Nick Shields

312.603.6952
nick.shields@cookcountyil.gov

James Scalzitti
312.603.0991 312.835.0817
james.scalzitti@cookcountyil.gov

Clerk Orr Issues Proposals on Petition and

Ballot Access Reform

My office has pushed to consolidate and professionalize the administration of electoral boards
for years. And while we have achieved some important reforms, like moving many small local
boards to the jurisdiction of the County Clerk, more changes need to be made. We believe we
can make these changes in part by harnessing the power of other election officials’ innovations
to further expand access to the ballot.
Below are three modest reforms to the candidate filing and electoral board process that will help
ensure that voters, administrators and candidates are best positioned to play their part in
democracy. Through these efforts, we can increase the efficiency of the process for candidates
and administrators, lower the burden on candidates and give the courts adequate time to sort
through all issues.
 Increase Process Efficiency – In Denver and D.C., the petition process has moved from
paper forms to tablets and we are ready here to allow petition circulating to be conducted
in person, but with digital tools. The Denver Elections product, called eSign, is ready for
Cook County.

Like Election Day Registration, this can be piloted in Cook County so we can refine it for
all of Illinois. We advocate making it available for candidates running for Cook County
offices and local schools, parks, libraries and other districts wholly within suburban Cook
County.

eSign is a mobile application that enables candidates to gather signatures in person, but
digitally, with real time feedback on whether the voter is registered or lives in the
political district – and it allows signers to update their voter registrations on the spot. In
Denver’s 2015 municipal election, 97% of eSign signatures collected were accepted.
 That’s up from about half that are usually considered good after adjudication here in
Cook County. This is a huge win for candidates, for election administrators, and most
importantly, for voters.

 Lower the Burden on Candidates, Save Time and Money – It’s time to lower the
filing requirements for countywide offices in Cook County. It is not necessary to require
more signatures for Water Commissioner or Clerk than we require for the Governor of
our entire state. We call for a limit on the minimum number of signatures required for
any countywide to be equal to the minimum required for Governor. I also call for a cap
on the total number of signatures a candidate can file to three times the minimum –
similar to candidates for state office.

Currently for all countywide offices in Cook, petitions must be signed by at least .5% of
the vote cast for the candidate of his/her party who received the highest number of votes
in the county at the 2016 General Election. For Cook County Clerk, for example, that
meant a Democratic candidate must have collected at least 8,200 signatures. In
comparison, to run for Illinois Governor, candidates needed only 5,000. Our change
would mean that Countywide candidates would need 5,000 good signatures, and could
file no more than 15,000.

This would lower the burden of collection and shift the burden of proof to campaigns,
prior to filing. This saves campaigns time, and saves taxpayers and election officials
money. It also helps ensure that when it’s time to vote, voters are presented with the final
ballot, free of notices.

 Change the Calendar & Move the Primary Date – I am calling for an increase in time
by two weeks between filing and Primary Election Day. This change, coupled with the
others should ensure that courts have adequate time to give due process to candidates
contesting electoral board decisions. It also helps ensure that administrators can safely
remove or replace candidates on the ballot without relying on notices.

This calendar change is best coupled with a move of the Primary Election to May or later.
The election calendar is already too long – it promotes what are effectively endless
campaigns. With the current calendar design, interested challengers must have made a
decision, built a campaign and fundraised at least 15 months in advance of the actual
election. This is not good for our democracy.