An independent congressional candidate in Illinois says he’s confident the state's appeal of a decision putting his name on the ballot will be denied.
Bloomington physician David Gill says he expects a three-judge appellate panel to uphold Judge Sue Myerscough's decision last week to keep his name in place despite falling short of the state threshold for petition signatures. Gill says he doesn’t have a likely alternative if the appeal goes through.
"If we were to not succeed at that level, the next step would be the Supreme Court, but really, for all practical purposes, they're not in session, and I don't know that they're interested in hearing this on a rushed basis," he said.
Gill turned in more than 11-thousand signatures, but some were ruled invalid. His lawsuit argues the legal requirement for independent candidates is unconstitutional, because Republicans and Democrats only need 740 signatures.
The independent candidate for Congress in Illinois' 13th district says he's confident the state's appeal of the federal judge's decision to keep his name on the ballot will ultimately be denied. Bloomington physician David Gill says he expects a three-judge appellate panel to uphold Judge Sue Myerscough's decision last week to keep Gill's name in place despite his falling short of the state threshold for petition signatures. Gill says IF the panel DOES grant the appeal and removes him, he'll likely not have an avenue to turn.
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Gill turned in more than 11-thousand signatures, but some were ruled invalid, dropping him below the state minimum requirement. He sued, arguing the legal requirement for independent candidates is unconstitutional. Only 740 signatures are needed by Republicans and Democrats to get on the ballot. Incumbent Republican Rodney Davis and Democrat Mark Wicklund are the other candidates.
