By Illinois Review
On Thursday morning, a group of Illinois voters filed a legal case with the Illinois State Board of Elections to try and block former President Donald J. Trump – the leading Republican candidate for President, from appearing on the Illinois Primary ballot on March 19th according to WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, who obtained the documents exclusively.
Formal challenges to remove Trump from primary ballots have been filed in at least 34 states over the last several weeks, according to the New York Times.
The group in Illinois is mirroring similar objections filed in other states – stating that Trump is disqualified by a provision in the 14th Amendment that prohibits “insurrectionists” from holding public office. The group believes that President Trump led an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 to protest certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s election results.
The ISBE has suggested that the decision on whether or not to keep or remove Trump from the March primary ballot should be left to the courts or the Illinois legislature, according to WBEZ.
President Trump is disqualified from appearing on the ballot in Colorado and Maine, and on Wednesday, the former president filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court asking to keep him on the Colorado ballot.
In a statement to Newsmax, Trump’s spokesperson Steven Cheung said,
“Democrats are obsessively violating the American voters’ Constitutional right to vote for the candidate of their choice. This is an un-American, unconstitutional act of election interference which cannot stand. We urge a clear, summary rejection of the Colorado Supreme Court’s wrongful ruling and the execution of a free and fair election this November.”
Last month, Colorado’s state Supreme Court removed Trump from the primary ballot based on the “insurrection” clause in an unprecedented ruling.
Justices on the Colorado Supreme Court were all appointed by Democratic governors.
Just days before New Year’s Eve, Maine became the second state to ban Trump from the primary ballot. Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows – a Democrat, ruled that Trump would be banned from appearing on the ballot for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s legal team has filed an appeal with the Maine Superior Court stating,
“[T]he Secretary’s Ruling was the product of a process infected by bias and pervasive lack of due process; is arbitrary, capricious, and characterized by abuse of discretion.”
In national polls, Trump is leading Biden in key swing states creating a nightmare scenario for Democrats.
Trump continues to dominate the Republican presidential primary field and he’s leading his fellow challengers by a staggering 32 points in Iowa.
By Mark Vargas, Editor-in-Chief & Opinion ContributorWhile Illinois families struggle under the nation's highest property taxes, rising living costs, and seemingly endless tax increases, state law continues to...
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