RFK Jr. remains on Illinois ballot; Green Party, Libertarian candidates removed

Robert F. Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign last week, but his name will still appear on the ballot in Illinois.

The Illinois State Board of Elections Electoral Board met jointly in Chicago and Springfield Friday morning to certify the names that will appear on the ballot and issued rulings on objections to the nomination papers of new party and independent candidates.

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Objections were filed against Kennedy, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and the Libertarian ticket represented by placeholder candidate Scott Schluter. Both Stein and the Libertarian were removed from the ballot since they lacked the minimum number of 25,000 valid signatures.

The objection against Kennedy alleged, while he had enough signatures, there was a "pattern of fraud" and that he used a false address on his nomination papers. A hearing officer for the election board determined the address was incorrect, but ruled that its false nature was "not fatal" to the candidacy. And at the suggestion of the officer, the board overruled the objection and allowed Kennedy to stay on the ballot.

Kennedy plans to stay on the ballot in non-battleground states, but is ultimately endorsing former President Donald Trump. Stepping out not to play a spoiler, he will be removing his name from the ballot in approximately 10 states.

The decision to back the Republican was "a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear," his five siblings said in a statement. Jack Schlossberg, grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, delivered a speech during last week's Democratic National Convention avowing the family's backing of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

Kennedy and Harris will be joined on the ballot with Trump on the Illinois ballot. Randall Terry of Tennessee, running on the Constitutional Party of Illinois ticket, was also removed from the ballot in July.

Democratic presidential candidates have won Illinois in every election since former President George H.W. Bush's 1988 victory. Harris is expected to continue that trend.

Local congressional candidate removed from ballot

The state election board also ruled to remove Chibu Asonye, a Green Party candidate running in Illinois Congressional District 13, since he also did not have enough signatures. The Champaign resident only had 1,557 signatures when she needed 12,710.

That race will now have U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, and Republican challenger Josh Loyd of Virden on the ballot. Asonye, however, is planning on waging a write-in campaign.

Asonye, part of the left-leaning Green Party, could have siphoned off votes from Budzinski, who is seeking a second term in Congress. However, coming off a double-digit victory in 2022 and holding a sizable funding advantage over Loyd, Budzinski is projected to again carry the district.

Contact Patrick M. Keck: pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: RFK Jr. remains on Illinois ballot; Green Party, Libertarian candidates removed