While his name may appear on ballots, votes for Jorge Sanchez, the Republican candidate for the District 9 Lake County Board seat of the late Mary Ross Cunningham, will not be counted after a court decision last week.
That leaves just Democrat Brandon Ewing, currently serving as an appointee for the District 9 seat, and write-in candidate Dashawna O. Phifer, as the only viable candidates in the Nov. 4 election.
Sanchez’s attorney Joe Salvi, who is running as a Republican for District 17 against Democrat Mary Mesa, said that while another appeal would be possible, the additional work and cost are prohibitive. He has been representing Sanchez pro bono and has his own campaign to run.
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“He gave it his best fight; at the end of the day the barriers to entry are too high,” Salvi said.
Sanchez’s removal stems from a missing date of vacancy on his forms, with an objection filed by David Villalobos, a former Waukegan City Council member who ran as an independent and now works as a financial accountability manager with Waukegan Community Unit School District 60.
Sanchez was initially struck from the ballot by the county’s Electoral Board on Sept. 11, but the decision was appealed to the Circuit Court of the Nineteenth Judicial District, and his name was allowed to remain on the ballot in the meantime. Early voting is already underway, but following the court’s ruling, any votes cast for Sanchez will not be counted.
In a news release from Lake County Democrats, Villalobos said he brought the objection because the Illinois Election Code sets out “basic requirements,” and it is “important to follow the law.”
“This ruling confirms that everyone who runs for office needs to play by the same rules, and Republicans should not be allowed to cut corners without consequences,” Villalobos said.
Despite the court’s ruling, Salvi still contends that Sanchez had “substantially complied” with the election code. The omission was not a violation of the “integrity of the election,” he said, but rather a mistake by a nonnative English speaker going through an expedited, special election process.
“I think it should have erred on the side of Mr. Sanchez,” Salvi said. “Ballot access is a substantial right and should not be lightly denied.”
Local party leaders traded attacks across the aisle following news of the court ruling.
Waukegan Township Democratic Party Chair Matt Muchowski called Republicans the party of “Jan. 6, voting restrictions, ICE intimidation and gerrymandering to undermine minority representation.”
“They should not be allowed shortcuts to the ballot,” Muchowski said. “This ruling simply holds them to the same standard as Democrats.”
Lake County Democratic Party Chair Daniel Didech framed it as an example of the contrast between the two local parties: Democrats are “effective” and “professional,” equipping their candidates “with the resources and support necessary to successfully place their name on the ballot.”
Meanwhile, “This ruling makes clear that local Republicans simply do not operate with the same degree of competence and discipline,” Didech said.
In a responding statement, Dawn Abernathy, the chair of Lake County Republicans, said Republicans want “fair elections and only American citizens participating in elections.”
“I find it hilarious that Republicans are being called out for gerrymandering,” she said. “The Democrats have been the ones in power to draw the most gerrymandered map of Illinois in the country.”
She also pushed back on the accusation of attempts to “undermine minority representation.”
“The Democrats were so afraid of Jorge Sanchez, a prominent Latino business owner, they did everything to get him kicked off the ballot,” Abernathy said.
Abernathy, responding to Didech, said he was “lucky to have the bank account of billionaire JB Pritzker at his disposal,” noting Sanchez had been represented by Joe and Mackenzie Salvi pro bono.
She also criticized County Board Chair Sandy Hart for allegedly failing to give proper notification of the vacancy in office, which Abernathy said is required by law.
“But, just like the Waukegan Alderwoman Sylvia Bolton, who signed her deceased mother’s ballot committing voter fraud, nothing will be done. Laws don’t apply to Democrats in Illinois,” Abernathy said.
Hart declined to comment on Abernathy’s statement, but voiced her support for Ewing.
“I think Brandon has done a great job; he’s already been an asset to the county,” Hart said. “We expect he’ll carry on Mary’s legacy in that district.”
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