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University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public
Affairs In recent decades, competition for Illinois House seats has declined, with only 50 percent of Illinois House races being competitive in the 2000 election. Voting in Illinois legislative elections has also declined, while the cost of campaigning for Illinois legislative elections has skyrocketed, reaching more than $1 million in some races. At the same time, the four legislative leaders have grown steadily more powerful. Just over 20 years ago, the "cutback amendment" changed the method of electing representatives to the Illinois House from cumulative voting to single-member districts. A bipartisan group of Illinois leaders led by former Governor Jim Edgar and former federal Judge Abner Mikva says it is time to change back. The
final report of the Illinois Assembly on Political Representation
and Alternative Electoral Systems, released today, summarizes a
detailed review by assembly participants of problems facing
Illinois' current electoral system and their examination of
alternative methods used around the world. It also includes their
proclamation calling for a return to cumulative
voting. Under
cumulative voting in Illinois, voters elect three representatives
from each district. They can vote for three candidates, give two
candidates 1.5 votes each, or cast a "bullet" ballot by giving all
three votes to one candidate. This method has proven to increase
representation for members of the minority party (Republicans in
Chicago and Democrats in the suburbs, for instance)
and is believed to increase representation for other minority
groups. "Cumulative
voting uniquely reflected our pluralism," said Judge Mikva, who was
elected to the Illinois House under the system. "It gave everybody a
voice in Springfield and we need that again." In its proclamation, the assembly said it "recognizes that changing an electoral system is itself not capable of fully addressing all of the assembly's goals and concerns. Nonetheless, a majority of the assembly finds that cumulative voting in multi-member districts would be preferable at this time to single-member districts for electing members to the Illinois House." The
proclamation states that, compared with plurality voting, cumulative
voting tends to: �
Offer greater choice for voters in primary and general
elections �
Provide prospective candidates easier access to the electoral
system �
Provide greater representation for the minority political party in
districts dominated by one party �
Provide individual legislators with greater independence from
legislative leaders �
Generate richer deliberations and statewide consensus among all
legislators since both parties would be represented in all parts of
the state �
Be more readily adaptable to the existing electoral machinery than
instant-run-off and party-list voting. The
assembly was the result of work by the Task Force on Political
Representation and Alternative Electoral Systems, co-chaired by
former Governor Edgar and former federal Judge Mikva. The task force
examined the effects of the change from cumulative to plurality
voting in Illinois, gathered information about alternative systems
and considered how well those
systems would work in Illinois. With
that information in hand, the task force brought together leaders
from politics, the media, academe, business, and non-profit
organizations (see attached list of participants). The assembly met
over two days in Chicago, examining and discussing the information
presented by the task force. Their final report was released today
and is available on the Institute of Government and Public Affairs
web site at www.igpa.uillinois.edu. It may also be obtained by
contacting the institute. "It
is my hope," said Gov. Edgar, "that this report will stir debate
among all segments of the public on just what is the best system for
electing their representatives." The
work of the task force, assembly and the production of this report
was supported by the Institute of Government and Public Affairs and
funded by the Joyce
Foundation. |
