A state judge in Illinois ruled Wednesday that former President Donald J. Trump had engaged in insurrection and was ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot.
The decision by Judge Tracie R. Porter of the State Circuit Court in Cook County was stayed until Friday. Judge Porter, a Democrat, said the State Board of Elections had erred in rejecting an attempt to remove Mr. Trump and said the board “shall remove Donald J. Trump from the ballot for the General Primary Election on March 19, 2024, or cause any votes cast for him to be suppressed.”
Early voting in the Illinois primary is already underway. Because Judge Porter stayed her order, Mr. Trump can remain on the ballot at least until Friday, giving him a chance to appeal the order.
“Today, an activist Democrat judge in Illinois summarily overruled the state’s board of elections and contradicted earlier decisions from dozens of other state and federal jurisdictions,” a Trump campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, said in a statement. “This is an unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal.”
Judge Porter’s ruling made Illinois the third and most populous state where Mr. Trump was ruled ineligible on constitutional grounds.
The Colorado Supreme Court and Maine’s Democratic secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, each found Mr. Trump ineligible. Mr. Trump, who is leading in Republican primary polls, has appealed those decisions, and his campaign has described the attempts to remove him from the ballot as antidemocratic.
Mr. Trump has appealed the Colorado and Maine rulings and is likely to appear on ballots in both states. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Colorado appeal on Feb. 8 in a case that could determine Mr. Trump’s eligibility for the ballot nationally. Justices across the ideological spectrum appeared skeptical of the reasoning used to disqualify Mr. Trump. It is not clear when they will issue a ruling.
Judge Porter said her ruling would be further stayed if the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in the Colorado case inconsistent with her findings.
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