Protecting the Right to Vote During the April 2023 Illinois Municipal Elections
April 11, 2023: On April 4, non-partisan Election Protection volunteers assisted voters in Chicago and across Illinois participating in municipal elections, deciding on mayors, council members, suburban school board members, and more. Staff and volunteers from Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP answered voters’ calls to the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline and assisted voters at polling places. In collaboration with partners Speak Up and Vote and Chicago Votes, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee also conducted nonpartisan voter protection at Cook County Jail and Will County Adult Detention Facility to ensure that people in pretrial detention could exercise their right to vote.
April 4 was also the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King stated,
“So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote, I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my mind—it is made up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped to enact—I can only submit to the edict of others.”
Municipal elections have profound effects on voters’ day-to-day lives. We focused on issues that uniquely impact voters of color, voters with limited English proficiency, voters in pretrial detention, and voters with disabilities. These segments of the voting population have historically faced suppression and disenfranchisement and continue to face barriers to the ballot at a disproportionate rate, which negatively impacts policymaking and threatens to halt progress in advancing racial equity. This election posed particular risks of voter intimidation, both in the City of Chicago and several suburban counties, given the potential for the shifting of power. For many voters, this election felt like a referendum on whether government leaders are willing to meaningfully address racial disparities and acknowledge the existence of racial injustice.
Protecting Voters’ Rights on Election Day
We addressed a number of Election Day issues, including:
Vote-by-mail ballots that never arrived. We received multiple calls from concerned voters to the hotline about not receiving their mail-in ballot. For voters who were still near home on Election Day, they could go to their polling place or vote center and still cast a regular ballot. Election Protection volunteers stepped in and advocated for these voters’ rights to ensure they were given a regular ballot. But voters who were out of the state lost the opportunity to vote in this election.
Electioneering. As with most local elections, voters across the state experienced electioneering from candidates, campaigns, and partisan poll watchers. Our nonpartisan volunteers de-escalated tensions and supported election judges in addressing numerous instances of electioneering. Unfortunately, electioneering and even intimidation continue to be commonplace in elections—particularly in municipal elections.
Polling place access barriers. In a few cases, barriers such as locked doors impeded voters’ ability to enter the polling place. One polling place was in an apartment building that was requiring everyone, including Election Day voters, to sign in. Voters were rightfully concerned about why they were being asked to put their name down and who would have access to that list. In another case, the location of a polling place changed at the last minute, and there was no visible information directing voters to the new polling location until an Election Protection volunteer posted signs.
After calling our 866-OUR-VOTE hotline, a Near South Side voter said,
“I have never had these issues in over ten years of voting. I was defeated when I thought my vote was not going to count, and I was impressed to get a call back to assist me. I appreciate your team.”
Protecting Voters’ Rights During Early Voting
As reported in the Chicago Tribune, groups including Chicago Votes and Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights have worked to push voting rights for people in pretrial detention inside Cook County Jail. Unfortunately, financial inability to pay bail remains the main reason for limited voter access for this community, further deepening racial inequities. During our non-partisan jail voter protection work this early voting cycle, we addressed several issues, including the lack of unified voting days, voter registration access barriers, limited opportunities for voters to cast their ballot, limited access to information about the election, and voter privacy concerns. We look forward to continued work with community partners and authorities in Cook County, Will County, and beyond to improve access for voters in pretrial detention.
During early voting, we also protected the rights of young voters of color, including Chicago Public Schools students who attended Chicago Votes’ Party to the Polls. We helped first-time voters navigate registration and ID requirements when they gathered for a student power early voting rally. We also advised community-based organizations as they developed and fine-tuned their own voter protection and voter mobilization efforts at the grassroots level.
Looking Ahead to 2024
With the 2024 presidential election on the horizon, there are still persistent issues and barriers to access that disproportionately affect voters of color, voters with limited English proficiency, voters in pretrial detention, and voters with disabilities. Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights looks forward to working with election officials to address many of these issues ahead of the 2024 election cycle, with the help of our community partners, national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
This work would not be possible without our dedicated and passionate Election Protection volunteers who partner with voters facing deeply frustrating barriers and formulate creative solutions. We salute every volunteer who devotes time to Election Protection and look forward to partnering with you again for the next election!