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In 2022, nearly 83% of voters in Evanston, Illinois, approved a city referendum to adopt ranked choice voting. The referendum stated that the first use of the new voting method would be during the city's consolidated elections in April 2025.
However, after a court's ruling in November, this may not happen.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Maureen Ward Kirby ruled on November 12 that Illinois law inherently prohibits ranked choice voting, despite the state's home rule law that allows cities like Evanston to determine what election system works best for their communities.
Kirby also said the 2022 referendum was “vague, ambiguous, and not self-executing.” Here is the referendum language that appeared on the 2022 ballot in Evanston:
"Do you want Evanston voters to use ranked choice voting (also known as instant runoff voting) to elect the City's offices of Mayor, Clerk and City Council members beginning with the April 2025 Consolidated Election? 1) If approved, this proposal would allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference in elections for Mayor, Clerk and City Council members. 2) If voters still want to choose just one candidate, they can. 3) A candidate who receives a majority of first choices would win. 4) If there is no majority winner, the last place candidate would be eliminated. 5) Any voter who had that candidate as their top choice would have their vote transferred to their next choice. 6) This process would repeat until a candidate receives a majority of votes in a round of counting, making them the winner. 7) This proposal would eliminate the separate primary election for Mayor, Clerk and City Council members."
Notably, the referendum was supported by Evanston Mayor Daniel K. Biss and the League of Women Voters of Illinois. It was put on the ballot by the Evanston City Council in a 7-0 vote and then was approved by voters in November 2022.
The effort to implement ranked choice voting in Evanston was spearheaded by Reform for Illinois. The group's executive director, Alisa Kaplan, said the reform would eliminate the city's "very-low-turnout primaries."
Kaplan added that it would "prevent a tiny slice of our electorate from narrowing the choices down for everyone else and enable many more people to participate in the full electoral process."
In June 2024, the Evanston City Council passed an ordinance that followed through with the will of voters and installed ranked choice voting as the city's voting method starting in April 2025 (in accordance with the referendum).
Kirby justified nullifying both the referendum and the ordinance by citing the Illinois Election Code, which states that “if [a] voter marks more candidates than there are persons to be elected to office" the ballot won't be counted.
Ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting, gives voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference. If a candidate gets over 50% of first-choice selections, they are considered the winner outright.
However, if no candidate gets a majority of first-choice selections, an instant round of runoff kicks in that eliminates the last place candidate and applies their voters' next choices to the ranked choice tally.
Subsequent elimination rounds are held as needed until a single candidate has at least 50%+1 of the vote.
One way to look at it is: Voters indicate who their most preferred candidate is with their first choice. Their second choice is the candidate they would prefer if their first choice was not on the ballot. Their third choice is the candidate they would prefer next.
It's all about ranking preference, like people do with their favorite restaurants or movies.
The final result of the election, however, does not show multiple markings for candidates. Only one vote counts and that is who voters indicated was their preferred candidate when no more elimination rounds are needed.
It is called a single-transferable vote.
Kirby also asserted that Illinois law requires a referendum to “stand on its own without gaps to be filled by the legislature or municipal body.” She argued that the referendum was void because the Cook County clerk had to assist with voting machines and new ballots.
This, of course, is the job of the county clerk -- to administer elections.
David Melton, an Evanston resident who represents Reform for Illinois as its board president and attorney, asserts that the judge did not even factor in the state's home rule that is enshrined in the Illinois Constitution.
"[H]ome rule units like the City of Evanston have the right to select the manner in which their elected representatives are chosen, and this is a referendum seeking to exercise that power,” he said.
Melton and Reform for Illinois will appeal the decision, which Kaplan says has "far-reaching implications beyond Evanston and ranked-choice voting."
Such a legal precedent could make it difficult for any Illinois jurisdiction to pass any election reform if challenged because any change to the way elections are conducted would require assistance from the person in charge of administering said elections.
“Illinois residents have a right to determine how they will be governed," Kaplan said.
