CHICAGO — A judge will hear arguments on Friday from an Illinois voter alleging that Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz is not a "natural-born citizen" and should be disqualified for the party's nomination.ClickNow
Lawrence Joyce, an Illinois voter who has objected to Cruz's placement on the Illinois primary ballot next month, will have his case heard in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago. Joyce's previous objection, made to the state's Board of Elections, was dismissed on February 1. He appealed the decision and was granted a hearing for Friday before Judge Maureen Ward Kirby.Autoportal
Joyce challenges Cruz's right to be president in the wake of questions put forth by GOP rival Donald Trump about being born in Canada. Cruz maintains he is a natural-born citizen since his mother is American-born.
"What I fear is that Ted Cruz becomes the nominee, come September, Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida will go forward with his threats and probably several other Democrats will file suit to prevent Ted Cruz from being on the ballot," Joyce, a pharmacist and attorney from Poplar Grove, Ill, told USA TODAY.
Grayson, a Democrat, has told reporters that he will file a lawsuit contesting Cruz's citizenship if the senator from Texas wins the GOP nomination.
"What Democrats will do at that point is cherry pick which county courthouse they are going to show up in order to file these petitions," Joyce said. "And at that point, I fear they'll get a string of victories in the lower courts and the funding for Ted Cruz would dry up, his numbers would plummet in the polls, he may be forced to give up the nomination."
Joyce, who said he is backing Republican contender Ben Carson, said he has not spoken to the Trump campaign. But Joyce did say he raised the issue with the Carson campaign, which he said was uninterested in pursuing the matter.
The Illinois man said he was hesitant to file the lawsuit out of concern that getting involved in such a high profile case could be detrimental to his own law practice.
"I tried to talk myself out of it and was unable to do so," Joyce said. "It's plain as d
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