Illinois' election system is broken

Less than 20 percent of all registered voters went to the polls on March 19, or even bothered to send in absentee ballots. The continued low turnout benefits incumbents but undermines the public voice

By Ray Hanania

Free/Politics Elections/Sunday March 24, 2024

What does it say when less than 20 percent of registered voters actually take the time to vote in an election?

It says that the election system is broken and needs to be fixed.

But low turnout is exactly what the elected officials want. The lower the turnout, the easier it is for elected officials to get re-elected and maintain control.

The turnout of voters in the March 19, 2024 Illinois Primary Election was less than 20 percent, closer to 17 percent in most of the areas with large voter concentrations and as low as 11 percent in others.

That’s disgusting. What’s the problem? The problem is a system that is clearly not working. But elected officials don’t want to change a “good thing,” a broken system that gives them the advantage.

Granted, there are a lot of good elected officials who benefit from this flawed system, but it the bad elected officials, the ones who are not responsive to the public and who are intolerant of public opinion or who in in it for themselves, who benefit and thrive.

The current system also breeds corruption. Four of Illinois’ past 10 governors went to jail. A total of 69 elected officials have been convicted of corruption just in Illinois.

In a higher vote turnout, the good elected officials will survive and do well. The bad ones, however, stand to lose their grip on power and money. They are the ones maintaining the system.

Most elected officials have strong armies of supporters and patronage workers, from people who work for them to campaign contributors and businesses that benefit from them. They get just enough votes out to win.

But qualified and talented leaders who could do better are left in the cold because they can’t overcome the intentionally confused election system of filing, disclosing and running for office.

The candidate with the most money who gets out the most supporters always wins over any candidate, good or bad, who has to go out and build a base of support that can rival the existing elected officials.

Elections are not resulted by the best qualified or the best ideas, but rather by systemic popularity.

That’s why the system needs to change.

I touched on the solution in a prior column but I think it is worth exploring more.

Here’s what we need to do, and I would liek to hear your ideas:

1 - we need to restructure the two-round, two-party system of elections. We need three rounds and no party primaries.

Instead of having one primary to select party representatives in the first round, let everyone run, regardless of party affiliation. Then, take the top five best candidates and have them run in a run-off. Finally, have the top two vote-getter run so that the winner always has a majority of the vote.

2 - Change the way candidates campaign. Eliminate most of the requirements that are so complicated they are intended to prevent “outsiders” from challenging the incumbents and the Machines.

Let any American citizen run who is 18 years of age or older.

Give everyone the same chance to get their ideas and background and message out to voters and that means eliminating campaign spending. Create a public forum in which all candidates can equally and fairly present their backgrounds and ideas.

Provide three months of promotion online.

Let the public vote by Internet in the first round and narrow it down to five candidates. Vote again and narrow it down to two candidates. Then select from one of the two.

3 - Take money out of the equation. No one spends any money.

And, no one takes any more. Eliminate Political Action Committees and donations. Silence the dark forces that manipulate our elections, with their economic power, bribes and donations.

Ban money and donations from any foreign country, directly or indirectly. Make it a crime for foreign countries to direct spending through American citizens.

4 - Make voting a tax deduction.

If everyone 18 years of age or older votes in a household, let that household eliminate 2 percent of their taxable income to reduce their taxes or increase their tax refunds.

Give people an incentive to vote, besides just selecting some insider with clout to make all the decisions.

In fact, those who do not vote, should pay a tax penalty for not voting. Those who don’t work and don’t vote, should risk losing government benefits and welfare.

Create a category of exclusion for those incapable of voting, or who have issues. They need to apply for the exclusion or be offered automatic exclusion based on medical condition or extreme poverty.

5 - Save money by reducing the massive election departments that do so little. It was so hard to get the results of the March 19 election from the Cook County Clerk this time. It was really sad. Information was horrible and deficient.

The fact is the media reports unofficial results before the governments that get paid to report election results actually make those results public.

The Chicago Election Board admitted that it made mistakes in counting ballots raising questions about the honesty of an election, especially in the crucial race for Cook County State’s Attorney.

Whoever wins the Democratic Primary contest in Cook County — Eileen O’Neill Burke and Clayton Harris — will become the Cook County State’s Attorney making the November General election a huge waste of money and a mockery of a failed system of Democracy. The Republican candidate, Bob Fioretti, tried and lost the race in 2020. In Cook County, the primary often is the final significant vote.

Few Republicans can win in the existing system even though many Democrats are really conservatives who would vote for a Republican if the Republican Party wasn’t so dysfunctional and poorly led in Cook County. Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison, the Cook County GOP Chairman, is a ineffective pathetic do-nothing insider who panders to the worst in regional politics.

Instead of electing people based on who their powerful friends are, the enormous amount of money they raise and/or receive from shadowy special interest PACs, or who have the best lawyers to manipulate candidacy, we should elect our leaders based solely on who has the best ideas, best qualifications and best experience.

That’s true Democracy. Assuming America is truly a real Democracy.