2 Latino Independents Fight To Stay On November Ballot In Coveted 4th District Race

WEST LAWN – Independent candidates Mayra Macias and Byron Sigcho-Lopez have spent the last few days making hundreds of calls, knocking on doors, coordinating schedules, hiring notaries and holding an event in a last-ditch push to stay on the November ballot.

Still, the two Latino candidates for the coveted 4th Congressional District seat could be knocked off the ballot after more than 10,000 of their petition signatures were challenged by three people.

After the state board of elections reviewed the challenged signatures, Sigcho-Lopez was short by about 1,222 of the more than 10,000 required to appear on the ballot as an independent. Macias fell short by 486, according to their campaigns.

To stay in the race, the two candidates must verify those signatures and prove that hundreds of voters who rallied behind them are real by Wednesday evening, Macias and Sigcho-Lopez said.

But the task is an “uphill battle” that puts the burden on independent candidates and supporters, Macias and Sigcho-Lopez said.

The state’s objection process to petitions is uniquely aggressive, often leaving candidates off the ballot over small technicalities, said Ryan Tolley, executive director of Change Illinois.

That is on top of the additional hurdles independent candidates with no party backing must overcome just to get a chance to run for office, he said.

If Macias and Sigcho-Lopez are kicked off the ballot, voters could lose trust in the system, especially considering U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, in a surprise move, dropped out of the race at the last minute, giving his chief of staff Patty Garcia a head start in her bid for Congress.

“When things like that happen, people lose faith that the system isn’t rigged and that the current [Congress] member isn’t just hand-selecting their successor,” Tolley said.

Macias and Sigcho-Lopez each gathered over 17,000 petition signatures to appear on the ballot — more than 15 times the number of signatures Patty Garcia needed to become the Democratic Party nominee.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, independent candidates in the district must gather at least 10,816 petition signatures to appear on the general election ballot. Democratic party candidates only needed at least 697.  

Despite submitting thousands more than the minimum, Garcia’s supporters objected to thousands of Macias and Sigcho-Lopez’s petition signatures, they said.

“It is shameful,” Sigcho-Lopez said Tuesday night at a town hall for his supporters in Little Village, where he collected affidavits.

“We very rarely have this many high-quality Latino candidates and to take that away from voters in the most Latino district is such a disservice to democracy,” Macias said Tuesday while door-knocking on the city’s Southwest Side to gather affidavits for her petition signatures.

State records show three people – Sandra Mendez, Rene Munoz, and Jeremy Rivera – objected to Macias and Sigcho-Lopez’s signatures on June 2.

No one challenged independent candidate Chris Getty’s petition signatures, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections’ records.

The objections forced Macias and Sigcho-Lopez into a costly and challenging frenzy to verify that hundreds of their signatures are valid, they said.

“I’m not surprised about the actions of the Democratic Party, but I am deeply offended by the gaslighting, deeply offended because people in this community … need real representation,” Sigcho-Lopez said.

Garcia’s campaign did not respond to Block Club’s request for comment.

To remain on the ballot, the candidates must track down neighbors who had signed their petitions and ask them to sign a notarized affidavit.

About 52,600 people voted for Patty Garcia in the March primary, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Macias said with three different candidates collecting so many signatures, it shows how deep the support is to give voters a real choice in the upcoming election.

Verifying signatures is a time- and resource-consuming effort that must be completed on a deadline, making it “almost impossible” for independents to have a chance, Macias and Sigcho-Lopez said. It also sends a message to voters that their voices are being questioned and their ability to choose a candidate doesn’t matter, they said.

“How many hoops does an independent have to jump through to be on the ballot? That’s not democracy,” said Emma Noelke, a neighbor who lives in the 4th District and supports Sigcho-Lopez.

If Macias and Sigcho-Lopez are unsuccessful, thousands of voters in the heavily Latino district could be left without a “real option” to choose the candidate who best represents them, several neighbors in the district said.

“It’s a very petty process,” said Mellanie Sprewers, a 4th District neighbor, as she signed an affidavit for Macias on Tuesday afternoon.

Macias had three business days to collect 486 affidavits after the board of elections completed her review on June 18, she said. As of Wednesday morning, she needed to gather affidavits or evidence for about 100 and had more than that many appointments with voters scheduled, she said. But getting all the evidence on time submitted by 5 p.m. will be challenging, she said.

Macias requested an extension from the Illinois State Board of Elections, which was denied, she said. On Wednesday, she called on the state board to grant an extension while her team and volunteers continue collecting evidence “until the last second.”

“We have the appointments, people are waiting for us, and we feel that we deserve an extension, just like Byron’s,” said Hugo Jacobo, Macias’ campaign advisor.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Elections said “it is up to hearing officers for each candidate” to decide whether to grant an extension.

The board of elections finished reviewing Sigcho-Lopez’s petitions on June 12 and said he was short by 1,222 signatures, said Rebecca Evans, a spokesperson for his campaign. Sigcho-Lopez received an extension to submit evidence and as of Wednesday, he was working to get 250 affidavits and other evidence, according to Evans.

“We will continue to fight every single day, and we will tear down all the barriers so that access to the ballot is a reality,” Sigcho Lopez told his supporters Tuesday.

The 4th Congressional District, known as the “ear muffs” district for its shape, spans as far north as Franklin Park, west as Oak Brook, east as Pilsen and south as Burbank. It includes Pilsen, Little Village, Back of the Yards and most of Chicago’s Southwest Side as well as southwest suburbs such as Berwyn and Cicero.

Another potential candidate, Lindsay Church, dropped out of the race last month after falling short of the “substantially higher threshold required for independent candidates under Illinois law,” according to a campaign statement.

Republican candidate Lupe Castillo and Working Class Party candidate Ed Hershey are also running, but they’re unlikely to win the general election as it’s a safe Democratic district, Jaime Dominguez, associate professor for the department of political science at Northwestern University, previously said.