question about it,” board member Catherine McCrory said. . “But that being said, it’s not my place to judge that today.”

Recent decisions in Maine and Colorado cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to uphold Trump’s exclusion from their respective primary ballots.

But Trump’s name will remain on primary ballots in Colorado and Maine, as the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments next week. The ruling will affect whether Trump’s name appears on other primary ballots across the country.

Updated: 3:22 p.m.