Trump to remain on Illinois ballot until appeals court rules

Former President Trump will stay on the Illinois state primary ballot for now, after a state judge put her Wednesday ruling on hold until an appeals court weighs the former president’s challenge. 

Cook County, Ill., Judge Tracie Porter paused her order to boot Trump from the ballot Thursday afternoon, less than one day after her initial ruling. The ruling will stay paused until the Appellate Court of Illinois hands down a final order on the matter, according to the court order obtained by The Hill. 

Porter on Wednesday ordered the state’s election board to remove the former president from the March 19 primary ballot, reversing the board’s decision last month to keep him on the ballot. She initially put her order on pause until Friday to allow Trump’s legal team to appeal the matter, which came down hours later. 

Trump’s team asked the appeals court to “reverse and vacate” Porter’s ruling and reaffirm the state board’s decision. In a separate request Wednesday, Trump’s legal team asked Porter to extend the pause beyond Friday until the Appellate Court rules. 

Porter’s Thursday order hands Trump a temporary win as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a different appeal of a Colorado Supreme Court decision, which ruled in December that he is not eligible for the state ballot under the U.S. Constitution’s Insurrectionist Clause. 

The Colorado ruling invoked the 14th Amendment’s Insurrectionist Clause and stated the former president participated in an insurrection through his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Porter pointed to this decision in her Wednesday ruling, calling its rationale “compelling.”

“After yesterday’s ruling in Illinois, President Trump appealed the decision and asked to remain on the ballot. As a result, the Illinois Circuit Court has agreed to keep President Trump on the ballot, pending all appeals and a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. We expect the court to issue that order later today,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said Thursday in a statement to The Hill. 

A court in Maine ruled last month Trump can remain on the state’s ballot — after the state secretary of state’s decision to disqualify him — until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs on the matter. 

Porter’s ruling was in response to a challenge filed by the national nonprofit Free Speech For People, which has launched several ballot challenges in multiple states, including Minnesota, Massachusetts, Oregon and Michigan.