Trump Retains Spot On Illinois Primary Ballot After Election Board Rejects Insurrection Amendment Challenge Despite 'Preponderance' Of Evidence

In a recent development, former President Donald Trump will remain on the Illinois primary ballot. This decision comes despite a challenge based on the Constitution’s Insurrection Amendment.

What Happened: The Illinois elections board unanimously decided to keep Trump on the state’s primary ballot. This ruling arrives just a week before the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on whether Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack disqualifies him from the presidency, reported NBC Chicago on Tuesday..

The board’s hearing officer, a retired Republican judge, found that there was a “preponderance of the evidence” indicating Trump violated a constitutional ban on those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office. However, the officer recommended that the final decision be left to the courts.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in Trump’s appeal of a Colorado ruling that declared him ineligible for the presidency next week. This will be the first time the nation’s highest court rules on a case involving Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, a rarely used post-Civil War clause that some legal scholars argue applies to Trump due to his role in the 2020 presidential election aftermath.

Multiple cases have been filed nationwide seeking to bar Trump from the presidency under Section 3. The Colorado case is the only one that has succeeded in court so far.

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Why It Matters: This development follows a series of legal challenges against Trump’s eligibility for the 2024 presidential election. As reported by Benzinga, Massachusetts residents, backed by advocacy group Free Speech For People and civil rights firm Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C, sought to enforce the 14th Amendment to block Trump from appearing on the state's primary and general election ballot.

Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the potential disqualification of Trump from the Colorado ballot due to his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. This review could have far-reaching implications for the 2024 presidential election.

Earlier, Trump contested the move to strike his name off Maine's presidential primary ballot, asserting that Maine's Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, had a bias and should not have been part of the decision-making process.

These legal challenges and the Illinois election board’s recent decision underscore the ongoing controversy surrounding Trump’s eligibility for the 2024 presidential election.

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