Chicago City Wire

The Illinois Policy Institute has introduced the Chicago Policy Center, aiming to address issues such as low voter turnout in municipal elections. According to their inaugural report, titled “How Chicago’s election timing suppresses voting,” the average voter turnout in Chicago's municipal elections over the past decade is 36.4%, which is significantly lower than the general election turnout.

Austin Berg, executive director of the Chicago Policy Center, stated, “Chicago is the only big city in the country to have this unique election timing and it directly discourages voters.” He emphasized that local policy decisions are crucial and that low voter turnout leads to elected leaders being less accountable to constituents.

The report highlights disparities in voter participation across different wards. Ward 16 on Chicago's Southwest Side had the lowest municipal turnout at 24%. In contrast, Ward 19 on the South Side had the highest turnout. Ward 34 experienced a significant drop-off of 56.2% between municipal and general elections, while Ward 11 saw a smaller decrease of 24.3%.

The center suggests that including more local races on general election ballots could boost participation among voters. The November presidential ballot already showed increased participation with an accompanying school board election.

Berg advocated for better election timing through creating a city charter or amending state law to improve local democracy participation. He noted that other major U.S. cities have seen increased voter turnout through election consolidation.

For more details on their findings, readers can access the full report at illin.is/chicagoelection.