Serving the 71st District with Mike Boland

Supporters hope lawmakers will heed voters' wishes on open primaries
By Adam Jadhav - ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Supporters of allowing primary voters in Illinois to keep their party affiliation secret say they hope lawmakers will listen to the outcome of anumber of local referendums held in November. In more than 20 township advisory questions across the state, voters saidthey support a so-called open primary system by no less than 78 percent. The movement, spearheaded by Springfield attorney Sam Cahnman, who lost his race as a Democratic challenger for a state representative seat, was intended to get the Legislature to act. Illinois election law requires voters to choose one party's ballot in theprimary — and that choice becomes public information, something Cahnman anda number of state legislators wish to change. Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, has repeatedly introduced a measure to makesuch information secret, and he and other lawmakers have pledged to do soagain this spring. Such a move has historically met with strong opposition from partymachinery on both sides of the political aisle. "I know it's still an uphill battle despite the overwhelming public supportwe saw," Cahnman said. Supporters of changing the law cite a number of reasons. First and foremost, they say that primary participation is dampened because voters simply don't like the idea of their friends, neighbors or bosses being able to check their political proclivities at the local county clerk's office. Black and others say such information can also be used for dirty politics, such as cronyism and hiring discrimination. "We have a lot of problems in Illinois with perception that politics is not a clean and above-reproach business," Black said. "But simply put, you can't use politics to hire or fire. The courts have ruled on this." About 20 states use a variation of the open primary system. Some stateshave seen court challenges to such rules. Arguments for keeping the current system include the idea that it keepsvoters honest and would potentially stop one party pulling ballots for theother, just to vote for the weaker candidate. But some experts say that's largely a myth. Chris Mooney, a political scientist at the University of Illinois atSpringfield, called it more of an "urban legend" and offered a different reason why changes to the primary structure typically fail."Political parties need that information," Mooney said. "The party peopleand the people running for office can go down to the county courthouse andget a list of their voters. It helps them strategize. "Black himself has used such lists as a precinct committeeman to get voters to the polls. But he still thinks it's time for a change. "It's just an anachronism," Black said. "Why do we need to do it?"

by Adam.Jadhav@post-dispatch.com 618-659-3637

# posted by Mike Huntoon @ 4:38 PM