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Election reform
Quick Hit
by Josh Kalven
9:13am
Thu Jul 15, 2010

Ormsby On Quinn's "Open Primary" Gambit

After reading our backgrounder on Gov. Pat Quinn's amendatory veto yesterday, be sure to read David Ormsby on what likely comes next for the "open primary" proposal:

For Quinn’s legislative action to become law, both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly must approve the changes. If the legislature declines to act, Quinn’s gambit dies.

Want to guess what happens next?

Nothing. [...] The governor, who failed to raise the measure during the regular spring legislative session, has cultivated no lawmaker support. Zilch.

Then why do it? Publicity.

Meanwhile, the Sun-Times editorialized against the proposal, noting that political parties will not be able to identify their supporters and therefore will "have a harder time contacting reluctant voters and educating them on the candidates."

PI Original
by Adam Doster
3:43pm
Wed Jul 14, 2010

Weighing The Pros And Cons Of An "Open Primary"

Election Reform

Gov. Pat Quinn issued a surprise amendatory veto yesterday afternoon that would allow Illinoisans to vote in primary elections without declaring a party preference publicly. Was the move legal and is it a good idea?

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
3:01pm
Wed May 5, 2010

Hostile Sponsorship

A promising bill to boost voter participation among college students passed the Illinois Senate last Thursday. Unfortunately, that's probably as far as it's going to get. As with most proposals to make it easier for citizens to register to vote, Republicans oppose the measure, citing concerns about the cost to county clerks and the potential for "voter irregularities." They even found a sneaky way to stop the bill in its tracks.  A while back, State Rep. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) quietly signed on as its chief sponsor in the House.  And his sole purpose is to bury the legislation.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
1:07pm
Thu Mar 4, 2010
1 comment

The GOP And Voting Rights

Hoping to draw more young people into the political process, Senate Democrats passed an interesting bill (SB 2925) out of the Elections Committee yesterday that would require county clerks to conduct early voting and grace period registration on college campuses across the state. Sen. Mike Frerichs (D-Champaign), the lead sponsor, told the Champaign News-Gazette that the legislation "would reduce the barriers [to voting] that exist in our democracy."

The Republicans on the committee didn't seem to share that goal, however, unanimously voting against the measure. They argued that it would create an unfunded mandate on local governments, a concern raised by the Illinois County Clerks Association. But it's hard to swallow the GOP's criticisms when they have so little credibility on the issue of voting rights. This is the party that voted against an extension of grace period voting last year and floated the idea of implementing a mandatory (and completely unnecessary) voter identification law in 2008.

I'm sure their resistance to expanding the franchise has nothing to do with their party's dwindling popularity among the 25-and-under set.