Trump kicked off Illinois primary ballot over January 6 role

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he departs after speaking during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, in Oxon Hill, United States, February 24, 2024. ALEX BRANDON / AP

A judge in the US state of Illinois on Wednesday, February 29, ordered former President Donald Trump stricken off the state's primary ballot over his role in the January 6 Capitol riot.
The decision by Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter comes as similar anti-Trump ballot measures have cropped up in several states, including a Colorado ruling now before the US Supreme Court.
The question before the nine US justices is whether Trump, the presumed Republican presidential candidate, is ineligible to appear on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Colorado because he engaged in an insurrection – the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.
Earlier this month, the high Court signaled it was skeptical of the Colorado ruling. Trump blasted the Illinois decision as politically motivated and unjust.

"Democrat front-groups continue to attempt to interfere in the election and deny President Trump his rightful place on the ballot," Trump's campaign said, vowing to appeal the decision.

Anticipating pushback, the judge in Illinois put her decision on pause until Friday to allow an appeal.

"In the meantime, President Trump remains on the Illinois ballot, is dominating the polls, and will Make America Great Again!" Trump's campaign said.

Colorado and more than a dozen other states are to hold their presidential nominating contests on March 5 – also known as "Super Tuesday" – and the Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling before then.

Le Monde with AFP

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29 Feb, 2024 00:56

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Trump axed from another US state ballot

Illinois has joined two other states’ efforts to prevent the former commander-in-chief from vying for the GOP nomination

An Illinois judge has ruled that former US President Donald Trump cannot appear on the state’s Republican primary ballots, ordering local election officials to strike his name from the running.

Trump’s legal team was given just two days to appeal.

The order will take effect on March 1, allowing Trump’s legal team only a brief window to appeal the decision, according to the Hill. Illinois’ primary race kicks off on March 19.

Cook County Judge Tracie Porter handed down the decision on Wednesday, claiming that Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol disqualified him from seeking reelection in Illinois.

She cited the 14th Amendment’s Insurrection Clause, which bars former US officials from returning to military or civilian office if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.”

The ruling comes after a group of Illinois voters filed a formal objection to Trump’s candidacy with the state elections board, also pointing to his alleged “participation in the Jan. 6, 2021 events.” While officials later voted unanimously to retain his name on the GOP ballot, the move prompted a legal challenge from the voters’ lawyers, who presented the same argument to the court.

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The case marks the third attempt in as many states to prevent Trump’s nomination, after litigants in Colorado and Maine also sought to disqualify the former president on the basis of the Insurrection Clause.

However, rulings in those cases have been paused pending an appeal at the US Supreme Court, which has signaled skepticism toward the plaintiffs.

During a hearing earlier this month, a majority of justices questioned whether state officials had the authority to apply the Insurrection Clause to presidential candidates, with liberal Justice Elena Kagan questioning “why a single state should decide who gets to be president of the United States.”

Conservative-leaning Justice Amy Coney Barret similarly said “it just doesn't seem like a state call.”

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Despite the legal hurdles, Trump has swept every GOP primary contest so far, taking easy wins in Michigan, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

The ex-president still faces criminal cases in multiple states, however, including for his alleged interference in the 2020 election, a hush-money scheme with porn actress Stormy Daniels, as well as charges linked to the improper handling of classified material. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in each case, rejecting the allegations as politically motivated.