With two weeks to go until Election Day in Illinois, changes in who and what is on or off the ballot is having a big impact on Illinois voters.
Chief among those was the decision by a Circuit Court judge to remove former President Donald Trump's name from the Republican primary ballot, contingent on the result of other cases involving the move. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday to restore his name to Colorado's ballot, paving the way for his inclusion on the Illinois ballot as well.
There is also the matter of a so-called "mansion tax" in Chicago, which would change the way real estate transfers are taxed in the city. The move has come under legal scrutiny, with votes for and against the measure "sequestered" while appeals play out.
But it all raises a question: how should you approach your ballot as early voting expands? Would your ballot have looked different? Would your vote not have been counted? Could you have missed your chance to cast the ballot you wanted?
To answer those questions, we went to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, also known as the Chicago Board of Elections. According to Chairperson Marisel Hernandez, the simple answer is “no.”
“We can only follow orders from the court,” she said. “You should vote your preference.”
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The Board is advising voters to vote for every candidate and ballot measure they would have had there not been any court actions. In other words, do what you were going to do anyway.
If a court should later decide to order a candidates name off the ballot, or declare a referendum invalid, the Board will still have your recorded vote and can count it at a later date, should a higher court reverse the ruling.
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The advice comes after an unprecedented number of ballot changes have been ordered once early voting was already underway.
Last month, an Illinois Appellate ruled a judicial candidate’s name off the ballot, forcing early voting to shut down until new ballots could be printed.
Two weeks later, a Cook County Judge struck down the Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed “Bring Chicago Home” referendum, also known as the “Mansion Tax.” The Board of Elections filed an appeal.
Then last week, another judge ordered Trump’s name removed from the Republican primary ballot. The decision has since been reversed today by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“It certainly has been a bit of a roller coaster over the last few weeks,” said Board spokesperson Max Bever.
The ups and downs are also causing confusion for voters.
“I don’t know who is on or who is off,” said George Buckhalter on his way out of the early voting supersite at Clark and Lake.
“It is confusing,” said Susan McGarrity. “I think they are trying to make it confusing, and I don’t know how you get around that because people see different messages on TV,” she said.
If you want to see what your ballot will look like, you can find a sample based on your location on the Board of Elections website.
There is also concern that the ballot issues could have an impact on voter turnout, which is traditionally higher in years with presidential elections on the ballot.
In 2012, Bever said the City saw lower turnout with about 24% of eligible voters coming out to cast their ballots. In 2016, he said the number was closer to 54%. This year, he said, the number is expected to be somewhere in the middle.
All votes must be cast, either by mail or in person, by the date of the primary on March 19.
