Quinn to sign bill moving back Ill. primary
SPRINGFIELD - Primary elections will return to the third Tuesday in March under a new state law signed Wednesday that effectively ends the state's two-year experiment with February elections.
"I think it's back to the future," Gov. Pat Quinn said after signing the shift back to March.
The election was initially moved from March to the first Tuesday in February to advance Illinois' presidential primary and provide an early boost to then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's White House bid.
As it turned out, so many states moved up their primaries that Illinois would have been just as influential had it left the primary in March. Then came the latest state primaries in which candidates and political observers complained about the elections being packed so close to the holidays, making it difficult to get people's attention.
State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat and sponsor of the move, said the recent primaries tended to favor candidates with the most money, who could quickly get their messages to the masses via television while those with less money struggled to break through.
"That's not what we want," Nekritz said.
Several proposals had been filed that would have pushed the primary even further back, possibly to June or later. But state and local election officials raised numerous concerns such as the availability of election judges during traditional vacation months and the cost of using schools closed for summer break as polling places.
Cook County Clerk David Orr applauded the move, which first applies to the 2012 elections.
"With a stroke of the pen, the governor will make voting much easier for the people in Illinois," Orr said in a news release sent to media outlets. "While March is a far cry from summer, it's less prone to subzero temperatures and blizzards. Older judges who spend winters in warmer climates are more likely to serve. Plus, it will give voters more time to get to know the candidates on the ballot. All in all, it's a very voter-friendly measure."