Trump appeals Cook County judge's ruling to remove him from ballot

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Former President Donald Trump's campaign filed an appeal Thursday after a Cook County judge ordered the Illinois State Board of Elections to remove him from the state's primary ballot.

Cook County Judge Tracie Porter also granted the Trump campaign's request for a stay on her order "until the appeal is fully and finally resolved by the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, the Illinois Supreme Court and/or the U.S. Supreme Court," court documents state. 

With the order stayed, the Illinois State Board of Elections will continue to include Trump on the ballot unless the U.S. Supreme Court says otherwise. 

Porter initially gave the order Wednesday, urging the board to remove Trump or "cause any votes cast for him to be suppressed," for violating section three of the 14th Amendment, or the "disqualification clause," for engaging in insurrection, according to court documents.

Judge Porter's ruling reverses last month's decision by the Illinois Board of Elections to keep Trump's name on the primary ballot after a group of Illinois voters accused the former president of engaging in insurrection. 

Trump's campaign is now requesting that the Appellate Court of Illinois for the First District reverse and vacate the judgment and "affirm and reinstate the Electoral Board Decision, which overruled and dismissed Petitioners-Appellees' January 4, 2024 objection to the nomination of Donald J. Trump."

The court battle will likely be rendered moot thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court taking up the same question in an upcoming case. In this case, the court will consider for the first time the meaning and reach of Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

The relevant section states, "No person shall… hold any office… under the United States… who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States… to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

Trump has not been charged with inciting an insurrection, but he does face allegations of election interference in Washington, D.C. and Georgia.

The court will make a decision no later than the end of June on whether Trump can be prosecuted for election interference, The Associated Press reports.

Illinois is now the third state where Trump was booted from the ballot, after Colorado and Maine.

The Illinois primary election is set for March 19th. 

Fox News contributed to this report.