As expected, Peoria District 150 school board candidate Keisha Alexander is appealing the Peoria Board of Election Commissioners decision earlier this month to keep her name off the April ballot.
In a petition filed Tuesday in Peoria County Circuit Court, Alexander argues a notary's clerical error isn't a sufficient reason to strike her petition signature sheets.
The notary said she wrote the name of the wrong circulator on six of Alexander's petition sheets. The election board's decision to strike those sheets from the record brought Alexander eleven signatures short of meeting the 200 signature threshold to appear on the ballot.
In her petition, Alexander and her attorney Rob Hanauer argue the clerical error didn't threaten the integrity of the electoral process or denote any fraud or corruption. They argue the balance of the case law on similar electoral issues weighs in favor of keeping her name on the April 4 ballot.
School board president Martha Ross challenged Alexander's petitions. A challenge to Ross' petitions brought by Alexander's daughter and campaign manager Chama St. Louis wasn't heard by the board, on the grounds that St. Louis doesn't live in the school board's first district.
St. Louis has said Alexander will run a write-in campaign if her name isn't restored to the ballot.
Alexander's petition asks for a judge to reverse the election board's decision, and an order preventing the printing of ballots for the school board race until the court has issued a decision.
A case management conference is currently set for June 5.
