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| Legislation Takes Aim at Ballot Wars |
(IRN)-Collecting signatures on a petition is the way to get on the ballot for political office. Challenging those signatures is a way to get someone thrown off the ballot. A bill introduced in the state House would eliminate that political tradition.
Would-be candidates would have to pay a filing fee of 1 percent of the salary for the office they wish to hold, under the bill sponsored by State Rep. Jim Watson (R-Jacksonville).
"Right now if you don't have a strong network or a party behind you, it's limiting," said Watson. "And maybe that's OK, I don't know. But it's certainly something we should discuss. And there are lots of folks out there talking about different reforms to this process. This should be a part of it."
The governor in Illinois makes about $170,000, so a filing fee under this bill would be about $1,700.
University of Illinois at Springfield political science professor Kent Redfield says that while the signatures can be burdensome, certain dollar amounts for the filing fees could also limit ballot access.
"You certainly want to avoid putting the dollar figure at such a high point it would discriminate against people that don't have resources," said Redfield. "I'm not sure that it's going to be this particular change, but I think that there's going to be a push for making ballot access easier. And I think it's time for us to take a serious look at whether politics is for everybody in Illinois or whether it’s for the parties and the professional."
(Source: Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 02 24 11 by Newsroom |
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