Counties, lawmakers must protect secret ballot

It's your right to vote. And it's your right to hold back a vote. Most importantly, it's your right to protect the privacy of your vote.

However, a new law puts that privacy in serious jeopardy.

Illinois is the only state that requires automatic voting machines to reject or flag paper ballots missing a vote in one of the constitutional offices. The law, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook, followed the elections of 2000, when "hanging chad" and "undervote" became household terms. That was the year all eyes turned to Florida, where some votes in the presidential election failed to register because a tiny chunk of paper failed to separate from the ballot. The idea behind the law is to prevent mistakes.

Ballots lacking a vote in one of the targeted races will bounce back. A polling official would ask the voter whether they intended to vote in every race. Voters can then send it through as-is or vote for the missing races.

"Voters are having private choices revealed in a very public manner," said Lake County Clerk Willard Helander. Based on her observations Tuesday, she fears it discourages participation. "Lines formed even when there were not that many people there because the election judges had to explain it," she said.

Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden is the only election official trying to stop the law. He sued the State Board of Elections. The courts refused to issue an injunction for Tuesday's primary, but the case remains alive and a hearing is scheduled for March.

"This law is a solution to a problem that no longer exists because of the voting equipment we now use," explains Shelden, noting that the punch ballots have been replaced. "Voters are now calling and complaining that it's a violation of their right to secret ballot. Voters feel like they're being intimidated to vote for people they don't want to vote for."

We believe voting privacy helps fight corruption, intimidation and bribery in the political arena. Sheldon notes that it's a right guaranteed in the Illinois Constitution.

If voting machines flag ballots that lack votes in some races, party bosses can instruct poll watchers to jot down the name of those who fail to follow the party directive.

People might feel awkward telling an election judge they didn't vote in some races. That might be embarrassing, causing them to vote in a race they chose to skip. Some might vote in races they don't know enough about or vote for candidates they have researched and dislike.

When people don't know about candidates in a crowded field, they tend to vote for the first or last name on the list. That means this law potentially gives the already-meaningless issue of ballot position even more power.

Helander also believes the law is flawed because it is not applied universally. It does not apply to races for Congress, county offices or the General Assembly - only to state constitutional officers. It even applies to races that are not contested.

At this point, Sheldon is the only county clerk doing something to fix the problem.

We urge the county clerks and election officials in DuPage, Lake, Cook, Kane, McHenry, Will and every other Illinois county to lend their support by joining his lawsuit or filing one locally.

If joining the suit isn't an option, there are other ways to step up. One option might be submitting a friend of the court brief in support of Shelden's argument that it violates our rights.

State lawmakers, however, have the best opportunity to right this wrong.

Repeal this unnecessary and harmful law. Protect our right to a secret ballot.