Jeremy’s 2020 Chicago & Illinois Primary Voter Guide — March 17th, 2020
Ok, it is voting time in Illinois so time to know what you are voting on.
There are a lot of things on the ballot right now, a few high profile ones and a long list of votes that you may not know about.
Here is my ballot: https://www.ballotready.org/sb/zDsXkk67
My spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1S6YE8ueu5Nw2hl1rbauYzidRpTJeXPMmcnznqckWr8s/edit?usp=sharing
A few basic facts to know:
Logistics: When
Date: The Illinois Primary is on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020
Logistics: Where
Look up your polling place here: https://ova.elections.il.gov/PollingPlaceLookup.aspx
Verify your Chicago voter info:
https://chicagoelections.gov/en/your-voter-information.html
Illinois is an open primary, meaning you do not need to register with a primary but you do select a party ballot to vote on
Registration
You can register online but now it is too late for that. However, you can still register in person. You’ll need two forms of identification, one which shows your address. Illinois voter registration info: https://www.elections.il.gov/Downloads/ElectionOperations/PDF/RegisteringToVote.pdf – Also, you can still make sure to register and vote now for the general election.
Make a plan to vote: You can vote early but if you are voting on election day, make a plan to vote. Figure out where you are voting, and what time, and you can find the information of what you are voting for in advance. This will make it more likely to vote.
The Ballot
Ok, there is a lot on the ballot and it took me quite a while to research all the other races. In my spreadsheet I list the position, my pick, and links or notes, and also the confidence level. The confidence level is higher if I feel I’ve researched it more or understood it more, and lower if it was hard to find information or I did not know enough about this race. However, it’s challenging voting on possibly 18 judge positions for people you have never heard of.
For president, I’m voting for Bernie in the primary. I’ll write more on this one separately but I think it’s vital to get any Democrat in the White House, so I will vote whoever is the winner in the general election. As you could see previously on the blog I’ve stated I’d rather vote for a random citizen than Trump.
There are competing strategies within the Democratic party about who is more electable, in a repeat deja vu debate of 2016. Should it be more of a progressive candidate? Or a moderate candidate? I think based on the numbers around nonvoters (I’ve written a lot on voter turnout) that a progressive candidate with an excited group of voters will make the difference, especially as it comes down to only a few midwest swing states. With data as of a month ago Bernie has more donors in every state than Biden, I think this is a better proxy for excitement.
I overall like the positions he promotes like universal health care. I don’t know that people are as excited by Biden’s vision/ideas, and I’d be concerned he is the Hilary of 2020 — supposed to win but it doesn’t happen. I also think we tried the more moderate “safe” choice in 2016 and it didn’t work.
For the state positions I looked at the candidate videos on WTTW and their stated positions and who was an incumbent.
For the judges I looked at the BallotReady qualifications and endorsements.
Links and sources:
https://www.ballotready.org/ – really nice site for voting info and what is on your ballot
Chicago voters find your ballot: https://chicagoelections.gov/en/your-voter-information.html
WTTW Chicago voter guide with info from candidates: https://news.wttw.com/elections/voters-guide/2020
Illinois polling place locator: https://ova.elections.il.gov/PollingPlaceLookup.aspx
Ballot info https://ballotpedia.org/Illinois_elections,_2020