PEORIA, Ill. – Despite a ruling from a Cook County judge, election officials in central Illinois say you can still cast a vote for Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Cook County judge Tracie Porter ruled the former President must be removed from the March Republican primary ballot in Illinois. Porter sided with a group of Illinois voters who argued Trump should be disqualified from both the primary and general election ballots, for his alleged role in the January 6th attacks on the U.S. Capitol.
The order was stayed, with the expectation that Trump would appeal the decision, which happened on Thursday. Colorado and Maine have also removed Trump from their ballots, with the Supreme Court expecting to issue a ruling soon on his ballot status.
Peoria County Election Commission Executive Director Elizabeth Gannon says that means Trump will stay on the ballot, for now, and votes already cast for him in early voting will still count. After that, it’s a waiting game.
“We will just have to wait and see how this plays out in the court system, and we will be listening to the advice that is given to us from the Illinois State Board of Elections on how we need to proceed as it moves through that court system,” Gannon said.
Gannon says if Trump is removed from the ballot, state law says he can apply and run as a write-in candidate.
Woodford County Clerk Dawn Kupfer says nothing will change as far as her county’s ballots.
“Our ballots are already printed. We are already in early vote, he is on our ballot, we are not going to pay taxpayer dollars to reprint those,” Kupfer said.
Woodford County does not have electronic voting machines, and only uses paper ballots.
Kupfer says the county does have a plan if Trump is eventually ruled to be off the ballot. She says votes for him that have already been casted will not count.
Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman says the ruling is causing unnecessary confusion, saying that it could make people think Trump’s name is not on the ballot and they cannot vote for him, which is not the case.
He also called the timing “disappointing.”
“It just appears to be a way to make a statement and get involved in the election process, rather than allowing the process its own timetable to move through,” Ackerman said.
Ackerman says they will follow whatever guidance the state board of elections gives in regards to Trump’s status on the ballot.
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