Pritzker: Let U.S. Supreme Court decide on ballot objections to Trump, Biden

Gov. JB Pritzker is responding to ballot challenges filed by Illinois voters who are attempting to keep President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump off the primary ballot.

Following an earlier objection to Trump, a set of three objections were filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Jan. 12 against Biden on varying grounds. Pritzker, who campaigned Monday on Biden's behalf in Iowa, is in favor of the U.S. Supreme Court addressing the question of candidate eligibility.

"We need to know what the rules are to be going forward," he said at an unrelated event in Rochester Thursday. "I think we're all going to abide by whatever it is they decide."

More: Illinois voters assert Biden 'ineligible' to run for office, move to strike him from ballot

The discussion surrounding presidential candidate eligibility to appear on the primary ballot comes as ISBOE weighs objections to Biden, Trump, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

A Wednesday meeting held simultaneously at ISBOE offices in Springfield and Chicago was a procedural matter where hearing officers were assigned to the objections. Those officers will meet with both sides over the coming days before the state election authority's general counsel convenes on Jan. 30 to make final decisions.

Several of Biden's objectors spoke with the media at the MacArthur office.

Shane Bouvet, Timothy Conrad, former U.S. Senate candidate Peggy Hubbard, and Terry Newsome filed an objection asserting Biden is ineligible to hold public office for supporting enemies of the U.S. - a violation of the 14th Amendment. Those "enemies" identified in their objection are a wide assortment of countries such as China and Iran and groups like MS-13.

Objections to Biden and Trump focus on the Civil War-era amendment but on separate provisions within it. The challenge to Trump is based on the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Biden objectors said their argument is as strong as the rising number of challenges nationwide to Trump's candidacy. Several states, including Maine and Colorado, are waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a ruling before deciding whether to remove the Republican front-runner from the primary ballot. The high court will hear oral arguments on Feb. 8.

Conrad and Beth Findley Smith are also part of a separate objection that alleges Biden used a notary public outside of Illinois to notarize his nomination papers.

Smith, a registered notary public and La Salle County board member said the papers were notarized by a Washington D.C. notary.

Haley's objection

Coming off a third-place finish in the Iowa Caucus, details on Haley's objection were also shared with The State Journal-Register on Wednesday.

Objector Megan Meyer of Lake Bluff maintains Haley did not receive enough valid signatures on her nomination papers to be considered eligible.

All presidential candidates are required to have at least 3,000 signatures from registered Illinois voters and, while submitting 5,525 signatures, the objection states many of those came from unregistered voters or from those that had not provided a valid address or signature.

The filing issues saw Haley's nomination papers not receive enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot, the objection finds.

ISBOE will make its decisions before the beginning of early voting on Feb. 8. The primary election is slated for March 19.

Contact Patrick M. Keck: 3120549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Gov. Pritzker addresses ballot challenges to Biden, Trump