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The measure was passed on the ballot by receiving nearly 83%
approval by Evanston voters. The change allows voters to rank all
candidates in order of preference.
Alisa Kaplan of Reform for Illinois explained the change.
"All it means is instead of picking one candidate when you vote, you
rank them," Kaplan said. "You put your favorite first, your next
favorite second, and so on."
Kaplan said the measure would change elections in Evanston.
"What this means is they do not need to have a primary election or a
runoff anymore," Kaplan said. "You can just have one election where
voters do not need to come out twice, and you get to vote your
preferences."
As of June 2022, two states, Alaska and Maine, had implemented
ranked choice voting in federal and state-level elections.
"To be implemented at the state level, there would have to be state
legislation, and state Sen. Laura Murphy has introduced legislation
that would implement it for state and federal elections," Kaplan
said.
The change could impact how candidates view their campaigns, Kaplan
said.
"They do not need to place their hopes with the extreme left or with
the extreme right. They can appeal to everyone," Kaplan said. "That
is one of the things that choice rank voting does."
The system will go into effect in Evanston in April 2025.
Andrew Hensel has years of experience as a
reporter and pre-game host for the Joliet Slammers, and as a
producer for the Windy City Bulls. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan
University and Illinois Media School, Andrew lives in the south
suburbs of Chicago.
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