Donald Trump will be included on the 2024 presidential primary ballot in Illinois, as the state’s Board of Elections unanimously voted to reject an attempt to remove the former president under the 14th Amendment.
On Tuesday, the eight-member board dismissed a lawsuit filed by four Illinois voters and Free Speech For People. The lawsuit challenged Trump’s eligibility to appear on the ballot, alleging his involvement in the January 6 Capitol attack.
The voters sought to disqualify Trump under Section Three of the 14th Amendment, commonly referred to as the insurrection clause. They pointed to decisions in Colorado and Maine where Trump was deemed to have violated this relatively obscure provision.
However, the Illinois Board of Election stated that they lacked the authority to determine Trump’s eligibility, as it posed a constitutional question requiring consideration beyond their jurisdiction.
GOP board member Catherine McCrory stated on Tuesday morning, “There’s no doubt in my mind that he manipulated, instigated, aided and abetted an insurrection on January 6, However, it’s not my place to rule on that today.”
The board made its decision just two days after the electoral board was instructed to reject the voters’ protest by a former judge who was recruited to provide a nonbinding opinion on the subject.
#BREAKING: Former President Donald J. Trump’s name will be allowed on the Illinois ballot for the March 19 primary according to the hearing results of the Illinois State Board of Elections Special State Officers Electoral Board Meeting – Petition Objections. The board finds that… https://t.co/aVKJgYeX89 pic.twitter.com/u8aM7aFb4v
— BlueRoomStream (@BlueRoomStream) January 30, 2024
Retired judge Clark Erickson admitted that the previous president’s actions on January 6th were compatible with waging an insurrection, despite his recommendation. Mr. Erickson countered that the board lacks “significant and sophisticated constitutional analysis,” which would be necessary to reach a firm determination.
In a brief oral hearing on Tuesday, Matthew Piers, representing the voters, argued that the state’s election code did not prohibit the board from determining Mr. Trump’s eligibility, asserting their responsibility to do so.
Piers underscored that evidence from the January 6 Congressional Committee suggested Trump aimed to disrupt Congress’s election certification on January 6, 2021, qualifying as an insurrection.
Adam Merrill, representing Mr. Trump, countered that the former president did not partake in an insurrection, and no evidence supported such a claim. Merrill deemed it “inappropriate” for the board to intervene, pointing to other states that have retained Trump’s name on their ballots.
The constitutional question now rests with the US Supreme Court, set to hear oral arguments on Trump’s ballot eligibility in Colorado next month.
Justices will assess whether Colorado erred in declaring January 6th an insurrection and classifying Trump as “an officer of the United States” during his outgoing presidency.
Colorado and Maine are the only states thus far to disqualify Trump from the 2024 presidential primary ballot. Trump faces or has faced challenges based on the 14th Amendment in at least 14 other states.
The decision can be appealed before the March 19th primary in Illinois.
