CHICAGO — Two independent candidates aiming to give voters more choices in the Illinois 4th Congressional District race are still fighting to keep their names on the November ballot — casualties, they say, of the same hardball political maneuvering that delivered the Democratic nomination to outgoing U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García’s hand-picked successor.

Mayra Macías and Ald. Byron Sigcho-López each turned in far more than the 10,816 signatures required to run as independents against Democratic nominee Patty García. But after García’s allies filed objections to their petitions, both campaigns have been consumed by an expensive, time-pressured scramble to collect affidavits from their petition signers, leaving little room for anything else.

The setting of the campaign has temporarily shifted from the streets of Chicago’s Little Village and Pilsen neighborhoods, as well as several western suburbs that make up the 4th District, to stale government conference rooms, where Macías and Sigcho-López have in recent weeks been arguing to stay on the Nov. 3 ballot.

“The biggest frustration that I have with this process is that we’re so focused on the process of getting on the ballot that we don’t have time to talk policy, that we don’t have time to focus on substantive issues,” Macías said Friday before a ballot status hearing in Chicago.

The race was set in motion last fall when U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García — at the last minute before a filing deadline last fall — announced he would not seek reelection, clearing the path for Patty García, his now-former chief of staff and no relation, to secure the Democratic nomination in March. The move drew rebukes from critics across the political spectrum who accused the retiring congressman of bypassing voters.

After the March primary, Democrats Macías, Sigcho-López and Lyons Mayor Chris Getty filed to enter the general election race as independents, but each needed to collect at least 10,816 signatures — more than 15 times the 697 required for Patty García to make the Democratic primary ballot.

Now, at least two of the three objections filed against Macías and Sigcho-López — both Latino progressives — were submitted by individuals who had circulated petitions in the primary on behalf of Patty García. She did not respond to requests for comment, and the objectors either declined to comment or did not respond.

A final decision on the two cases could come as soon as July 14, when the Illinois Board of Elections meets and will likely discuss recommendations from hearing officers.

“This process is unfair. It’s open to abuse, and it’s being abused by Patty,” said Macías, a former Planned Parenthood Action Fund member. “Patty is weaponizing this process to keep Latino candidates off the ballot to deprive voters of choices. If this challenge successfully silences the voices of thousands, it will confirm the suspicion so many of the voters I have spoken to have about the system being rigged.”

The objections forced both campaigns to collect hundreds of affidavits from petition signers within days. Macías’ campaign said the effort has cost tens of thousands of dollars as staff and notaries fanned out across the district.

Before her attorneys defended her signatures Friday, Macías said her team had not submitted enough affidavits to resolve the approximately 500 remaining challenges, though she was closing in, with fewer than 100 left to resolve and more appointments scheduled in the coming days.

“We’ll continue to cure ballots until we hit that number. And we’re close,” she said. “We are ostracizing the folks who are part of that democratic process. We are chasing them down in their, in their place of residence, and we’re disenfranchising the voters who, in good faith, signed our petition because they wanted to see options.”

Macías said her campaign is “exploring every legal option” to stay on the ballot and added that she is “optimistic” about the outcome. She also called on the objectors to withdraw their challenges and urged the state elections board to give her campaign more time to collect signatures.

Asked whether she would consider a write-in campaign if the elections board doesn’t allow her to stay on the ballot as an independent, she said, “we will cross the bridge when we get there.”

Sigcho-López is sounding less optimistic about his chances. On Monday, the 25th Ward alderman said it is likely his campaign did not submit enough evidence to preserve his spot on the ballot. Last Wednesday was the campaign’s last day to submit affidavits and other evidence for about 250 signatures they needed to prove were valid. The campaign said it submitted information and now it’s up to the elections board to decide. His next hearing is scheduled for July 2 in Springfield.

“It was an unreasonable time frame,” he said. “Based on the rules, it’s clear that we will never have enough; they just keep moving the poles.”

Sigcho-López also called on García’s allies to drop their objections to his petitions and candidacy, comparing the move to Republican President Donald Trump’s efforts to change voting rules for the upcoming midterm elections.

“This is not how you fight,” he said. “This is not how you challenge Trump and his cronies. This is actually doing the exact same thing that we are concerned is going to happen in November, suppress the people’s voices, rig the elections.”

Chris Agrella, the hearing officer overseeing Sigcho-López’s case, stepped down from the case last Thursday, hours after a status hearing. Agrella cited family matters in a resignation message shared by the Illinois State Board of Elections. Attorney Barbara Goodman is replacing him.

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