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Politics & Government

8 Dems Booted from Will County Board Ballot

Will County electoral board removes 8 Democrats from November's ballot. Republicans claim Democrats used improper procedures to get onto the ballot; Democrats call it a move to limit voter choice and competition.

Eight democratic candidates for the Will County Board were removed from November's ballot on Tuesday, according to a Sun-Times Media report. Among the candidates removed was Frankfort's Mario Carlasare, District 2.

If the removal isn't overturned in the appeals process, it could leave many Republican candidates, including District 2's Jim Moustis, board chairman, and District 12's Margo McDermed, wife of Republican Party Chairman Ed Ronkowski, running unopposed come Election Day.

Other candidates removed from the ballot were John Sanchez Jr. and Santino Letierri of Mokena, Chester Strzelczyk III of Lockport, Irene Garcia-Wittke and Reed Bible of Plainfield, Chris Griffin of Naperville and Donald Moran of Romeoville.

Find out what's happening in Frankfortwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Democratic Party Chairman Scott Pyles said he planned to appeal the decision. The candidates removed by the Will County Electoral Board were appointed to the ballot after a March primary, but Republicans objected to the methods the Democrats used to get on the ballot. They claimed that not all precinct committeemen in each county board district received the proper prior notification about the meeting to appoint candidates to the ballot, which is a vilation of the letter of the law.

Democratic board members criticized the electoral board's decision and insisted that the party was fully compliant with notification requirements. The removed candidates claimed that their removal was motivated by efforts to limit voter choice and political competition, rather than a concern for proper election procedures.

Find out what's happening in Frankfortwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

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