Search query: Illinois
The Final Campaign Push: Lots of Stops, But Few States
Last Monday, FairVote released our 2016 general election presidential campaign tracker. This tracker, which has been regularly used this fall by National Popular Vote, looks at where major party candi...
How U.S. Senator Mark Kirk Ended Up Making the Strongest Case for More Choice in Elections
Illinois US Senator Mark Kirk may be the most vulnerable Republican senator running for re-election in 2016. His contentious relationship with his party highlights the frustration many Illinoisans hav...
Illinois Will Continue to Have Uncompetitive Elections without Independent Maps
Despite obtaining more than half a million petition signatures to put a redistricting reform amendment on the Illinois ballot in November, legal challenges kept the measure off the ballot. The effects...
State-by-State Efforts to End Partisan Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering is nearly as old as America itself, named after James Madison’s vice president and governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry. The advantageous practice of drawing legislative districts ...
Federal Court's Decision Keeps Independent Candidate off Ballot in Illinois
A U.S. Supreme Court decision last week will keep an independent candidate in Illinois off the November ballot.The high court denied independent David Gill's request to vacate an order by a lower ...
Will E-Voting via Smartphone Promote Greater Election Participation?
With smartphone ownership being so common in the U.S., the questions surrounding electronic voting are becoming increasingly important. 39 percent of likely voters surveyed by Consumer Reports said th...
Democrats Successfully Kill Redistricting Reform in Illinois
Last week the Illinois Supreme Court rejected an appeal that may have ended the current campaign to reform legislative redistricting. The ruling further illustrated the arduousness of instituting a ci...
Major Party Ticket Floats Possible Support for Congressional Term Limits
Last week, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump proposed congressional term limits."I hear it from more and more people," Trump said of term limits for federal legislators. "We're going to tak...
Ballot Access Blues: Controversial Cases From the 2016 Election Cycle
As with past election cycles, third party and independent candidates – as well as initiatives aimed at reducing the power of the two major parties – are struggling to achieve access to ...
Illinois Automatic Voter Registration Vetoed by Governor, Faces Override
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed legislation last week that would have instituted automatic voter registration. However, the legislature may have the votes necessary to override his veto.Sen...