UPDATED: Trump Allowed on Illinois Ballot, Issue Likely Heads to Court
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally outside of Quincy in 2022.
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The Illinois State Board of Elections has followed along with the recommendation of a retired Republican judge Tuesday to allow former President Donald Trump to remain on the March primary ballot even though, the judge argues he shouldn’t.
A group of Democrats filed a challenge to Trump’s nominating petitions based on an interpretation of the 14th Amendment, that the actions of January 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol were precipitated by Trump engaging in an insurrection.
The recommendation came from a hearing officer, retired Kankakee County judge Clark Erickson. Erickson’s recommendation is non-binding as the bipartisan Illinois State Board of Elections makes the final ruling on petition challenges.
“President Trump understood the divided political climate in the United States. He understood and exploited that climate for his own political gain by falsely and publicly claiming the election was stolen from him, even though every single piece of evidence demonstrated that his claim was demonstrably false,” Erickson wrote. “He understood the context of the events of Jan. 6, 2021 because he created the climate.”
Erickson’s main analysis detailed the State Board of Elections can’t make constitutional decisions and Trump’s eligibility should be settled by the courts.
The State Board of Elections voted 8-0 Tuesday to keep Trump on the ballot.
Per the Chicago Tribune, Republican board member Jack Vrett warned of a “floodgate” of ballot objections if the board went beyond its statutory review of candidacy petitions and papers to consider “underlying issues.”
“I think that we do not have jurisdiction to weigh in to the constitutional issue to decide the question of whether the candidate engaged in insurrection,” Vrett said.
In a post on his Truth Social media site, Trump thanked the state elections board for its vote “in protecting the Citizens of our Country from the Radical Left Lunatics who are trying to destroy it.”
Three challenges to President Joe Biden’s candidacy are also expected to be dismissed Tuesday. One challenge argued Biden was not eligible for the ballot because he used an out-of-state notary public for his statement of candidacy. Biden’s attorneys pointed out Trump’s statement of candidacy was notarized in Florida, Nikki Haley’s was notarized in South Carolina, and Chris Christie’s was notarized in Virginia.
You can read the whole Trump opinion here.