Sangamon County Circuit Judge Gail Noll ruled the law, drawn to protect vulnerable Democrats in November’s general election, is unconstitutional. It improperly interferes with a person’s right to see access to the ballot and that, Noll wrote, “places a severe restriction on the fundamental right to vote.”
Previously, someone who wasn’t on the primary ballot — this year, March 19 — could still run in November after getting the nod from party leaders and collecting the requisite number of valid petition signatures by the June 3 deadline set by the Illinois State Board of Elections.Illinois House speaker’s staff sues to unionize
But Republicans blasted the idea, particularly because it was done in the middle of an election cycle. Senate Minority Leader John Curran, a Republican from the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, called on Pritzker to suspend legal action in the matter and allow Republicans to proceed under the former law.