Chicago elections should be in November
Why don't we elect city officials when we elect all the others?
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, the United States hold Election Day. In even-numbered years, it’s when we elect our congressmen, and every four years it is when we elect our president. In Illinois, it is a state holiday, and it’s also when we elect our statewide officials, our state legislators, and our county officials.
Naturally, none of that applies to Chicago officials, who run for election three months later in February. This makes people less likely to vote, and it is wrong.
Is this intentional? It’s not clear - some, like former alderman Dick Simpson, claim that it’s a clear attempt at voter suppression, while other sources point to a paper trail showing it has been done this way since the 1800s. Regardless, the impact is clear - less people vote. According to The New Chicago Way1, from 2000 to 2016 the average voter turnout for those February Chicago elections was around 35 percent. In November elections, in contrast, turnout was around 70 percent in presidential years or 50 percent in gubernatorial years. That’s a lot more people voting.
Those lost voters matter. We’re a few decades removed from the Daley Machine being able to ‘pick winners’ with ease, but when less people vote, it’s still far easier for well-organized special interests like public sector unions (teachers, police, or municipal workers) to sway an election and capture an administration.
It also makes it harder for challengers to win. Looking at countywide offices in Cook County (Board President, Treasurer, Sheriff, Clerk, Assessor, and State’s Attorney), incumbents have run for reelection and had a challenger 21 times since 2002. Challengers have won 3 of those 21 times (about 14%). That might not sound like a lot, but over the same timeframe, no challenger has defeated an incumbent in a citywide race. The five elections for City Treasurer featured no instances of an incumbent even having a challenger, and the five elections for City Clerk featured only one. That isn’t how democracy is supposed to work, and it’s not how it’s done in most other major cities - of the fifteen largest cities in America, ten hold their municipal elections in November2. There’s no reason why Chicago can’t be the same.
Competitive elections matter. When politicians don’t have to worry about getting reelected, they don’t have to be accountable to the voters. To repeat my summary from last time:
Better election processes lead to better elections
Better elections lead to better politicians
Better politicians lead to better policies
Better policies lead to better results
The Bottom Line
Holding elections in February isn’t some fun quirk we have in Chicago. It discourages turnout and it makes our elections worse.
Chicago’s elections should be moved to November, to coincide with county and state elections.
A great book on reforming Chicago politics/policy which I highly recommend.
Again per The New Chicago Way