- The Cook County judge sided with voters who tried to kick Trump out of the primary ahead of the state’s March 19 Republican primary.
- The US Supreme Court has weighed in on whether states can kick Trump off the ballot by using an argument about his alleged participation in January 6
An Illinois judge has expelled former President Donald Trump from the Illinois Republican primary over his alleged role in the January 6 Capitol riots.
Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter ruled in favor of Illinois voters who argued that Trump should be disqualified from the state’s mid-March primary, as well as the Nov. 5 general election.
Voters made their case about Trump’s conduct on January 6, 2021, when he allegedly violated the anti-insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Porter delayed the entry into force of her ruling in light of an unexpected appeal filed by the former president’s legal team.
An Illinois judge has kicked out former President Donald Trump from the Republican primary in Illinois over his alleged role in the January 6 Capitol riots.
Voters made their case about Trump’s conduct on January 6, 2021, when he allegedly violated the anti-insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment
The legal arguments for banning him from the ballot largely revolve around a new application of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which hinges largely on whether or not the January 6 riots can be defined as an insurrection.
Illinois is currently one of a handful of states seeking to disqualify the likely Republican nominee for president from both the primary and general elections.
The legal arguments for banning him from the ballot largely revolve around a new application of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which hinges largely on whether or not the January 6 riots can be defined as an insurrection.
The U.S. Supreme Court took up the question after a Colorado court tried to do the same; the judiciary is expected to make a decision on the case soon.
The court is widely expected to reject arguments that Trump should be barred from office.
Porter’s ruling relied heavily on the Colorado Supreme Court’s earlier ruling, whose decision the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to call incorrect.
The judge wrote in her ruling that she is “aware of the magnitude of this decision and its impact on the upcoming Illinois primary elections.”
“The Illinois State Board of Elections will remove Donald J. Trump from the ballot for the March 19, 2024 general primary election, or cause votes cast for him to be suppressed.”
Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter ruled in favor of Illinois voters who argued that Trump should be disqualified from the state’s mid-March primary as well as the Nov. 5 general election.
Three states have now attempted to remove Trump from the ballot ahead of the primaries and general election
Trump’s legal team has been given a short window to appeal Porter’s decision
Porter removed Trump from the ballot a month after the same challenge was rejected by the Illinois State Board of Elections — a bipartisan body that voted unanimously to dismiss the case because they claimed they had no jurisdiction over the case.
Wednesday’s decision makes Illinois the third state — after Colorado and Maine — to try to kick Trump off the ballot.
Both prior states’ decisions were stayed pending appeal of the Colorado case to SCOTUS.