Election Law @ Moritz

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Edward B. Foley
Free & Fair is a collection of writings by Edward B. Foley, one of the nation's preeminent experts on election law.

State-by-State Coverage (Illinois)

Recent News & Analysis

Below are the most recent Illinois News & Analysis posts. See All Illinois News & Analysis

11/4/08
Election Law @ Moritz signing off

Indiana’s presidential race has only a 4,000 vote margin currently with 88% of precincts reporting.  It’s too early to know how many absentee and provisional ballots remain uncounted.  EL@M will be monitoring this race in the next day or two.  North Carolina presidential and gubernatorial races are similarly close and we will be watching these in the next couple of days.  Polling hours were extended in at least one North Carolina county.  Missouri’s presidential race is very close as well and the outcome subject to change depending on the outstanding uncounted votes. 

Voting in Florida seems to have gone relatively smoothly, perhaps because 49% of voters had already cast their ballots before polls opened today.  

There are close senate races in Minnesota and Louisiana.  Louisiana’s election in particular might experience some trouble as part of the continuing fallout from Katrina and its displaced electorate. 

Check back for more updates tomorrow. 

11/4/08
Extended polling hours in Illinois

Three polling areas in Cook County will remain open an hour past the scheduled 7 p.m. closing time.  The polling places opened late because election judges did not show up.  [Read More]

10/28/08
Illinois Republican Party sues Lake County clerk over voter registrations

Illinois Republicans filed a lawsuit today seeking an order requiring the Lake County clerk to identify voter registrations turned in by Citizen Action/Illinois claiming that many of these registrations are "fraudulent, incomplete, or illegitimate."  (Note: This suit if not to be confused with an ongoing lawsuit in Lake County, Indiana in which Republican county board members seek to close early voting sites.) [Read More]

2/5/08
Election complaints being investigated in Illinois
It is being reported that the Kane County State Attorney's office has recieved a number of complaints of alleged election code violations. Complaints received include allegations about Hispanic voters being turned away in Elgin and signs within 100 feet of the polling place in Aurora. It has not been determined whether any violations of election law have actually occurred. [Read More]

Recent Commentary

Below are the most recent Illinois Commentaries. See All Illinois Commentaries

3/17/09
Reluctance to Void Elections - Some Memorable Cases

The closeness and counting irregularities in the ongoing Minnesota Senate contest have prompted discussion of just voiding the result and calling a new election.  Regardless of whether granting such a remedy is good policy, it is unlikely to happen under Minnesota law, just as it would be unlikely to happen in any state.  In fact, despite the fact that I've read hundreds of election contest lawsuits, I've read only a handful that granted any kind of meaningful remedy, and even fewer that voided an entire election.  Here are good examples of cases that appeared to have some merit but ultimately failed.

Recent News Stories

Below are the most recent Illinois News Stories. See All Illinois News Stories

6/2/09
State Senator accused of violating election law

State Senator Lena Taylor is accused of violating the civil election law. Prosecutors say Taylor was at a polling place last November, talking to voters who were standing in line to vote absentee.

5/20/09
Ill. House votes to make absentee voting easier

The Illinois House approved a measure today that would allow voters to cast absentee ballots without having to state a reason for doing so.

4/28/09
Legislators not ready to put their stamp on mail-in ballots

Three local lawmakers want to hear more about Gov. Pat Quinn's proposal to have voters mail in their ballots, at least in special elections that aren't expected to generate much turnout at the polls.

4/15/09
Quinn looks at letting voters mail in ballots

The low turnout for last week’s election has Gov. Pat Quinn and others thinking about trading in the ballot box for a mailbox to get more people to vote.

4/14/09
Low turnout has state debating voting by mail

The low turnout for last week's election has Gov. Pat Quinn and others thinking about trading in the ballot box for a mailbox to get more people to vote.

Current Litigation

There are no active cases on Illinois that Election Law @ Moritz is covering at this time. See All Archived Cases on Illinois