Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs election bill that would favor Democrats in November

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed into law a comprehensive election bill that would give Democrats a significant advantage toward keeping their legislative majorities before any votes are even cast in the Nov. 5 general election.

Democrats already enjoy legislative supermajorities in the Illinois House and Senate thanks to district maps drawn by party leaders following the 2020 federal census that were crafted to minimize Republican opposition.

But the election bill given final approval by Senate Democrats Thursday, a day after the bill passed the House, would further help Democrats maintain control in the next General Assembly.

Under the new law, local political party organizations can no longer appoint candidates to fill out legislative ballots where the party did not field a primary candidate. Previous law allowed the appointment process within 75 days of the primary.

Pritzker signed the measure Thursday only hours after telling reporters he had not seen all the details of the measure. Still, he said he considered it an “ethics” bill.

“It really does make sure that we don’t have backroom deals to put people on the ballot and run as a result of some small group of people in a smoke-filled room making the choice,” Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference in Bloomington. “So I think to me, more transparency is better.”

The measure takes effect immediately.

In the 59-member Illinois Senate, Democrats hold a 39-19 advantage over Republicans with one Democratic vacancy. A total of 30 votes are needed for a majority and 36 votes for a veto-proof supermajority.

There are 23 Senate seats up for election this year. Republicans failed to field a candidate in eight seats held by Democrats, and 20 other seats held by Democrats are not on the ballot this year. That means before any vote is cast, Democrats will be only two seats shy of keeping a Senate majority and need only eight seats to keep a supermajority as a result of the new law.

Under the new law, Republicans will at least maintain the 19 seats they now hold. Democrats did not field a primary candidate against four Republicans and 15 other GOP seats are not on the ballot in November.

Of the 23 Senate seats on the ballot, only 11 have contested races — all of them held by Democrats.

In the House, where all 118 seats are up for election in the fall, Democrats hold a record 78-40 advantage over Republicans. A minimum of 60 votes is needed for chamber control, and 71 votes is a veto-proof supermajority.

Republicans in March failed to field a primary candidate against 42 House Democrats. That puts Democrats only 18 votes shy of retaining majority status and 29 votes short of supermajority status after Pritzker signed the legislation.

Democrats did not file primary challenges against 24 House Republicans. That leaves 52 seats with partisan competition, 36 currently held by Democrats and 16 by Republicans.

Democratic House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Walsh and House GOP leader Tony McCombie are among lawmakers who will not face a general election opponent under the new law.

Republicans accused Democrats of using the appointment ban in an effort to help protect some incumbents in November, most notably one of the few downstate House Democrats, state Rep. Katie Stuart of Edwardsville.

Following House passage of the bill on Wednesday, Stuart’s slated Republican challenger in the fall, Jay Keeven, quickly gathered required petition signatures and filed with the State Board of Elections to appear on the November ballot.

A Republican from Northbrook, Daniel Behr, filed with the State Board of Elections to run as a challenger to Democratic state Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl at 8:41 a.m. on Friday. But that was six minutes after Pritzker’s signing of the measure preventing his candidacy was filed and recorded with the Illinois secretary of state’s office.

Senate GOP leader John Curran called the measure an example of “how you steal an election,” criticizing Democrats for rushing to “change the rules halfway through an election cycle to stack the deck for their favored incumbent candidates.”

The new law also will place three nonbinding advisory proposals on the November ballot–asking voters if they favor insurance coverage protections for in vitro fertilization, if earners of a million dollars or more a year should be taxed extra to pay for property tax relief, and if candidates for office should face civil charges for attempting to interfere with election workers.

The proposals are viewed as an attempt to try to bump up Democratic turnout. A maximum of three nonbinding proposals is allowed on the ballot, and they crowd out attempts by conservatives to try to place their own advisory question asking if parental consent should be required for gender counseling, therapy or modification procedures.