Last month, Illinois Democrats forced through SB 2412 to strike longstanding election law allowing a political party to slate candidates after a primary in districts that had no contender yet. Governor J.B. Pritzker quickly and happily signed it into law on May 3, 2024.

Earlier this week, Sangamon County Circuit Judge Gail Noll issued a ruling which blocks the Illinois State Board of Elections from enforcing this law. This ruling was made in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of Republican candidates who argued that the new law unconstitutionally changed the state’s election rules in the middle of the 2024 election cycle. The plaintiffs claimed that the law violated their fundamental right to vote and to have their names placed on the November ballot.

Judge Noll agreed with the plaintiffs, stating that the law “places a severe restriction on the fundamental right to vote.” She also noted that the timing of the amendment, which occurred after the March primary election, precluded the plaintiffs from having their names placed on the November ballot under any of the statutorily available routes to ballot access.

The ruling does not void the bill in its entirety, but rather blocks it only for this year’s general election for the 14 named plaintiffs in the case. It remains to be seen whether the Attorney General’s office and attorneys for Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch, who intervened in the lawsuit in favor of the law, will appeal the ruling, which may set  the stage for a potential showdown before the Illinois Supreme Court over the law’s ultimate fate.