ST. LOUIS • A St. Louis Judge has ruled that Kacey Cordes' name should not be included on the April 4 mayoral ballot.

Last month, Cordes, 38, a bank employee, paid the $1,300 and filed the necessary paperwork to run for mayor, but did not turn in the required signatures.

City election rules require nonpartisan candidates turn in the number of signatures equivalent to 2 percent of the votes cast in the most recent election.

Cordes attempted to bypass that rule, arguing that she is running as an Independent, not a nonpartisan. The city views the two terms as synonymous.

On March 6, Cordes sued the city's Board of Election Commissioners to have her name listed on the ballot. The two sides met in court on Friday.

In a ruling released Monday, Circuit Judge Joan L. Moriarty said “it would be absurd to interpret” the law as Cordes is arguing.

If the city were to accept Cordes' rationale, “the need for a primary election would be diminished as candidates would be incentivized to simply declare as an Independent candidate, pay the fee … and have their name placed on the ballot,” Moriarty wrote.

The judge added that requiring Independent candidates to collect signatures protects against non-serious candidates entering the race and keeps ballots from being unduly long and confusing to voters.

Cordes responded to the ruling on Twitter, calling it a setback and saying she will file an appeal. 

In a statement, Cordes called the legal fight a clash between the "old school" and the "new school." She added that 'independent" and "nonpartisan" are not used interchangeably in other areas of government.

"This is not about one election or one ballot," she said. "This is about highlighting that the powers-that-be in city of St. Louis government often ignore their own rules, refuse to enforce the rules against friends of the powerful and enact favorable rules that benefit the well connected."