Chicago, Ill. (CN) — Former President Donald Trump will remain on the 2024 Republican primary ballot in Illinois, the state's Board of Elections decided unanimously on Tuesday.
A group of Illinois voters filed an objection to Trump's candidacy on Jan. 4, saying he's disqualified from appearing on the ballot based on language in the 14th Amendment.
Voters in other states who seek to boot Trump from the presidential have applied similar logic, claiming that Trump’s involvement with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot violated the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment, which states that no former U.S. official can hold a civil or military office if they have "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the country.
The group of Illinois voters wrote in their filing that Trump’s nomination papers can't be considered valid because, as required by Illinois state law, he swore in his candidacy statement that he is "qualified" for presidential office.
"He did so falsely, based on his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, events," they wrote.
Ahead of Tuesday's ruling, Clark Erickson, a retired judge from Kankakee and the board's hearing officer, found that Trump's role in the insurrection would make him ineligible for presidency, but that decision should be adjudicated by the courts, not the state's election board.
"[A]ttempting to resolve a constitutional issue within the expedited schedule of an election board hearing is somewhat akin to scheduling a two-minute round between heavyweight boxers in a telephone booth," Erickson, a Republican, wrote in his ruling.
Adam Merrill, an attorney from the Trump campaign, agreed with Erickson's characterization of the role of the election board.
"This is a political question that is not capable of adjudication by the board or really in court," Merrill said during Tuesday's board meeting. "The 14th Amendment, the third section of the 14th Amendment, was meant to be enforced by Congress."
Matthew Piers, a Chicago attorney representing the group of voters, disagreed with the Erickson’s analysis of the board’s place in adjudicating election decisions.
He argued that the board must uphold its constitutional duty and adopt Erickson’s record, which found that Trump did engage in insurrection.
“You must obey the constitution, just as I must obey the constitution, and everybody in this room must,” Piers said to the board. "The factual record that was found and recommended by judges should be adopted by this board.”
Two other states, Colorado and Maine, have also disqualified Trump from the ballot, teeing up a Supreme Court review of his eligibility.
After a lower Colorado court ordered Trump’s name to be printed on the 2024 ballot, Second Judicial District Judge Sarah Wallace agreed that the former president had incited an insurrection — but wasn’t convinced that the Constitution's description of “an officer of the United States” included the president. Then, a divided Colorado Supreme Court reversed Wallace's ruling.
"We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us,” the majority opinion from that Colorado court states. “We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach."
Trump has challenged that decision, arguing that the court not only misinterpreted the 14th Amendment, but also overstepped its authority in removing him from the primary ballot. He maintained that he played no role in the insurrection.
“Mr. Trump did not engage in insurrection as that term is used in the Constitution. It is a complicated legal term that has been rarely interpreted and it wasn't even articulated correctly by the hearing officer in this case,” Merrill said during Tuesday's Board of Elections meeting.
In Maine, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows agreed with the Colorado Supreme Court’s characterization of Trump’s role in the insurrection and she issued a ruling eliminating him from her state’s primary ballot.
“I do not reach this conclusion lightly,” Bellows wrote in her decision. “I am mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the 14th Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
Trump has repeatedly called upon Bellows to recuse herself, claiming she has a personal bias against him. His lawyers called Bellows’ ruling another example of a “Biden supporter who is incapable of making a fair decision.”
Challengers in other states have been less successful in their fight against Trump’s candidacy. While decisions are still pending in some jurisdictions, objections to Trump appearing on the ballot have been rejected in California and Michigan.
“The former president’s conduct tainted and continues to sow the public’s mistrust in government and the legitimacy of elections, so it is more critical than ever to safeguard elections in a way that transcends political divisions,” California Secretary of State Shirley Weber wrote on Dec. 22 when she published the list of candidates for the 2024 election.
Michigan's Supreme Court found that removing Trump from the primary ballot would be premature because “whether Trump prevails in the primary process or becomes the Republican nominee for president are purely hypothetical questions at present,” according to its Dec. 14 ruling.
The bipartisan election board voted in favor of keeping Trump on the ballot in part, to avoid further litigation.
"If we exceeded our authority and went beyond the documents and the nominating petitions and we looked at the underlying conduct that was alleged in this case, what I believe you would see is an opening of a floodgate of litigation," board member Jack Vrett said.
Republican board member Catherine McCrory agreed with Vrett's depiction that the board didn't have the authority to rule on the matter, but made a point to condemn Trump for his role in the election.
"There is no doubt in my mind that he manipulated, instigated, aided and abetted an insurrection on January 6," McCory said. "However, having said that, it is not my place to rule on that today. So, I will say 'yes' to the motion as far as not having jurisdiction to rule on that fact today."
Trump took to his social media site Truth Social to share his reaction to the Illinois board's ruling.
"Thank you to the Illinois State Board of Elections for ruling 8-0 in protecting the Citizens of our Country from the Radical Left Lunatics who are trying to destroy it. The VOTE was 8-0 in favor of keeping your favorite President (ME!) on the Ballot. I love Illinois. Make America Great Again!" he wrote.
Piers indicated that he plans to appeal the board's decision.
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