Overview
- Sigcho‑Lopez filed a federal lawsuit against the Illinois State Board of Elections that was publicly reported on Monday, asking a judge to put his name back on the November ballot and to declare the state’s independent‑candidate signature rules unconstitutional.
- The board’s review found Sigcho‑Lopez submitted 9,594 valid signatures while the law required 10,816 for an independent in Illinois’ 4th District, a finding that led to his removal from the ballot.
- Both Sigcho‑Lopez and fellow independent Mayra Macías submitted the maximum 17,304 sheets but lost many signatures to technical challenges such as incorrect or unregistered addresses and rules barring some circulators who had worked on primary petitions.
- The lawsuit accuses supporters of Rep. Jesús “Chuy” Garcia and his preferred successor of coordinating objections to narrow the ballot, an allegation the Garcias deny but one that the campaign says shows how the rules and review process can be used to exclude contenders.
- The case, now assigned to U.S. District Judge Franklin U. Valderrama, could change how Illinois calculates independent thresholds because the law ties required signatures to a percent of prior turnout, a method that produces much higher numeric burdens for independents than for party nominees and limits voter choice.