An Illinois judge has blocked enforcement of a controversial election law recently signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker that barred political parties from appointing candidates to fill out general election ballots where the party did not field a primary candidate, a practice known as slating.
Judge Gail Noll granted a permanent injunction in an order on June 5 at the Circuit Court for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, Sangamon County, Illinois, blocking enforcement of the slating repeal for the current election cycle for plaintiffs in a lawsuit that challenged the slating repeal.
The judge noted that the repeal as it applied to a number of prospective candidates in the November general election was unconstitutional because it “impermissibly burdens their right to vote and to have their names placed on the November ballot.”
Last month, Democrats in the Illinois House added a last-minute amendment to Senate Bill 2412 called P.A. 103-0586 that changed state election laws, banning the slating appointment process that under previous rules was allowed within 75 days of the primary.
The move was sharply criticized by Republicans, a minority in the Illinois Legislature, who voted “present” and walked off the House floor without debating the measure. After it quickly passed both chambers, Mr. Pritzker signed it into law on May 3.
The new law meant candidates would be required to run in the March primary in order to appear on the November general election ballot.
Democrats framed the bill as an ethics measure that would prevent backroom dealing when choosing candidates, while Republicans said it unfairly changed the rules of a game that has already begun and amounted to election interference.
Republicans also objected because they said the law effectively gave Democrats a win in races in which GOP candidates weren’t slated in the primary.
The measure affected races in 78 districts that would not be contested in the November general election, according to the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization.
By Tom Ozimek
