Five Illinois voters have formally called on the state Board of Elections to bar Donald Trump from the ballot in the state’s primary election on March 19 and the general election on Nov. 5, becoming the 34th state to challenge his candidacy.
That’s according to WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, which cited a filing on Thursday that lays out their arguments. Just like several other states across the nation, they say his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot is a violation of the 14th Amendment’s provision blocking insurrectionists from holding public office.
Described by their lawyers as a “diverse group of voters,” they’ve teamed up with the non-partisan organization Free Speech for People and two Chicago law firms, according to the report.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The law must be obeyed. And if the laws aren’t obeyed, you lose your constitutional democracy. It’s really just that simple,” attorney Matthew Piers, a civil rights and constitutional law attorney whose firm helped draft the formal objection, told the news outlets.
“The framers of the 14th Amendment designed it specifically to address this very scenario where someone who has taken the oath of office and then engaged in insurrection is barred from future public office because they are a threat to the republic,” John Bonifaz, co-founder and president of Free Speech for People, was quoted as saying.
The state election board has previously hinted that it would punt the challenge to the courts or legislature, saying in response to previous questions about a potential challenge that “any such disqualifying action would likely come from court order or statute enacted by the General Assembly.”
According to the latest tally by The New York Times, Trump’s candidacy has already faced formal challenges in 33 states, excluding Illinois. Those challenges have been dismissed or rejected in 14 states, however, while a decision is pending in 17 other states and the former president’s disqualification in two others, Colorado and Maine, has been appealed.
