Early voting in Rich Township paused Tuesday to add a candidate for supervisor, Antoine Bass, to the ballot after he was removed for invalid signatures with his nomination papers.
Cook County clerk’s office communications director Frank Herrera said the pause would only last one day, with early voting resuming Wednesday. All votes cast for Supervisor Calvin Jordan before then will not be counted.
“The new supplemental ballots are being printed today and will include the names of Democrat Calvin Jordan and Independent Antoine Bass in the race for township supervisor,” Herrera said in an email Tuesday. “The clerk’s office has provided proper notice to voters at all affected precincts.”
Bass is the sole challenger to Jordan, who was first elected Rich Township supervisor in 2021, in the April 1 election. No other township races are contested, with Arlene M. ‘Sugar’ Al-Amin seeking reelection as clerk and Nicholas P. Bobis, Steven Roderick Burris, Jacquelyn M. Small and Candyce M. Herron seeking reelection as trustees, according to the county clerk’s office.
Bass alleges that after an Illinois appellate court ruled March 10 that his name could appear on the Rich Township ballot, Al-Amin refused to certify the new ballot, preventing correct ballots from being delivered in time for early voting that began Monday. He said after waiting for the clerk to comply, he filed an emergency motion “to stay mail-in and early voting,” which was approved and entered Tuesday.
“Calvin Jordan has never run his own campaign, and he didn’t want to run against me,” Bass speculated about why the clerk failed to certify the ballot with his name on it. “It’s easier to kick me off and ignore that he has an opponent.”
Neither Jordan nor Al-Amin responded to requests for comment Tuesday.
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