Two independent candidates vying for U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” García’s congressional seat will not appear on the November ballot after the Illinois State Board of Elections on Tuesday ruled that both did not submit the minimum number of valid petition signatures required to run as an independent candidate.
Both Mayra Macías and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) won’t be on the ballot, leaving Lyons Mayor Chris Getty — whose petitions weren’t challenged — as the only independent to secure a position. All three say they were inspired to run after Rep. García abruptly dropped out of the race and raised eyebrows by quickly helping his chief of staff Patty García get enough signatures to make a tight deadline.
Now, Macías and Sigcho-Lopez are joining forces in not only criticizing the process in which Patty García became the Democratic nominee — but also what they called an outdated state election code that doesn’t give independent candidates a chance and instead helps Democrats retain power. In Illinois, independents running for congressional seats must submit a minimum of 10,816 petition signatures, compared to just 697 for Democrats and 371 for Republicans.
“Today in the 4th Congressional District, democracy died at the hands of Patty and Chuy García,” Sigcho-Lopez told reporters. “Today, in the 4th Congressional District, over 30,000 people, the thousands of thousands of small donors, the hundreds of volunteers who were fighting for democracy were truncated because of the gluttony of power of Chuy García and Patty García. What a terrible legacy to leave behind.”
The board ruled unanimously that both candidates did not get the required number of signatures for independents. Sigcho-Lopez said he’s exploring legal options, including a potential judicial review of the case, as well as a federal lawsuit. Macías said she’d also explore a write-in campaign after speaking with her supporters: “What I don’t want to see happen is that voters don’t feel like they have power and therefore don’t go to the polls.”
Sigcho-Lopez’s attorney Andrew Finko said the objections shined a spotlight “on the failures of the Illinois election code.”
“It has not been modernized in a long time, and so the needs of this state in the election code are for orderly administration of the election,” Finko said. “… The constitutional question is, do we really need to have this high of a requirement of signatures, coupled with a restrictive 90-day period [and] every sheet has to be notarized?”
State Board of Elections general counsel Marni Malowitz said Macías submitted 9,758 valid signatures, which is 1,058 fewer than required. In one instance, a petitioner provided a wrong home address, so 101 of the signatures she collected were tossed. In another, a petition circulator was also getting signatures for other Democratic candidates, which is not allowed for independent candidates. In other cases, signatures were not valid.
“More than 30,000 voters signed petitions for me and Ald. Sigcho-Lopez [collectively]. Those signatures represent 30,000 conversations with people… ” Macías said. “Despite the extraordinary threshold, our campaign knocked on over 50,000 doors and submitted over 17,000 signatures, more than enough to demonstrate broad community support and way more signatures than Patty Garcia submitted, or Congressman Garcia has ever submitted.”
Macías, who was at the hearing, criticized the process, saying she was given just three days to prove many signatures were legitimate. She also said “the spirit of the law is being completely broken in this race.”
“The rules were put in place to safeguard democracy, and yet these very rules are currently doing the opposite,” Macías said.
Malowitz said Sigcho-Lopez submitted 9,594 valid signatures, which is 1,222 fewer than required.
Malowitz noted that the constitutional challenges that Sigcho-Lopez presented weren’t under the board’s jurisdiction and said “they should be raised by the courts.”
“Today we see unethical attorneys, unethical lobbyists stealing — they’re stealing this election,” Sigcho-Lopez told the board after the ruling. “This is a shame for our state, disenfranchising Latina and Latino voters, and we see the candidate … and the congressperson who sent attorneys here to represent them hiding from the public, hiding from public comment, paid by the billionaire interests.”
Sigcho-Lopez said that “the choice of the people died,” adding that he vowed to take his fight for independent candidates to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Ed Mullen, attorney for the objectors, called Sigcho-Lopez’s assertion of “unethical attorneys” an untrue and “irresponsible claim for an elected official.”
“While the alderman may disagree with the law, this objection was prosecuted in accordance with all ethical rules and election laws, and he simply did not obtain enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot,” Mullen told the Sun-Times.
Patty García also responded to criticism about the objections: “I understand some folks are upset, but ultimately the role of the board is to ensure that we prevent any fraud and that they meet the requirements and the laws of the state, which is to have enough valid signatures.”