Chicago Independent Candidate Byron Sigcho-Lopez Says He Will Sue if Elections Board Keeps Him Off Ballot

Posted on by July 17, 2026
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This story says that Chicago alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, who is an independent candidate for U.S. House in the Fourth District, will file a lawsuit in Illinois state courts to get on the ballot, if the Elections Board keeps him off the ballot.

He would probably have a better chance in federal court. The Illinois state courts are among the least favorable to ballot access, among the state courts of all fifty states. Illinois state courts kept the Harold Washington Party off the Cook County in 1990, but the U.S. Supreme Court reversed that decision. The state courts repeatedly upheld the full-slate law for new parties, but the federal courts invalidated that law in 2016. The state courts have invalidated all statewide initiative petitions since 1980.

Link to Presidential Speech on Elections

Posted on by July 17, 2026
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Here is a link to President Trump’s speech of July 16. It lasts 26 minutes.

Trump is correct that U.S. election procedures are faulty, but he did not mention the true faults. One fault that gets no publicity, but is absolutely true, is that some states won’t tally write-in votes even for declared write-in candidates. There is no principled defense for the policies of those states. Write-in votes for presidential candidates who have filed a declaration of write-in candidacy are valid votes, yet election officials refuse to tally them just to save trouble and expense. This is a problem in the District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Virginia.