Former President Donald Trump filed an emergency motion Thursday to clarify the length of a stay on a judge's order to keep him off ballots for the Illinois primary and general election and asking that the stay continue until a ruling is reached on his appeal of the order.
The move, filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, comes after Judge Tracie Porter disqualified the GOP front-runner from the state's ballots, but put the decision on hold until Friday, pending an appeal.
Trump's filing seeks to clarify the length of the court stay, according to a copy of the document posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Chicago Sun-Times federal courts reporter Jon Seidel.
"Earlier this evening, the Court issued its 'Memorandum of Judgment and Order,' which orders that the 'Illinois State Board of Election shall remove Donald J. Trump from the ballot for the General Primary Election on March 19, 2024,'" the filing states. "Approximately an hour ago, President Trump filed his Notice of Appeal. Contrary to Petitioners' suggestion in the event an appeal was filed, the Judgment does not specify that the stay will continue past March 1."
The document asks that the court enter an order as soon as possible, ideally by noon Thursday, clarifying that the stay in Porter's judgment be extended past March 1, until a final order is reached by the appellate court.
Staying the judgment until the appeals process is decided would "reduce the great risk of voter confusion and logistical difficulties for election officials," the emergency motion states.
The filing added that if the court denies the motion or has not ruled by noon Thursday, the candidate "intends to move the Appellate Court for such a stay on an emergency basis."
Porter's order follows mandates in Colorado and Maine to keep Trump off the ballots based on violations of the anti-insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. He has also appealed those rulings.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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