Lockport electoral board upholds Susan King’s nominating petitions, orders name on April 1 ballot

The Lockport Electoral Board on a majority vote rejected most challenges to Susan King’s nominating petitions and ordered the city clerk to print King’s name on the April 1, 2025 consolidated election ballot for Alderman, Ward 1.

The board heard an objection from Mark Lobes (objector) and legal argument from Anthony Campbell, who said multiple petition sheets submitted for King failed to comply with section 10‑4 of the Illinois election code because the sheets were not consecutively numbered, did not always list the election date or type, and contained inconsistent notarizations. "The petitions that were submitted ... are not numbered," Campbell said, arguing the lack of pagination was a mandatory defect that, under his cited cases, would require striking noncompliant sheets.

Counsel for King, Jeff McCarthy, urged the board to apply substantial‑compliance principles for a small filing and noted King submitted 54 signatures when 27 were required, alongside 30 affidavits and supporting identification from signers. "Removing her from the ballot removes choice from the voters," McCarthy said, pressing that the record showed no fraud and signers were aware of the election they were endorsing.

The board debated competing legal authorities — including Wallen and more recent appellate decisions it viewed as favoring a substantial‑compliance approach — and weighed the statute’s pagination requirement against the practical effect of disenfranchising voters. One member summarized the tension as whether a typographical or administrative error should strip voters of the ability to choose.

On specific rulings, the board dismissed the recusal motion against Mayor Stripe (the chair) and dismissed objections that concerned a Cook County notarization discrepancy and several claims that sheets lacked the election date or election type. The board sustained an objection and struck two petition sheets that did not include any district/ward identification (the transcript refers to these as pages 6 and 7). After removing those two pages, the board concluded there remained sufficient valid signatures and ordered the city clerk to print Susan King’s name on the ballot.

Votes at a glance - Motion to dismiss recusal motion: denied the recusal (board denied motion to recuse the mayor). - Motion to dismiss objection in paragraph c (Cook County notarization): dismissed (motion passed). - Motion to dismiss objection that a sheet failed to identify the ward (page 4): dismissed (motion passed 3–0). - Motion to sustain objection that two petition sheets lacked district/area: sustained; those two sheets were stricken. - Motion to dismiss pagination/numbering objection (final resolution on unnumbered sheets): dismissed by majority after debate; at least one member voted to sustain.

What the board said and what happens next The board’s written order (signed after the meeting) directs the city clerk to print Susan King’s name on the consolidated April 1, 2025 ballot for Alderman, Ward 1. Participants were notified of their right to seek judicial review within five days of the decision.

The board’s proceedings focused on three practical questions: whether missing page numbers or missing election labels are jurisdictional defects that automatically invalidate petitions; whether circulator notarization inconsistencies require striking sheets; and whether the remaining valid signatures were sufficient to preserve the candidate’s place on the ballot. The board found that, after removing the two pages that lacked district language, sufficient valid signatures remained and that disenfranchising voters over technical defects in a small filing would be inappropriate in the absence of evidence of fraud.

Quotes used in this article are drawn from the public record of the hearing: Anthony Campbell (objector’s counsel); Jeff McCarthy (counsel for Susan King); Susan King (candidate); Kathy Gentile (city clerk); and votes and statements recorded from board members during the session.

The board adjourned after signing the written order.