Feb. 29 (UPI) — Attorneys for Donald Trump Thursday appealed an Illinois judge’s decision to disqualify Trump from the state ballot under the 14th Amendment for engaging in insurrection in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.
In a legal filing Trump’s lawyers asked to stay that ballot disqualification judgment.
“Staying the judgment until the Illinois appellate courts finally decide this case would reduce the great risk of voter confusion and logistical difficulties for election officials,” the attorneys wrote.
Judge Tracie Porter’s ruling disqualifying Trump from the Illinois ballot said he is disqualified “based on engaging in insurrection on January 6, 2021, and his name should be removed from the ballot.”
Judge Porter immediately put that ruling on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court considers a similar finding by the by Colorado State Supreme Court.
Despite that hold Trump’s lawyers appealed. In a separate court filing they asked Porter to clarify how long the hold will remain in place or to “enter an order staying the judgment pending resolution of this case.”
Porter cited the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists or those who give aid and comfort to insurrectionists from holding office as officers of the United States.
The Illinois Board of Elections unanimously voted in January to keep Trump on the ballot because the board’s general counsel advised it didn’t have jurisdiction to decide whether he should be removed.
In January the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to Trump’s ban from the Colorado ballot. Oral arguments were presented Feb. 8.
Trump expressed optimism about the coming ruling based on the justices seeming skeptical about disqualifying him.
Norma Anderson, a 91-year-old Republican who co-petitioned for Trump’s removal said she was confident the high court would do the right thing.
“I’ve lived through a lot and been through a lot of presidents,” Anderson told reporters after the hearing. “This is the first one that is trying to destroy the Constitution.”
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