Alper Turan fled Iran 24 years ago to seek a better life for himself and his family. He wants to help his new home by being one of 38 candidates recruited by Illinois Policy to run for the Illinois General Assembly. He wants voters to have a choice.
With 82 statehouse races expected to be contested – the most in at least 24 years – the number of ballots cast could reach 4.3 million. That would be the highest non-presidential year figure in recent history.
Progressive voices decry voter suppression in states such as Texas, but the very blue state of Illinois is guilty of rampant voter suppression using a system of maps and rules that defeat many challengers before they ever get on the ballot. A new effort is working to change that.
The plaintiffs representing Black and Latino voters argued Illinois Democrats’ new legislative maps are gerrymandered to break up voting blocs, diluting minority voting power during the next decade.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the congressional district map designed to boost Democrats in the U.S. House. With districts that snake and twist across the state, gerrymandering remains a hallmark of Illinois politics despite Pritzker’s pledge to veto such maps.
Democracy depends on giving voters choices, but in Illinois nearly half the seats in the state legislature are filled without giving voters more than one name. A choice of one is no choice.
Illinois Democrats finally passed the fourth draft of their congressional district map after earlier versions prompted criticism from the Hispanic community and even fellow Democrats. A university gave several versions an “F.”
The Illinois congressional map proposal released by Democrats has districts that are far from compact, snaking to catch and avoid populations. Republicans label it the ‘Nancy Pelosi Protection Plan.’