By Kate Braser
Published August 21st 2003 in Pioneer Press
McHenry County citizens may soon be able to cast multiple votes for one candidate in county board elections.
A new law, signed by Governor Rod Blagojevich last week, gives residents of multiseat districts, like McHenry County, an opportunity to request cumulative voting rights.
The law allows the McHenry County Board to grant those rights.
This means if each voter may vote for up to three county board members, the voter may choose to cast all three votes for one candidate, if the county adopts the law.
Cumulative voting rights do not apply to governing bodies other than county boards. They also do not apply to single-seat districts because everyone only gets one vote, whereas in multiseat districts everyone gets three or four votes.
Ill. Rep. Jack Franks, D-63, of Woodstock was a strong voice for the new legislation, which he said will make it possible for political minorities to cast all their votes for one candidate rather than throwing extra votes away-a situation Franks said is the reason political minorities within the McHenry County Board district never win.
"I always want to find ways to empower the citizens," Franks said, "So this legislation came by me naturally."
Franks pushed cumulative voting rights legislation for two reasons -- so people from small towns can elect local representatives easier, and because last year the McHenry County Board members voted themselves an 85 percent pay increase.
"The board's decision to pass that raise was unconscionable during a time when they were having to make cuts in other places," Franks said. "It just shows how untouchable this board thinks it is."
Franks thinks McHenry County's board is too big. The board has 24 members: four representatives from each of six districts. Franks said the McHenry County Board is at least seven members larger than the average county board. For example, the Cook County Board has 17 members.
"The size of McHenry's board infuriates me at times," Franks said, adding McHenry County is smaller than a lot of counties who manage with smaller boards.
Not all local politicians are convinced the 24-member board is too large.
Ill. Rep. Rosemary Kurtz, R-64, is concerned about Franks' hope that the new legislation will cut the board's size in half.
"If it is not broke, why fix it?" Kurtz asked, adding she thinks a smaller board will not be beneficial to people living on McHenry County's west side.
"Right now, all of the population in this county lives on the eastern side, so this will not help those more rural towns that make our county so diverse. Their voice is important too," Kurtz said.
Kurtz moved to the northwest suburbs in the early 1970s, when legislation was being changed to abolish the cumulative voting system for the General Assembly.
"I guess if the people got rid of this system years ago, it's not good that it's back," she said. "There are more important issues we need to consider."
Kurtz said the size of McHenry County's board is an asset because it gives the board more power, diversity, and identity.
State Sen. Pamela Althoff, R-32, agrees with Kurtz.
"I truly believe in the one-person, one-vote system," Althoff said. "This new law allows the minority party to support one candidate, which can be a problem because then you're not getting a truly representative system."
Both Althoff and Kurtz worry about rural McHenry County.
"I just worry the rural areas are losing out on this," Kurtz said. Standing by his legislation, Franks said cumulative voting in McHenry County's districts would allow for closer representation of the people.
"How can someone from Lake in the Hills represent someone from Harvard?" Franks asked. "The distance some members live from their constituents is too far. In the last election, 16 of the board members were sponsored by the same person, that's not diversity." he said.
Those who live in multiseat counties and want more information about cumulative voting can find more information at www.midwestdemocracy.org or contact their local representative.
A new law, signed by Governor Rod Blagojevich last week, gives residents of multiseat districts, like McHenry County, an opportunity to request cumulative voting rights.
The law allows the McHenry County Board to grant those rights.
This means if each voter may vote for up to three county board members, the voter may choose to cast all three votes for one candidate, if the county adopts the law.
Cumulative voting rights do not apply to governing bodies other than county boards. They also do not apply to single-seat districts because everyone only gets one vote, whereas in multiseat districts everyone gets three or four votes.
Ill. Rep. Jack Franks, D-63, of Woodstock was a strong voice for the new legislation, which he said will make it possible for political minorities to cast all their votes for one candidate rather than throwing extra votes away-a situation Franks said is the reason political minorities within the McHenry County Board district never win.
"I always want to find ways to empower the citizens," Franks said, "So this legislation came by me naturally."
Franks pushed cumulative voting rights legislation for two reasons -- so people from small towns can elect local representatives easier, and because last year the McHenry County Board members voted themselves an 85 percent pay increase.
"The board's decision to pass that raise was unconscionable during a time when they were having to make cuts in other places," Franks said. "It just shows how untouchable this board thinks it is."
Franks thinks McHenry County's board is too big. The board has 24 members: four representatives from each of six districts. Franks said the McHenry County Board is at least seven members larger than the average county board. For example, the Cook County Board has 17 members.
"The size of McHenry's board infuriates me at times," Franks said, adding McHenry County is smaller than a lot of counties who manage with smaller boards.
Not all local politicians are convinced the 24-member board is too large.
Ill. Rep. Rosemary Kurtz, R-64, is concerned about Franks' hope that the new legislation will cut the board's size in half.
"If it is not broke, why fix it?" Kurtz asked, adding she thinks a smaller board will not be beneficial to people living on McHenry County's west side.
"Right now, all of the population in this county lives on the eastern side, so this will not help those more rural towns that make our county so diverse. Their voice is important too," Kurtz said.
Kurtz moved to the northwest suburbs in the early 1970s, when legislation was being changed to abolish the cumulative voting system for the General Assembly.
"I guess if the people got rid of this system years ago, it's not good that it's back," she said. "There are more important issues we need to consider."
Kurtz said the size of McHenry County's board is an asset because it gives the board more power, diversity, and identity.
State Sen. Pamela Althoff, R-32, agrees with Kurtz.
"I truly believe in the one-person, one-vote system," Althoff said. "This new law allows the minority party to support one candidate, which can be a problem because then you're not getting a truly representative system."
Both Althoff and Kurtz worry about rural McHenry County.
"I just worry the rural areas are losing out on this," Kurtz said. Standing by his legislation, Franks said cumulative voting in McHenry County's districts would allow for closer representation of the people.
"How can someone from Lake in the Hills represent someone from Harvard?" Franks asked. "The distance some members live from their constituents is too far. In the last election, 16 of the board members were sponsored by the same person, that's not diversity." he said.
Those who live in multiseat counties and want more information about cumulative voting can find more information at www.midwestdemocracy.org or contact their local representative.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.