IL County Delays Early Voting Due To Court Case Involving Republican Gubernatorial Candidate

PEORIA COUNTY, IL — With early voting and vote-by-mail services set to begin Thursday, one county is opting not to take part, at least not yet. Peoria County said the delay is a direct result of an ongoing state-level court case that could carry statewide implications for the upcoming election.

The court case, according to Peoria County, involves a Republican gubernatorial candidate who is appealing a decision made by the Illinois State Board of Elections. The board previously decided not to certify his candidacy for the March 17 primary ballot. This decision was based on a reported lack of valid petition signatures.

While the county doesn't name the candidate, Patch had previously reported several candidates have dropped out due to different reasons.

When candidates filed for this year's contests over the fall, seven Republicans signed up for the chance to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker in November. Since then, three have dropped out, including Max Solomon (withdrew on Dec. 1), Joseph Severino (removed for insufficient signatures on Jan. 8) and Gregg Moore (disqualified by the Illinois State Board of Elections on Jan. 22).

Moore has filed the paperwork to run for the position in other election cycles, even suing the Illinois State Board of Elections in 2022 after not being placed on the ballot, a lawsuit he lost

That leaves a field of four heading into the primary with 2022 GOP nominee Darren Bailey, former Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski, businessman Rick Heidner and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick on the ballot.

RELATED: IL Governor's Race Heats Up As 4 Republicans Vie For Chance To Unseat Pritzker

In addition to his appeal, Peoria County noted the candidate is seeking a stay on a circuit court's decision. The circuit court had previously ruled to remove his name from the primary ballot. If a stay is granted, it would require the candidate's name to be reinstated on the ballot, pending the outcome of the appeal.

"The decision to delay the start of voting was not made lightly," said Elizabeth Gannon, executive director of the Peoria County Election Commission.

Gannon added that if the stay were granted and the candidate's name appeared on the ballot, it would mean over 12,000 Peoria County voters would have received an incorrect ballot.

State election officials are currently monitoring the situation. They have expressed hope that a decision in the court case will be reached by the end of the current week. A resolution would then allow the start of voting processes to proceed in Peoria County and potentially across the state.