Early voting in Rich Township paused Tuesday to add a candidate for supervisor, Antoine Bass, to the ballot after he was removed for invalid signatures with his nomination papers.

Cook County clerk’s office communications director Frank Herrera said the pause would only last one day, with early voting expected to resume Wednesday. All earlier votes cast for Supervisor Calvin Jordan will not be counted.

“The new supplemental ballots are being printed today and will include the names of Democrat Calvin Jordan and Independent Antoine Bass in the race for township supervisor,” Herrera said in an email Tuesday. “The clerk’s office has provided proper notice to voters at all affected precincts.”

Bass is the sole challenger to Jordan, who was first elected Rich Township supervisor in 2021, in the April 1 election. No other township races are contested, with Arlene M. “Sugar” Al-Amin seeking reelection as clerk and Nicholas P. Bobis, Steven Roderick Burris, Jacquelyn M. Small and Candyce M. Herron seeking reelection as trustees, according to the county clerk’s office.

Bass alleges that after the First District Illinois Appellate Court ruled March 10 that his name could appear on the Rich Township ballot, Al-Amin refused to certify the new ballot, preventing correct ballots from being delivered in time for early voting that began Monday. He said after waiting for the clerk to comply, he filed an emergency motion “to stay mail-in and early voting,” which was approved and entered Tuesday.

“Calvin Jordan has never run his own campaign, and he didn’t want to run against me,” Bass speculated about why the clerk failed to certify the ballot with his name on it. “It’s easier to kick me off and ignore that he has an opponent.”

Neither Jordan nor Al-Amin responded to requests for comment.

Objections to Bass’ candidacy were filed Nov. 24, 2024, by Ethel C. Nicholas, according to the Illinois Appellate Court ruling.

The objection claimed Bass’ previously filed nomination papers had petition sheets with names of people not registered to vote at the addresses shown, who live outside of township, who did not sign the sheets themselves and whose signatures were forgeries, whose addresses were missing or incomplete and people who signed petitions more than once.

Nicholas also alleged Bass did not personally witness each person sign the petition, as is required.

“Nicholas alleged that Bass engaged in a pattern of fraud and false swearing,” the appellate court ruling stated.

A records examination of Bass’ nomination papers by the Cook County clerk’s office in December found Bass had 574 countable signatures, 97 more than required to be placed on the ballot, according to the appellate court ruling.

The township electoral board, made up of Al-Amin and Trustees Jacquelyn Small and Nicholas Bobis, upheld the objections that Bass engaged in the pattern of fraud and false swearing, removing him from the ballot.

Bass filed a petition for judicial review of the electoral board’s decision, which was affirmed by a circuit court judge Jan. 16.

Justice Sanjay Tailor wrote the appellate court decision, saying justices chose to overturn the board’s decision due to a lack of evidence that Bass engaged in a pattern of fraud.

“Because Nicholas failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Bass engaged in a pattern of fraud and false swearing, the Board’s ruling striking the petition sheets submitted by Bass in their entirety is clearly erroneous,” Tailor wrote.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com