By Greg Bishop/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Monday was the deadline for third-party candidates for statewide and statehouse offices to file nominating petition signatures. Some candidates used the occasion to highlight what they say is an unfair political system in Illinois.
Illinois Republicans and Democrats are considered established parties. Those parties had a taxpayer-funded primary election in March. To get on a Democratic or Republican ballot, candidates had to get nominating petitions turned in by Dec. 4, 2017. For the office of governor, as an example, candidates had to get 5,000 signatures. They also had to survive any possible ballot challenges.
Non-established parties are those that have not received a certain threshold of votes from the previous statewide election. Such parties are often referred to as third parties. Third parties don’t get to take part in the taxpayer-funded primary in March. Parties like the Libertarian Party of Illinois determine who their candidates will be at private conventions.
Third parties then have to collect and file 25,000 signatures, five times more than what the established parties collect. They also can’t circulate petitions until after March 27, a week after the established party primary. That lends itself to little media coverage until the final few months leading up to the general election in November.
One candidate who filed Monday has already gotten some attention because he’s an elected Republican running as a third-party candidate.
State Sen. Sam McCann, R-Plainview, has butted heads over the years with Gov. Bruce Rauner and his fellow Republicans. Earlier this year, he sued Republican leaders in the Senate for not allowing him staff for various functions. He said that case is pending.
After filing tens of thousands of signatures on Monday’s deadline for third parties, McCann, standing next to his Lt. Governor candidate Aaron Merreighn, said he’s not just running to take votes away from Rauner. He said it’s going to be a three-way race.
“I believe that we will take votes away from Gov. (Bruce) Rauner,” McCann said. “I believe that we will take votes away from (Democrat) J.B. Pritzker and I believe that we will pick up our own votes across the way. And I believe that we will be successful.”
Libertarians Kash Jackson and Sanjeev Mohip, and Independents Mary Vann-Metcalf and Gregg Moore also filed by Monday’s deadline for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.
Libertarian Party of Illinois Chairman Bennett Morris said the high number of required signatures penalizes non-established party candidates. Another hurdle for third-party candidates, Morris said, is unscientific polls promulgated by the media.
“They use polls that say ‘Pritzker or Rauner, that’s it, what’s your choice,’” Morris said. “And some debate requirements are that you exceed a certain threshold in polling. Well, if the polls don’t include you then you are automatically preventing us from having our message heard by the people of Illinois.”
The Libertarians said they will fight to be part of debates so their message can be heard.
Morris said limiting voter choice and competitive elections is actually something Republicans and Democrats do well together.
“Protecting their donors and their heavily gerrymandered seats have become much more important to them than actually serving constituents or defending our rights,” he said.
Morris said the group Fair Vote ranked Illinois’ ballot-access laws fifth worst in the U.S. and the worst state in the Midwest.
McCann said the concept of the two main parties is contrived and unconstitutional.
“If the people of Illinois only understood that the Democratic and Republican legislators are playing you for fools, they’re taking your tax dollars and they’re basically padding their own pockets,” McCann said. “This needs to change and I’m going to make sure that it does.”
The Illinois State Board of Elections said there’s a week for challenges to be filed with records reviews. Aug. 24 is when the November ballot is set to be certified.
