Hearing officer finds Trump incited insurrection, election board to decide ballot issue

Early voting starting in less than two weeks, the Illinois State Board of Elections is expected to issue rulings Tuesday regarding ballot challenges levied against a slate of presidential candidates.

In a joint meeting held in Chicago and Springfield, the state election authority's General Counsel will review the objections filed against President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The eight-person body will determine whether the candidates' names can remain on the primary ballot, scheduled for March 19.

Here's what you need to know.

What is the basis of the objections?

Oral arguments were heard last week in the objection against Trump and two of the three objections against Biden, both respective frontrunners in the 2024 race.

Trump objectors point to the U.S. Constitution in their case against the former president, saying he violated the 14th Amendment by inciting the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Scott Gessler, a Trump campaign attorney, pushed back on that notion Friday.

"The timeline is that the violence started well before President Trump is even finished speaking and certainly well before anyone could get down there after his speech," he said.

More: Does the objection to Trump on the Illinois primary ballot have a chance? What we know

The hearing officer in Trump's case, assigned to review the merits of the case before providing a recommendation to the general counsel, agreed with objectors in finding that the candidate knowingly engaged in an insurrection.

"(Trump) used these false claims to garner further political support for his own benefit by inflaming the emotions of his supporters to convince them that the election was stolen from him and that American democracy wasbeing undermined," wrote retired Kankakee County Republican Judge Clark Erickson in his report. "He understood the context of the events of January 6, 2021, because he created the climate."

However, Erickson states that rulings on constitutional matters fall outside of SBE jurisdiction and must be instead reviewed by the courts. The counsel still retains the right to rule against the non-binding opinion if five members rule to sustain the objection.

Two ballot challenges against Biden also center on the 14th Amendment but on a separate provision. Objectors detailed policies of the administration that they say have provided "aid or comfort to the enemies" to the U.S. and therefore is ineligible to hold office.

Specifically, the objectors asserted on Friday that the president's border policies were allowing drugs and cartels to enter the country illegally. Biden's legal representation, attorney Kevin Morphew, said the challenges were not based on anything about a candidate's ballot qualification but instead on policy disagreements.

"They offered no evidence that is reliable or truthful beyond mere political statements," he said. "This is a policy argument couched as a qualifications challenge."

Another objection alleges Biden's nomination papers were notarized by a notary public in Washington D.C. in violation of state election code, which requires the notary to be commissioned by Illinois. Hearing officer David Herman recommended all of the objections to Biden be overruled.

SBE has heard objections in past years to several presidential candidates including Michael Bloomberg, Hillary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama — all of which were allowed to remain on the ballot. Obama faced three challenges to his candidacy based on false allegations about his citizenship in 2012.

A challenge had been levied against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley this year, claiming the campaign had an insufficient amount of signatures. That objection has since been withdrawn.

What's next?

Should the counsel rule in accordance with the hearing officers, any further business with removing a candidate would not go before SBE but instead to the courts. Several of Biden objectors have said they would consider that action if SBE does not rule in their favor.

A growing number of states nationwide have declined to issue rulings in challenges filed against Trump, instead deferring to the U.S. Supreme Court. The nation's high court agreed to review a now-paused Colorado ruling that would remove him from the ballot. An oral hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 8.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Gov. JB Pritzker have said the issue facing SBE should be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court.

What is a ballot objection?

SBE receives objections from Illinois voters requesting a candidate be removed from the ballot typically due to an issue with the candidate's nomination papers. This year alone, the board received 88 objections against candidates running for federal, state, and judicial offices.

Accusations vary, but objections often allege that a candidate did not receive enough signatures, had improperly notarized paperwork, or did not file an economic statement of interest.

The counsel ruled earlier this month to keep Village of Chatham Trustee and Democratic candidate for the Illinois House District 95 Kristen Chiaro on the ballot. Objectors claimed her candidacy was invalid since she signed the nomination papers of Republican candidate Kelvin Coburn in addition to her own.

She was allowed to stay on the ballot since she signed her papers before signing Coburn's, who had dropped out of the race before the ruling.

Reporter Claire Grant of The State Journal-Register contributed to this report.

Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Ballot challenges to Trump, Biden: Decisions to be levied Tuesday