Map Shows States Where Donald Trump Is Disqualified From Ballot

An Illinois judge ruled on Wednesday that Donald Trump must be removed from the state's primary ballot as efforts continue in several other states to disqualify the former president from appearing on their ballot.

Cook County Judge Tracie Porter issued her decision after a group of voters seeking to remove Trump's name from the March 19 primary ballot because of the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol sued to counter the Illinois State Board of Elections' rejection of its effort. Porter placed her order on hold until Friday to allow an appeal.

The case is among dozens of lawsuits that have been filed across the country to bar Trump from the ballot, arguing he is ineligible to hold office due to a clause in the 14th Amendment that prohibits those who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office.

A map on X (formerly Twitter) shows where the cases to remove Trump from the ballot stand.

In December, Colorado's Supreme Court barred Trump from the state's ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. In Maine, the Democratic secretary of state also removed him from the ballot.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard Trump's appeal of the Colorado ruling. Many legal observers expect the High Court will reverse the ruling rather than remove the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination from Colorado's ballot.

Like the decision in Illinois and Maine, that Colorado ruling is on hold until the appeal is ruled on. Porter's ruling said her order would be put on hold if the Supreme Court's ruling is "inconsistent" with hers.

Litigation to remove Trump from the ballot is pending in several states, including California, New York and Wisconsin.

Efforts have been dismissed in others, such as Texas, Minnesota, Michigan and Oregon. Lawsuits seeking to bar Trump were voluntarily dismissed by plaintiffs in Pennsylvania, Idaho, Utah and New Jersey.

Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech for People, co-lead counsel in the Illinois case, called Wednesday's ruling a "historic victory."

"Every court or official that has addressed the merits of Trump's constitutional eligibility has found that he engaged in insurrection after taking the oath of office and is therefore disqualified from the presidency," Fein said in a statement.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called the ruling "unconstitutional" and said Trump would quickly appeal.

"An activist Democrat judge in Illinois summarily overruled the state's Board of Elections and contradicted earlier decisions from dozens of other state and federal jurisdictions," Cheung said. "This is an unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal."