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 As Illinois’ 2022 elections approach, voters are
gearing up to cast their ballots in what is predicted to be one of the most
competitive state primaries in the past 24 years. This is good news for
democracy, because a higher number of candidates invariably grants voters more
avenues to express their political beliefs.
However, this competition cannot be found across all of Illinois’ elections.
Illinois has a history of downplaying the importance of municipal elections by
placing them in odd-numbered years, thereby granting special interest groups
greater control over local policy issues.
An off-cycle or off-year election occurs when a state allows municipal elections
to take place at a different time than national contests (either presidential or
midterm elections). The shifted timing of off-cycle elections harms turnout
because voters are less likely to head to the polls if they perceive the ballot
questions to be less important than those of general elections.
Illinois, which mandates off-year municipal elections, has seen the effects of
this problem year after year. For example, in Chicago’s February 2019 municipal
election, voter turnout was 35.45%. The following year’s general election, which
coincided with the 2020 presidential election, had a voter turnout of 73.28%.
The lack of voter turnout during municipal elections enables special interest
groups to seize power over Illinois’ municipalities. One study conducted by the
American Political Science Review found off-cycle elections are historically
associated with an increase in the salaries of public employees. This is because
pro-union organizations tend to dominate during periods of lower voter turnout
because of less competition from the public. In Chicago, the teachers union
endorsement tends to guarantee who is in charge of the school board simply
because few citizens are engaged with municipal elections.
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Perhaps even worse, off-year elections tend to see reduced minority
participation and less inclusive voting demographics. One study conducted by the
American Political Science Review found the share of Hispanic voters is 7% lower
in off-year than on-year elections. Similarly, Asian Americans experience less
representation during off-cycle elections.
The upcoming vote on Amendment 1 makes it more clear than ever that going out to
cast your ballot matters. Bills such as Amendment 1 are funded and supported by
unions which take advantage of periods of low voter turnout. Although the
Amendment 1 vote is during this year’s on-cycle election, voters should be aware
of future bills pushed by special interest groups during municipal elections.
One step Illinois voters can take to root corruption out of Illinois politics
and counter the drop-off in participation in off-year elections is to register
to vote by mail. In all future general and primary elections, Illinois has
passed a law that guarantees the ability to permanently register to vote by
mail. Doing so would increase voter turnout during municipal elections to
counterbalance the influence of political interest groups that rely on low
turnout.
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