It's notoriously difficult to get your name on the ballot in Illinois, and it appears Republican candidate John Kasich, the governor of Ohio, fell just short of the signatures necessary in six congressional districts. Since no one challenged his petition, he'll be on the ballot throughout the state. Photo by Dennis Van Tine/UPI |
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CHICAGO, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Despite not receiving the minimum number of signatures required in all congressional districts in Illinois, Ohio Gov. John Kasich will remain on the ballot.
Last week was the deadline for candidates to submit signatures to appear on the ballot in the state's March 15 primary. Kasich did not have enough valid signatures in the 1st, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th congressional districts, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. In the 14th district alone, he is short by 779 signatures.
That only matters if opponents challenge his signatures, none of whom did by the Wednesday deadline.
"We don't count signatures and throw people off without an objection," said Ken Menzel, general counsel for the Board of Elections.
"We're confident that we're going to be on the ballot everywhere in Illinois," Rob Nichols, a spokesman for Kasich for America, told Politico on Wednesday.
Four people requested to view or copy Kasich's petitions, according to the Board of Elections website: Chicago election lawyer John Fogarty, who serves as general counsel of the Illinois Republican Party; Tim Hicks of Sioux City, Iowa; Sharee Langenstein, a constitutional lawyer and Ted Cruz supporter from Murphysboro, Ill.; and Dan Kovats, executive director of the Illinois Democratic County Chairman's Association.
Fogarty was the attorney hired by the Illinois Republican Party to challenge the Libertarian Party's signatures in Illinois in 2014. A firm Fogarty hired reportedly sent armed private investigators to confront people collecting signatures and demanded they admit that some signatures were fraudulent.
Fogarty requested to view or copy Kasich's petitions on Jan. 7, according to the Illinois Board of Elections.
The congressional districts where Kasich was determined to have an insufficient number of valid signatures include the South Side of Chicago (1st), Madison County in the southernmost part of the state (12th), the city of Champaign in central Illinois (13th), parts of DeKalb and DuPage counties in the Chicago suburbs (14th), southeastern Illinois (15th) and north-central Illinois, including Rockford (16th).
Other candidates have already submitted their paperwork to appear on the Illinois primary ballot. Donald Trump, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., all filed on Jan. 4, the earliest possible day to do so.
