Is Removal of a Petitioner's Name from the Ballot Justified for Guarding the Integrity of the Electoral System ?

In Huskey v. Municipal Officers Electoral Board, 156 Ill. App. 3d 201, 509 N.E.2d 555, 108 Ill. Dec. 859 (1987), 8 out of 10 of the candidate's petitions were invalidated because of a "pattern of fraud, false swearing, and a total disregard for the election law by the circulator." Huskey, 156 Ill. App. 3d at 204, 509 N.E.2d at 556. The result was to leave the candidate with an insufficient number of signatures to support his candidacy. Therefore, the board in Huskey concluded the candidate's name should not appear on the ballot due to the insufficiency. Huskey, 156 Ill. App. 3d at 204, 509 N.E.2d at 556. The appellate court affirmed, finding the entire sheets tainted by a false circulator's affidavit were properly stricken, regardless of the absence of any proof of a fraudulent intent on the part of the circulator. Huskey, 156 Ill. App. 3d at 205, 509 N.E.2d at 557. Moreover, the court concluded, "the State's legitimate interest in guarding the integrity of the electoral system has a rational relationship to the board's removal of petitioner's name from the ballot." Huskey, 156 Ill. App. 3d at 206, 509 N.E.2d at 558.