An Illinois judge on Wednesday barred former President Donald Trump from participating in the state’s Republican primary ballot over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Illinois is the third state, after Colorado and Maine, to exclude President Trump, 77, from the primary ballot due to the so-called “insurrection clause” of the 14th Amendment.
Cook County Circuit Judge Tracy Porter (D) put the order on hold until March 1 to give the former president time to appeal.
Porter’s decision comes after the bipartisan Illinois State Board of Elections ruled last month that it did not have the authority to rule on whether the Republican front-runner’s role in the riot was unconstitutional, and that the nonpartisan Illinois State Board of Elections ruled that it did not have the authority to decide whether the Republican front-runner’s role in the riot was unconstitutional. Rejected.
“This court shares the sentiments of the Colorado Supreme Court, which did not reach its conclusion lightly,” Porter wrote in his book. 72 page judgment.
“This court recognizes the magnitude of this decision and its impact on future Illinois primary elections.”
“The final decision of this court on this issue is [Trump] His name should be removed from the ballot because he does not meet Section 3 of the 14th Amendment’s disqualification clause based on his participation in the riot on January 6, 2021. ”
The challenge to Trump’s candidacy in Illinois was led by the liberal advocacy group Free Speech For People.
The Colorado Supreme Court’s December ruling excluding Trump from the vote is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Trump’s favor.
Maine Secretary of State Shena Bellows, a Democrat, also ruled in December that Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot.
Following the Colorado court’s lead, Bellows cited the Constitution’s Insurrection Clause in his order.
Her ruling is on hold pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on President Trump’s appeal of Colorado’s order.
The high court has not previously decided a case involving Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868 to prevent former Confederate members from returning to office after the Civil War, but it It has hardly been used since then.
Some legal scholars have criticized Trump for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election and encouraging his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol after losing to Democrat Joe Biden. It claims that the clause applies.
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed across the United States seeking to remove Trump from office under Article III.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers argue that the provision is vague and unclear, and that Jan. 6 does not meet the legal definition of an insurrection.
Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chan previously pointed to court rulings in Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Arizona, Florida, Rhode Island and West Virginia that would require constitutional amendments against Trump’s candidacy. It argued that the numerous Article 14 challenges were “malicious” and “phony.” He declared that the former president may appear on the state’s primary ballot.
Illinois State Board of Elections Commissioner Jack Brett (R) warned that removing Trump from the state’s ballot would set a dangerous precedent.
“If we allow them to say, ‘Don’t just look at the paper, look at the underlying suspicions,’ the floodgates will open,” Vrette said.
He added: “Any potential school board candidate will seek to challenge the qualifications of their rivals based on allegations of criminal conduct.”
The Illinois Republican primary will be held on March 19th.
