POLITICS, HISTORY, ELECTIONS
Trump Banned From the Ballot in Illinois
The Fourteenth Amendment: actions have consequences
Illinois, the “Land of Lincoln,” is a state with nineteen electoral votes (tied for the fifth most important in the American electoral college). Now it has joined Colorado and Maine to remove Donald Trump’s name from the Republican presidential primary ballot. This move, unless blocked by the United States Supreme Court, is the latest in a series to keep Trump off the ballot.
Illinois Circuit Court Judge Tracie R. Porter announced the judgment. It will not take effect until March 1st, to give time for Trump to appeal. His lawyers did so Thursday night. The Illinois presidential primary is on March 19th. But early voting begins March 4th, the day before Super Tuesday.
His removal rests on the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This Amendment prohibits an insurrectionist from holding office:
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a…