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Jason Decker Runs for Cook County Commisioner District 5, Libertarian Party Sues Cook County Clerk to Get Candidates on the Ballot (Midlothian, IL) A complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division seeks to compel Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough to accept nomination papers from Libertarian candidates for the June 28, 2022 primary election as established party candidates under provisions found in Article 7 of the election code.

Section 7-2 of the election code confirms that a political party which receives more than5% of the vote in the last general election is declared to be an established party. TheLibertarian Party received more than 6% of the vote for Cook County States Attorney inthe election of 2020.

Libertarian Party of Illinois State Chair Steve Suess said, "I wish I could say I wassurprised. Libertarians, independents, and other parties not fitting within the boundariesof the political duopoly are continuously denied equal access to the ballot all around thecountry. Luckily, we have the law on our side this time."

Clerk Yarbrough maintains the candidates for county board do not qualify forestablished party status after redistricting. However, since all commissioner districts fallwithin the borders of Cook County, established party status should extend to allcandidates running for offices where those voting districts are entirely within countyboundaries.

Cook County Libertarian Party Chair Justin Tucker said, This is a true example ofrigging elections through the elimination of choice. Poll after poll shows voters wantmore choices at the polls on Election Day and Clerk Karen Yarbrough is denying votersmore cho. This is another sad instance of Chicago-style politics.

Cook County District 1 candidate James Humay said in a statement, It has been over adecade since the voters of District 1 have had more than one candidate on the ballot. Itappears that the County Clerk is only interested in maintaining and consolidating powerfor her party and political allies, rather than allowing for the free will of the district'sconstituency. I strongly urge Clerk Yarbrough to reconsider her decision and grantestablished party status to Libertarian candidates running for county board."District 5 candidate Jason Ross Decker announced "We must be granted the ballotaccess we deserve, to give the people of Cook County a choice other than the samegroup of people controlling the County's business and our lives for decades. To be denied would be disheartening and make voters lose even more faith in their CountyGovernment."

The complaint is being filed by the Libertarian Party of Illinois, state and local partyexecutive officers, party candidates for county board and concerned citizens. It assertsthat the Cook County Clerk and Board of Election Commissioners are willfully violatingthe First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of the plaintiffs.

While Democrats in Washington D.C. argue for legislation to protect voting rights, inCook County, the Democratic machine has no interest in fair ballot access and isactively working to deny voters from having a choice of candidates. The LibertarianParty of Chicago and Cook County Libertarian Party believe all voices have the right tobe heard in the voting booth and that restrictive ballot access laws inhibit the democraticprocess.

Jason Decker Runs for Cook County Commisioner District 5, Libertarian Party Sues Cook County Clerk to Get Candidates on the Ballot

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Jason Decker Runs for Cook County Commisioner District 5, Libertarian Party Sues Cook County Clerk to Get Candidates on the Ballot - The Southland...