A Democrat judge ruled Wednesday that former President Donald Trump will be removed from the upcoming Republican presidential primary ballot in Illinois. The Democrat state judge claimed that the former president engaged in insurrection over his alleged role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
State Circuit Court Judge Tracie R. Porter ruled Wednesday that the Illinois State Board of Elections “shall remove Donald J. Trump from the ballot for the General Primary Election on March 19, 2024, or cause any votes cast for him to be suppressed.”
Porter’s ruling reversed the decision announced last month by the Illinois State Board of Elections, which denied an objection to Trump’s name appearing on the state ballot, according to ABC7 Chicago. The petition was filed by five Illinois voters who claimed that Trump’s alleged role in the Capitol Hill protest following the 2020 presidential election was an act of “insurrection” and that the former president should be disqualified from holding office again under the 14th Amendment.
ABC7 Chicago reported that the Board of Elections voted unanimously to reject the objection last month, prompting the Illinois objectors to seek a judicial review by the Cook County Circuit Court, which led to Porter’s major ruling against the former president on Wednesday.
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Following Wednesday’s ruling in Illinois, a Trump campaign spokesperson released a statement obtained by The Daily Wire, claiming that the Democrat judge’s ruling was another example of how “Soros-funded Democrat front-groups” are interfering in the 2024 election in an attempt to “deny President Trump his rightful place on the ballot.”
“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,” the Trump spokesperson stated. “This is an unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal. In the meantime, President Trump remains on the Illinois ballot, is dominating the polls, and will Make America Great Again!”
While Porter claimed that Trump’s name should not appear on the 2024 Republican primary ballot due to the 14th Amendment’s clause that bans insurrections from holding public office, the former president has never been charged with insurrection.
Trump’s eligibility to appear on the 2024 ballot is expected to ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is considering an appeal by the former president that was brought after his name was removed from the 2024 Republican presidential primary in Colorado, according to Fox News. Trump’s name has also been removed from the ballot in Maine.
According to The Daily Wire, Porter’s order has been temporarily stayed until Friday to allow Trump to appeal the Illinois ruling.
