Peoria City Council candidate removed from at-large council ballot. Here's why
PEORIA — Shawn Allen, a captain in the United States Army Reserves and human resources director for a central Illinois-based company, has withdrawn his candidacy for an at-large City Council seat after a challenge to his petition for the position removed him from the ballot.
Candidates for at-large council seats were required to submit signatures and addresses from 166 eligible voters by Nov. 28.
The challenge, filed by Peoria resident Janis Straesser, claimed that many of Allen's signatures were invalid on the grounds that the individuals were either not registered to vote, not registered to vote at their listed address, or had not listed an address. Removing the invalid signatures left the candidate short of the 166-signature threshold.
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Allen announced his withdrawal from the race in a Facebook post on Monday evening.
"I want to thank all of you that showed early and strong support for my run and to those who contributed to my campaign," he wrote. "I wish all of the candidates vying for one of the five At-Large seats the best of luck as they move forward to the General."
Allen previously ran for city clerk in 2021 but was defeated by Stefanie Tarr.
The deadline for challenging candidates' signatures passed on Monday, meaning that the other 10 candidates, including three incumbents and seven challengers, will remain on the ballot.
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Allen's removal means that there will no longer be a February primary election in the at-large council race. With a field of 11 candidates, the primary would have eliminated one candidate before the April 4 general election.
Peoria residents voting in at-large races will each have five votes to cast for candidates, with the option to cast all five votes for one candidate, or split their votes up among multiple candidates.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria City Council candidate removed from ballot, primary canceled
