May 14, 2024 – Several would-be Republican candidates for seats in the General Assembly are suing over a law they say will block them from the ballot.
Majority Democrats earlier this month passed a law that bans the long-running practice of candidate slating – when parties select a candidate for a general election even if there was no candidate from that party in the primary.
For decades, both Republicans and Democrats have used the process to appoint candidates to the ballot to run against the opposite party’s primary winner if they were deemed beatable.
But the new law bans that practice, which Republicans say is unfair to the dozen or so candidates who were in various stages of getting on the November ballot against Democratic primary winners.
The State Board of Elections is still accepting those candidates’ nominating petitions, however, and a spokesperson says he expects the petitions to ultimately end up in a court battle.
By HANNAH MEISEL
Capitol News Illinois
hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com
