Trump appeals against decision to remove his name from Illinois primary ballot

Lawyers for Donald Trump have appealed against a judge’s decision ordering election officials to remove his name from the Illinois primary ballot.

The appeal came hours after Judge Tracie Porter, of Cook County, issued her decision. She placed a hold on it until Friday to allow the appeal.

A group of Illinois voters are trying to remove Mr Trump from the primary ballot over his handling of the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 2021.

The group appealed against an election board decision unanimously rejecting its effort. The voters, joined by national voter advocacy group Free Speech for People, argued Mr Trump is ineligible to hold office because they say he encouraged and did little to stop the Capitol riot.

The case is one of dozens of lawsuits nationwide filed to remove him from the ballot on March 19, arguing he is ineligible due to a rarely used clause in the 14th Amendment prohibiting those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

The US Supreme Court earlier this month signalled that it is likely to reject the efforts, judging from commentary the justices made during an appeal against a Colorado ruling removing Mr Trump from the ballot there.

Like the Illinois decision, the Colorado ruling is on hold until the appeal is finished.

Mr Trump’s lawyers also filed a motion early on Thursday to clarify how long the hold should stay in place.

In her 38-page ruling, Judge Porter wrote that the Illinois voters’ request to exclude Mr Trump from the ballot should have been granted because they met their burden and the Election Board’s decision was “clearly erroneous”.

“This is a historic victory,” Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech For People and co-lead counsel in the case, said after the ruling.

In an earlier statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called the Illinois decision an “unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal”.