Officials Start Reviewing Ballot Petition Challenges
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A hearing is underway at the Chicago Board of Elections, on more than two dozen challenges to Rahm Emanuel's spot on the Chicago mayoral ballot, among other filings.
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Challengers say state election law requires candidates to be a resident of the city in which they are running for at least a year before the election. Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass has defended their point of view.
"I appreciate and respect Rahm. Sure, he's profane, but so am I when I'm not typing, and he's got a great sense of humor. And I believe he should be on the ballot," Kass wrote in a Nov. 24 column. "Still, there's that nagging issue. It's called the law."
But others say the law is not so simple. In his Straight Dope Chicago column, Cecil Adams quotes a further passage of state law: "A permanent abode is necessary to constitute a residence within the meaning of Section 3-1 [which says who's allowed to vote in Illinois]. No elector or spouse shall be deemed to have lost his or her residence in any precinct or election district in this State by reason of his or her absence on business of the United States, or of this State."
Adams writes this is likely enough to keep Emanuel on the ballot.
Either way, the battle will likely end up in court.
Meanwhile, election officials must also investigate whether notary signatures were forged on petitions of four other candidates.
Mayoral candidate state Sen. Rev. James Meeks earlier had called for an investigation of people accused of falsifying candidate nominating petitions for his campaign and those of three other candidates: Carol Moseley Braun, Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins and Rob Halpin.
The Secretary of State's police are expected to consult with the Illinois Attorney General's office or the Cook County State's Attorney's office about its probe.
Mayor Richard M. Daley said a fake notary on petitions is a federal and state violation, and in the end it ends up costing taxpayers money because the petitions have to be reviewed.
Meeks has acknowledged that, like other candidates, his campaign paid people to help gather signatures on nominating petitions. Some of those people have been accused of falsifying the notarizing of those petitions.
Analysts say the rush is on to finalize the ballot for the Feb. 22 election.
"You have to start working on the ballot after New Year's, so this month of December is going to be a busy time for the Board of Elections," said Roosevelt University political scientist Paul Green.
