Joe Laiacona, candidate for 40th District state representative, has decided not to appeal the ruling made by the Illinois State Board of Elections earlier this month, according to a press release. Laiacona challenged the validity of the ballot petitions of his opponent, incumbent state Rep. Deb Mell, alleging that she was not a registered voter at the address on the petition.
The board held that, although state law does require petition signers be registered voters, no such requirement explicitly exists for candidates.
Laiacona cited a lack of adequate resources as a primary reason he is not pursuing the matter: ” [A] lthough an appeal to the Circuit Court may have resulted in a more favorable ruling, one that would have removed Mell from the ballot, it would have also depleted … campaign resources.”
Both Laiacona and Mell are openly gay.
Primary elections will be held Feb. 2, 2010.