The Illinois Green Party urges all its members to speak out in support of Illinois Senate Bill 0063, an electoral fairness bill that would require the same number of ballot access petition signatures from all candidates in a given election.
Currently, under Illinois law, members of the Democratic and Republican parties must submit a certain number of petition signatures to be listed on ballots as candidates, while independents and members of other parties must submit a substantially larger number of signatures to be listed as candidates for the same office.
The Green Party’s full statement, below, urges all Green Party members and supporters of democratic fairness to contact the Senators currently preventing the bill from coming to a Senate vote:
Illinois Green Party Calls for a Vote on Equal Ballot Access Bill, SB0063
Illinois Senate Bill 63, currently before the Senate Subcommittee on Election Law, would standardize ballot access in Illinois, requiring the same number of petition signatures from all candidates wishing to be listed on the ballot for a given election.
Currently, Republican and Democratic candidates may be listed on Illinois ballots after submitting a substantially smaller number of signatures than the number required of independent or alternative-party candidates. The signature-gathering process siphons time, money, and labor away from other campaign efforts, ensuring that candidates from outside the Democratic and Republican parties always contest elections at a disadvantage in Illinois.
The Illinois Green Party supports Senate Bill 63, and asks that our members, and all Illinois residents interested in fair and equal elections, contact the members of the Senate Subcommittee on Election Law to make the following request:
“I support Senate Bill 63, the bill for equal ballot access requirements, and ask that you vote to report it out to the Senate.”
Members of the Subcommittee on Election Law can be reached at the following numbers:
- Don Harmon (D, Chair), 39th District – (217) 782-8176 (Springfield office), (708) 848-2002 (District office)
- Terry Link (D), 30th District – (217) 782-8181 (Springfield office), (847) 623-3006 (District office)
- Dave Syverson (R), 35th District – (217) 782-5413 (Springfield office), (815) 987-7555 (District office)
Equal ballot access is a fundamental issue of democratic fairness. Illinois law should not enshrine a structural advantage for the candidates of two private political parties over all other candidates.
The Subcommittee on Election Law must vote on SB63 by April 7th. Join us in making your voices heard before then — demand a full Senate vote for SB63!
UPDATE: The Subcommittee on Election Law has extended the vote deadline to May 5th. YOUR VOICES ARE BEING HEARD! Help keep the pressure up by continuing to call your lawmakers, and urging your friends to do the same.