A central-Illinois physician has lost another round in his fight to become an independent candidate for Congress.
David Gill says it’s not fair that independent candidates like him have to gather nearly 15 times as many signatures as Democrats and Republicans. Gill fell short, but convinced a federal judge that he should be on the ballot anyway.
Then, higher-ranking appeals-court judges overturned that order, which led the Illinois State Board of Elections on Monday (Sept. 19, 2016) to formally remove Gill from the ballot in the 13th Congressional District.
“We’re not done yet," his lawyer, Sam Cahnman, said after the hearing "This is not the last stage of this scenario."
Cahnman has already asked the federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling. He says Gill could ultimately appeal to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who’s responsible for matters in Illinois.
“I think this year, especially, people have expressed distaste with the choices presented by the two major parities," Cahnman says. "I can’t remember an election when people were more upset by the two Republican and Democratic presidential candidates."
Brian Mackey covers state government and politics for NPR Illinois. You can follow his reporting on Twitter and Facebook.
