Aurora mayor, council candidate ask judge to put them back on the ballot

An Aurora mayoral candidate and a city council hopeful have asked a judge to reverse the decisions that removed their names from the ballot.

Jose Torres, who is running for Ward 4 alderman, filed his request on Dec. 6 in Kane County court.

Karina Garcia, who is running for mayor, filed her request on Dec. 9 in Kane County court. She appeared in court on Thursday, and her next court date is Jan. 2.

The board removed Garcia from the Feb. 25 primary election ballot because, it said, she did not file a proper economic interest statement with her petition. The form asks for a person’s job title, and underneath the line to be filled in, reads: “Office, department or agency that requires you to file this form.” Garcia entered her job.

In his request, Torres argues that the Aurora Municipal Officers Electoral Board made a mistake when it ruled that he did not have enough signatures on his candidate petitions for the April 1 consolidated election ballot.

He says the board incorrectly determined the number necessary using the number of ballots cast in the 2021 election. He argues that it should have used the 2023 election as a benchmark.

Torres says state election law requires that the election after a city redistricts its wards is the one used to determine how many signatures are needed. Aurora redistricted its wards in August 2022.

The minimum is determined by taking the number of ballots cast citywide, multiplying that by 5%, then dividing by 10 wards.

In 2023, 10,589 people cast ballots. In 2021, more than 12,000 people voted.

Torres argues that he only needs 54 signatures; the board ruled he needed 65.

Torres initially submitted 97 signatures, but the Kane County clerk ruled that 40 of the signatures were invalid, leaving him with 57 signatures.

Torres’ case is scheduled to be heard on March 25.

Jeffrey Hansford and Jonathan Nunez are also running for the seat.