Man seeking office who voted as a Democrat can run as a Republican
Some might think a Will County judge’s ruling may give new meaning to term RINO, or Republican In Name Only.
A candidate who voted in the 2020 Democratic primary can run for office as the Republican nominee for Lockport Township assessor, Circuit Court Judge John Anderson ruled.
Anderson cited a law that prohibited assessor candidate Tim McNally from participating in a December caucus. McNally could not participate when Republicans selected a slate of township candidates because of his Democratic vote less than a year earlier.
“No participant shall be able to participate or vote at any township or multitownship caucus if the person was, during the 12 months before the caucus, a voter who voted in the primary election of another statewide established political party different from the party holding the caucus,” according to the Illinois Election Code that Anderson cited in his Jan. 25 ruling.
A close reading of the absurd law, however, led Anderson to conclude that nothing explicitly prevented the Democratic voter from running for public office as a Republican.
“In the court’s view, the notion that one cannot participate in a caucus, but can accept the nomination made at the caucus, is nonsensical to be sure,” Anderson wrote.
Americans who paid attention during civics classes know that their votes are private. The secret ballot is one of the sacred rights of democracy.
However, what many may not realize is that voting records are public. In Illinois, as in many other states, voters may choose a party ballot when they vote in primary elections or pull a nonpartisan ballot. Whether one chooses to vote in a Democratic, Republican or nonpartisan primary is a matter of public record.
Lockport Township Democrats pulled the voting records of their Republican opponents, just to see what they might find.
“We were really confident going into court,” said Ken Griffin, chair of the Lockport Township Democratic Party and an elected village trustee in Romeoville. “He pulled a Democratic ballot. We thought it was a slam dunk.”
Griffin filed an objection that challenged the eligibility of McNally and Jim Louch, the incumbent Republican highway commissioner who is seeking another term. Griffin alleged McNally was ineligible to run because he voted Democratic and he claimed Louch was ineligible because he pulled a nonpartisan ballot.
On Jan. 6, the day supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol and killed a police officer, the Lockport Township Electoral Board issued its decision.
The all-Democratic electoral board voted 2-1 to boot McNally and Louch from ballots for the April 6 election. Ron Alberico, the incumbent township supervisor seeking reelection, and Denise Mushro Rumchak, the retiring township clerk, voted to remove them. Dean Morelli, an incumbent township trustee seeking reelection, was the lone vote to let them remain on ballots.
Griffin thought the electoral board made the correct decision, based on his understanding that the law that clearly says you can’t vote in an election for one party and then participate in a caucus for a different political party less than a year later.
“Here he is, pulling a Democratic ballot to vote, then running for office as a Republican,” Griffin said.
Republicans petitioned for judicial review, however, and the parties met for a hearing Jan. 25. Anderson issued his ruling later that day.
“We’re disappointed in the ruling,” Griffin said. “But we don’t have the resources to appeal.”
That means the ruling may stand as a precedent statewide, potentially opening the floodgates for swarms of voters for one political party to run for office as candidates for a different political party.
Louch, the Republican highway commissioner who voted nonpartisan in the 2020 primary, said he was pleased with the judge’s ruling.
“It was a good decision,” Louch said.
The all-Democratic electoral board made a partisan decision about an objection made by the chair of the township Democratic Party, Louch said.
“You had three Democrats voting on a Republican,” he said. “It’s hard not to think it was political.”
Republicans seem to be at a crossroads in the wake of the riot that sought to use terror to overturn the results of the free and fair Nov. 3 election that elevated Joe Biden to the presidency.
Ten Republicans in Congress, including Will County’s Adam Kinzinger, voted with Democrats to impeach Trump for inciting the insurrection that threatened to replace our 244-year-old democracy with elections decided by fear and use of force.
Kinzinger
Kinzinger is likely to find support from establishment Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. On Monday, McConnell said that Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s embrace of “loony lies and conspiracy theories” was a “cancer for the Republican Party.”
Meanwhile, those loyal to Trump appear intent on punishing Republicans who dared defy Trump by placing country before party.
The Arizona GOP voted to censure three of its own, Gov. Doug Ducey, former Sen. Jeff Flake and Cindy McCain, widow of late war hero and Sen. John McCain.
Some lunatic fringe Republicans want to punish Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who also voted to impeach Trump, more than they want to condemn Taylor Greene, the crackpot who has expressed support for executing prominent Democrats.
The effort to exact revenge upon those perceived as disloyal, as opposed to prioritizing accountability for the murderous insurgents, seems to horrify moderate and centrist voters. In states across the country, scores of lifelong “Main Street” and “Reagan Republicans” are denouncing the party and switching their voter affiliations.
It’s quite a contrast to the scene in Lockport Township, where a Democratic voter was granted his wish to run for public office as a Republican. McNally offered a commendable explanation for why he voted in the 2020 Democratic primary.
“There was a candidate in the primary who I thought deserved my vote,” he said. “I’m true to the Republican Party.”
His answer reminded me of the days before hyper partisanship dominated political discourse. Many voters would consider the positions of individual candidates on various issues, rather than vote solely because of party affiliation. Many would cast ballots based on such factors as character, integrity and honesty.
There were times when avowed Republicans might vote for a friend or family member who was running as a Democrat. Some liberal Democrats would cast ballots for conservative Republicans because they knew them as neighbors or classmates and understood they would be good public servants who wanted to give back to their communities.
At some point, America lost its way. RINOS and DINOS were cast not as people of integrity who would vote their consciences, but as the worst type of enemy — disloyal traitors.
McNally seemed unfazed by his voting record. He just wanted to support someone in an election who happened to represent a party that was different from his.
“I would hope people don’t make a big deal out of it,” he said. “We all have the liberty to vote.”
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