Party system and local elections
This legal expert’s strategy could change how candidates file
Attorney Burt Odelson invited me to his Evergreen Park law office the other day. I had reached out to ask Odelson about municipal election primaries. Most towns do not have them, but some do.
The reason why is fairly straightforward. Most commonly, primaries are required when candidates file nominating petitions as members of established political parties.
“These can be statewide established parties like Democratic and Republican, but also local political parties, such as the Anytown Homeowners Party that may have run candidates in the last municipal election,” according to Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for the Cook County clerk’s office.
Primaries also may be needed in nonpartisan elections if four or more candidates file for a particular office, Daly said.
The Illinois State Board of Elections determines dates for elections and deadlines related to them. The next election in Illinois is a primary Feb. 23, followed by a consolidated election April 6.
In order to run for public office, candidates must collect a certain number of valid signatures from registered voters. This process is known as circulating nominating petitions. Political opponents often challenge the validity of signatures on
nominating petitions for various reasons.
The state board determines when candidates may circulate and file petitions. For the Feb. 23 primary, the first day to circulate was Aug. 25. Candidates may file between Nov. 16 and Nov. 23.
For the April 6 consolidated election, candidates could begin circulating petitions on Sept. 22. Filing begins Dec. 14 and ends Dec. 21.
“If candidates file for established party primaries and there is no more than one candidate running for each office, they skip the primary and go right to the April election,” Daly said.
The distinctions between new and established political parties affect partisan contests for such offices as mayor, village president, alderman, village trustee, township supervisor, township trustee and similar posts. Elected positions on school, library and park district boards are strictly nonpartisan, Daly said.
Odelson’s office is decorated with memorabilia signed by rock stars and Chicago sports legends. He also displays pieces of historic election equipment, such as decades-old ballots and mechanical gear once used by voters.
“Odelson, Sterk, Murphey, Frazier & McGrath, Ltd.’s founding partner, Burton Odelson, started the firm in 1972 and has since earned a reputation as a leading expert in governmental and election law,” according to a biography on his firm’s website.
Odelson showed me an infamous “hanging chad” ballot from when he went to Florida in 2000 as one of many lawyers involved in overseeing the counting of ballots in the razorthin presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.
Odelson said he and his law firm colleagues recently began questioning their political candidate clients about the tradition in suburban municipalities of renaming and reestablishing political parties every two years.
The way it works is that a political party files paperwork with the state board. Officers are named, typically a chair and treasurer. A financial institution is identified as a repository for campaign donations that are collected.
The fundraising committee for the political party typically is required to file a form every three months stating the amount of funds raised and spent and the balance of funds on hand.
For an office such as state legislator, the campaign fund might be called, “The Committee to Elect John Smith,” and it typically would exist for the duration of the politician’s career. For municipal elections, however, committees often are dissolved and new ones are formed every two years.
“We asked, ‘Why is that?’ ” Odelson said.
The reason turned out to be the belief that new parties could avoid the need for a primary by selecting a slate of candidates and filing for the general election later in the spring. The practice became the norm as a way for political parties to maintain control over their slates.
However, Odelson said, candidates for new political parties have to collect 10 times more signatures than do candidates for existing political parties. The requirement is determined by how many ballots were cast in the previous election for any given office.
“It’s one half of 1% for existing parties, but it’s 5% for new parties,” he said.
That difference means hours of work and typically hundreds of signatures. In Orland Park, for example, 12,908 ballots were cast in the 2017 village president election. This year, candidates representing new political parties will need to collect at least 646 signatures. But a representative of an existing party would only need 65 signatures.
In Tinley Park, 9,281 ballots were cast for mayor in 2017. Candidates for new parties have to submit at least 464 valid signatures of registered voters. A candidate for an established party, however, would only need 47 signatures.
“We have started encouraging our people to run under existing parties,” Odelson said. “If no one else files to run against you, there is no primary.”
It’s a gamble, but the payoff could be worth it. Challenges occur often and filing errors are routine. A misplaced address, an incorrect numbering of pages or even using staples instead of paper clips to bind petition pages together could negate dozens of otherwise valid signatures.
Candidates or their representatives often stand for hours in cold temperatures at train stations or other places to collect signatures. If they need a minimum of 750 signatures, many probably collect at least 1,000, just to be safe.
It would be a lot easier and save a lot of time if they only needed 75 signatures and collected 100 as a buffer.
Odelson and his colleagues are taxpayer-funded village and city attorneys for many towns throughout the south suburbs. Separately, they often work privately to advise many candidates for public office in the Southland.
It may take a while for their suggestion to catch on, but the suggestion to file as candidates of established instead of new political parties potentially could have a significant impact on local elections.
The lower threshold for numbers of signatures needed could increase participation in the democratic process. Hopefuls may pass on pursuing campaigns if they needed to collect hundreds of signatures, but they may take a shot if they only needed to collect a few dozen signatures.
Who knows what could happen? Political parties in some towns may take Odelson’s advice and give it a try. Then again, they could potentially be challenged by other citizens who hope to earn a party’s nomination by winning a primary.