Deabel Says He's Running For Mayor. Chicago Heights Says He Isn't

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — Joshua Deabel had been running as a write-in candidate for Chicago Heights mayor and people were casting ballots for him during the early voting period until a mysterious letter with an incorrect state statute citation notified him that he was ineligible to run.

The correct code, however, indicates he may still be a viable candidate.

"I am still looking into this," Deabel said. "This has not been fair to the election process."

What that means for Tuesday's April 2 election is not clear.

City Clerk Lori Wilcox released a statement that said only that Deabel failed to follow state law.

"Alderman Deabel failed to follow state election law by filing his mayoral write-in statement of candidacy 34-days late. He should have filed his candidacy by January 30, 2019; he filed on March 5, 2019. Thus making Alderman Deabel's candidacy as a write-in ruled ineligible. He was late. Should further questions arise regarding this matter, Alderman Daebel [sic] should consult an experienced election attorney," she wrote to Patch.

County elections officials have yet to clarify the decision to remove Deabel's name from official lists of candidates running for office.

The letter was sent March 11 by Deputy Clerk Rachel Vega to the Cook County Clerk Elections Office. In it, she said that Deabel, who lost legal challenges to keep his name on the ballot, did not meet the deadline to file as a write-in candidate. Vega wrote that according to statute "10 ILCS 5/15.6," he had to file his declaration to run as a write-in 61 days before the election, or by Jan. 30. Vega said that nature of his challenges did not qualify him for an extension, adding that his challenge was not "sustained on judicial review."

However, the state statute 10 ILCS 5/15.6 does not address write-in candidates. The one-paragraph code addresses "precinct tabulation optical scan technology voting equipment."

The statute that covers write-in candidates is 10 ILCS 5/17-16.1. It says "whenever an objection to a candidate's nominating papers or petitions for any office is sustained under Section 10-10 after the 61st day before the election, then write-in votes shall be counted for that candidate if he or she has filed a notarized declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate for that office with the proper election authority or authorities not later than 7 days prior to the election. "

Read the letter and Deabel's declaration of intent.

Deabel, who has served as a city trustee for eight years, filed his declaration on March 5 —nearly a month before the election — and said it was proper and fits the criteria under section 17-16.1

The biggest issue, he said, is that city never notified him about the deadline or that it was taking steps to remove him as a write-in candidate. The county notified him by mail five days after early voting had begun, he said. Local news organizations reported he was an official candidate because county records still indicated that he was one. Those organizations include Patch (which had amended the story since its March 15 publication to update Deabel's new status) and the Daily Southtown, which reported his status as late as March 22. His name has since been removed from Cook County's elections website.

What happens next is not clear.

James Scalzitti, a spokesman with the county elections office, sent Patch a copy of the March 11 letter, and explained what Deabel's removal would mean for voters:

"For voters who’ve cast their ballots in Early Voting, their ballots still count, but if they write in the name of someone who is not an official write-in candidate, that vote will not be counted. And, that list of official write-in candidates is at the polling place. Voters can write in any name they want, but unless that person filed an intent to run as a write-in candidate, and did so by the deadline, that vote won’t be counted. But any votes for a candidate who is on that voter’s ballot, or who is an official write-in candidate, will be counted. Voting for someone who is not an official write-in candidate will not void a ballot – the rest of the ballot still counts," he wrote.

However, he has not responded to questions about the incorrect statute or Deabel's assertion that he qualifies for a filing extension under the law.