Cook County judge orders removal of Trump from primary ballot

Illinois judge orders removal of Trump from primary ballot

A Cook County judge is ordering the Illinois State Board of Elections to remove former president Donald Trump from the states primary ballot.

CHICAGO - Less than three weeks from the March Primary Election, a Cook County judge is ordering the Illinois State Board of Elections to remove former president Donald Trump from the state's primary ballot.

Judge Tracie Porter gave the order Wednesday, urging the board to remove Trump or "cause any votes cast for him to be suppressed," for violating section three of the 14th Amendment, or the "disqualification clause," for engaging in insurrection, according to court documents.

The order, however, is put on hold until Friday, March 1, in case of an appeal from Trump's attorneys to the Illinois Appellate Court, First District or the Illinois Supreme Court.

FOX 32's Political Analyst Stephen Caliendo spoke about the impact this order could have on next month's primary.

"What this ruling essentially says is that Donald Trump himself is not fit for office, can not serve (in) office and therefore cannot be on the ballot in Illinois to run for office, but technically, when we vote in the primaries in Illinois, we're not voting for the presidential candidate. We're voting for electors who pledge to those candidates to go to the conventions and cast their ballots," Caliendo said.

Judge Porter's ruling reverses last month's decision by the Illinois Board of Elections to keep Trump's name on the primary ballot after a group of Illinois voters accused the former president of engaging in insurrection.

The ruling becomes moot if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against the state of Colorado, which decided to remove Trump from the ballot ahead of their primary this coming Tuesday.

The Illinois primary election is set for March 19th.

Also on Wednesday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Trump's immunity case in late April.

The court will make a decision no later than the end of June on whether he can be prosecuted for election interference, the Associated Press reports.