Candidate vows to appeal but notices will be placed at early voting sites informing voters that Navarro Gercone has been removed as a candidate.
Carmen Navarro Gercone, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for Cook County sheriff, takes part in a forum at the Union League Club in Chicago on June 2, 2022. A court decision Wednesday removed her from the ballot.
Due to the ruling, notices will be placed at early voting sites and future polling sites informing voters that Navarro Gercone has been removed as a candidate, and that votes for her will not be counted, a Chicago Board of Elections spokesman said Wednesday. The Cook County clerk’s office will seek to do the same for suburban sites, a spokeswoman said.The whiplash over which sheriff candidates are on the ballot and which aren’t has been a consistent theme leading up to the June 28 primary.
While she was never a sworn police officer, Navarro Gercone had training as a corrections officer and was a sergeant, a lieutenant and an assistant chief at the sheriff’s office. Dart, Cook County’s sheriff for 16 years, was once a prosecutor but was never a sworn police officer. While his status is not an issue because he is grandfathered in under the new law, Dart received a law enforcement certification late last year, according to state records.
“For the electoral board to second-guess or review the training board’s decision would have been in excess of and contrary to its statutory authority and would therefore be void,” Wednesday’s decision stated.The appellate court also noted that Navarro Gercone did not meet the qualifications of the office when she filed her nominating petitions, so she should be disqualified.