Illinois to consider removing Trump from election ballot

The Illinois State Board of Elections on Tuesday is scheduled to consider pulling former President Donald Trump’s name from the presidential ballot. Supporters of the proposal argue Trump’s actions during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, amounted to insurrection, and thus the 14th Amendment to the Constitution disqualifies him from running in the presidential election. On Friday, the election board heard from supporters and critics of the proposal. On Sunday, a retired judge submitted a 21-page recommendation that Trump be removed from the Illinois ballot but that the courts, rather than the state election board, should have the final say on the issue. The board is composed of four Republicans and four Democrats.

Have any other states banned Trump from the ballot? Trump has been disqualified from Colorado and Maine, but those decisions have been appealed. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Trump’s plea to remain on the ballot. In addition to Illinois, similar efforts are currently underway in several other states.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report on what the Constitution says about state-level efforts to remove Trump from the ballot.