Earlier this year, Illinois Democratic lawmakers passed a law which barred candidates from being "slated in" to a general election ballot if they have not run in a primary race.

Yet in a crushing move, state Supreme Court justices moved last week to uphold a lower court ruling which declared the legislation to be unconstitutional. 

Republicans complain law was passed to protect Democrats

According to the Associated Press, Sangamon County Circuit Judge Gail Noll ruled in June that the law "places a severe restriction on the fundamental right to vote."

"Plaintiffs have a clearly ascertainable right to be free from unconstitutional restriction on their right to vote which under the circumstances of this case includes their right to ballot access," he added.

The Associated Press noted how Republicans complained that the law was only passed to protect vulnerable Democrats in November.

"Gov. Pritzker’s deceitful framing of this legislation as ethics reform defied logic at the time and sought to cover up his willingness to assault the constitutional rights of Illinoisans in the Democrats' quest for power at all costs," Senate Minority Leader John Curran was quoted as saying in a statement.

AG says law keeps "political insiders" from controlling candidates

Meanwhile, Senate President Don Harmon insisted that those "who want to run for office should face the voters before they're the nominee of a major political party."

He denounced the "corrosive practice" in which "people avoid primaries to see what the lay of the land is, and then pick the candidate best suited for November after the primary has been settled on the other side."

Attorney General Kwame Raoul echoed Harmon's rationale in court, arguing that the law was needed to keep "political insiders from having control over which candidates are slated."

However, Judge Noll countered in his decision that there are less restrictive means to go about achieving that purpose.

Two justices recuse themselves

ABC News reported that Noll's ruling was appealed to Illinois' highest judicial body but it was unable to render a valid opinion.

An Illinois Supreme Court opinion was filed today in the case of Collazo v. Illinois State Board of Elections. Find the opinion here: https://t.co/lJXkpZh610 pic.twitter.com/karxnexmoB

— Illinois Supreme Court (@illinoiscourts) August 23, 2024

That was because Democratic Justices P. Scott Neville and Joy V. Cunningham opted to recuse themselves for reasons which remain unclear.

The state Supreme Court explained in an opinion that with only five justices remaining, "It is not possible to secure the constitutionally required concurrence of four judges for a decision."