A Cook County judge ruled Wednesday that the Illinois State Board of Elections must remove former President Donald Trump’s name from the state’s March 19 primary ballot. However, she put her order on hold until Friday to allow her appeal.
A group of voters seeking to remove Trump’s name from primary ballots over the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has filed a lawsuit against the election board, which unanimously rejected the effort. Judge Tracy Porter handed down the sentence. Five voters argued that Trump was unfit to serve as president because he did little more than encourage the riots at the Capitol.
The lawsuit is one of dozens filed to remove President Trump from the ballot, and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits anyone “engaged in insurrection” from becoming president. They argue that President Trump is not eligible because of a rarely used provision that prohibits it. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard an appeal of a Colorado ruling that removed Trump from the ballot and signaled it would likely reject the strategy. Like the Illinois ruling, the Colorado ruling will be stayed pending appeals.
In his 38-page ruling, Porter said the voter group’s petition had met its burden and should be granted, and that the election board’s decision was “clearly wrong.”
“This is a historic victory,” said Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech For People, co-lead counsel on the case. “Every court and official that has discussed President Trump’s constitutional fitness has found him disqualified from the Presidency for inciting an insurrection after his oath of office.”
Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chan issued a statement saying, “An activist Democratic judge in Illinois quickly overruled the state election board, contradicting previous decisions in dozens of other states and federal jurisdictions.” I did,” he said. This is an unconstitutional ruling and we plan to appeal it immediately. ”
Porter said her order would be stayed if the Supreme Court’s decision ultimately “contradicts” her ruling.