Schneider challenger could be knocked off ballot in 10th House District race
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider's challenger in March's Democratic primary for the 10th House District seat could be knocked off the ballot Thursday.
Buffalo Grove resident Adam Broad said his nominating petition likely doesn't have enough legitimate signatures of registered 10th District voters remaining after a state review flagged more than 300 of them.
The state elections board will rule on the matter Thursday, said Matt Dietrich, a spokesman for the agency. The hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago.
If the state board rules against Broad as he expects, he said he'll run a write-in campaign for the post.
Broad said he's already filed the necessary paperwork in Lake County and will file write-in papers in Cook County within 10 days.
Northbrook resident Julie Rosner challenged the validity of the signatures on Broad's petition, state records indicate.
In some cases, Rosner alleged signers weren't registered to vote at the addresses on the forms. Rosner also alleged some signatures were forgeries and that others belonged to people living outside the 10th District, documents show.
The election board staff already has inspected the signatures on the petition. A hearing officer has reviewed the matter, too, and will recommend the election board sustain or overrule the objection, Dietrich said.
The hearing officer's recommendation won't become public until Thursday's meeting, Dietrich said.
Broad said he was given the opportunity to produce affidavits proving signatures belong to 10th District voters, but he would've had to do it during the week of Christmas.
"We opted not to spend any more time or money on the ballot challenge," Broad said.
Broad's removal would leave Schneider as the lone Democratic candidate on the ballot.
A Schneider spokesman declined to comment.
Winnetka resident Valerie Ramirez Mukherjee is the lone Republican candidate.
Schneider, of Deerfield, first won the post in 2012 but lost in 2014. He took back the seat in 2016 and secured reelection in 2018.
Broad, who identifies as a Democratic Socialist, has been a Vernon Township trustee since 2017. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Lake County clerk in 2018.