An Illinois judge removed Donald Trump from the state’s ballot citing the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause, but postponed the decision pending appeal.
The ruling contradicted other jurisdictions and will likely be overturned.
Trump’s campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, wrote in a statement, “Today, an activist Democrat judge in Illinois summarily overruled the state’s board of elections and contradicted earlier decisions from dozens of other state and federal jurisdictions.”
Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter wrote that her “decision could not be the ultimate outcome.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is considering a similar Colorado case to remove Trump for his alleged role in the January 6th Capitol riot.
During oral arguments, conservative justices expressed skepticism that states can bar candidates under the insurrection clause, with Justice Alito noting the severe precedent it could set.
Justice Samuel Alito asked, “Suppose there is a country that proclaims again and again and again that the United States is its biggest enemy, and suppose that the president of the United States, for diplomatic reasons, thinks it is in the best interest of the United States to provide funds or release funds so that they can be used by that country, could a state determine that person has given aid and comfort to the enemy and therefore keep that person off of the ballot?”
The Colorado state government ruled that Trump’s “direct and express efforts, over several months, exhorting his supporters to march to the Capitol to prevent what he falsely characterized as an alleged fraud on the people of this country were indisputably overt and voluntary.”
Trump’s attorneys argued to “Put a swift and decisive end to these ballot-disqualification efforts, which threaten to disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans and which promise to unleash chaos and bedlam.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson also voiced doubts, pointing out that the presidency is not explicitly mentioned in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Justice Jackson asked, “But then why didn’t they put the word ‘president’ in the very enumerated list in Section 3?”
Justice Jackson added, “The thing that really is troubling to me is, I totally understand your argument, but they were listing people that were barred, and ‘president’ is not there. And so, I guess that just makes me worry that maybe they weren’t focusing on the president.”
The court will issue a ruling shortly that could impact ballot access and set an important precedent on states’ ability to remove candidates from the ballot.
Citing the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause, an Illinois judge removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s ballot on Wednesday.
Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter immediately postponed the decision, pending an appeal, while the Supreme Court considers a related Colorado case that aims to disqualify the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination due to the candidate’s alleged involvement in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
