Trump campaign appeals Illinois judge’s ruling booting him from primary ballot
Fox News
Former President Trump’s campaign appealed a ruling from an Illinois judge that removed the 2024 presidential candidate from state ballots on Thursday.
The Trump campaign appeal contests Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter’s ruling that Trump is disqualified from candidacy under the Constitutional ban on “insurrectionists.”
Porter’s ruling reversed last month’s decision by the Illinois Board of Elections to keep Trump’s name on the primary ballot after a group of Illinois voters accused the former president of engaging in insurrection.
According to court documents obtained by Fox News, Porter urged the board to remove Trump or “cause any votes cast for him to be suppressed,” for violating section three of the 14th Amendment, or the “disqualification clause,” for engaging in insurrection.
TRUMP SAYS HE’S A ‘BELIEVER’ IN THE SUPREME COURT AFTER ORAL ARGUMENTS IN COLORADO BALLOT CASE
The Trump campaign promised an appeal within hours of the ruling, and the order is currently on hold until litigation can be completed.
HOUSE DEMOCRAT FROM MAINE RIPS STATE’S DECISION TO TAKE TRUMP OFF BALLOT
The court battle will likely be rendered moot thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court taking up the same question in an upcoming case. In the case, the court will consider for the first time the meaning and reach of Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
The relevant section states, “No person shall… hold any office… under the United States… who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States… to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Trump has not been charged with inciting an insurrection, but he does face allegations of election interference in Washington, D.C. and Georgia.
The court will make a decision no later than the end of June on whether Trump can be prosecuted for election interference, The Associated Press reports.
Illinois is now the third state where Trump was booted from the ballot, after Colorado and Maine.
Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report