The Illinois State Board of Elections ruled that two independent candidates, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Mayra Macias, will not appear on the November ballot for U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s seat. The decision was made due to the candidates’ failure to collect the minimum number of signatures required for independent candidates.

Background

The two candidates had slammed the process as part of a coordinated effort by Patty Garcia, the congressman’s chief of staff, and the congressman himself. Rep. Garcia had suddenly dropped his reelection campaign last year, giving his chief of staff a head start on filing petitions.

Macias and Sigcho-Lopez had argued that their campaigns were affected by machine tactics coordinated by Patty Garcia and the outgoing congressman to keep them off the ballot. They vowed to continue fighting for voters of the majority-Latino district to have a “real democracy.”

Reaction

Kait Sweeney, spokesperson for Patty Garcia, stated that her candidate had gathered more than the required number of signatures. “Petition review is a normal part of the democratic process and the Board of Elections made its decision based on the law,” Sweeney said.

Andrew Finko, Sigcho-Lopez’s attorney, said his campaign is exploring legal options to challenge the Illinois election code, which sets an unnecessarily high burden on independent candidates. Macias is also considering her options and may open an organization focused on accountability and civic engagement.

Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.