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Remap reformers declare victory

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* From the folks at Independent Maps…

We just completed a week long review of a 5% (28,000) sample of our petitions at the Board of Elections. The verdict is in: our signatures passed with flying colors.

Board of Elections personnel validated 72.7% of the petition signature sample, which is head and shoulders above the 52% validation rate we needed. This is an incredible achievement and it is all thanks to your hard work and support! Thanks also to all the volunteers who came out to help with the review, including a strong contingent from the League of Women Voters. […]

Our next challenge is to defend the Independent Map Amendment in court from the lawsuit filed by entrenched political interests challenging its constitutionality.

…Adding… More details in the press release I just found in my inbox…

A state review of Independent Map Amendment petitions indicates the submitted petitions likely contain more than the minimum 290,216 valid signatures of registered voters required to place the proposed redistricting reform constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

On Monday, the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE) staff completed the signature verification examination of a random sample of Independent Map Amendment petition signatures, and the ISBE review projected that nearly 73 percent of the 563,974 petition signatures appear to be genuine and match the signature of a registered voter living at the address printed on the petition. The staff checked 28,199 signatures selected at random by computerized sampling of 5 percent of petition signatures.

The sampling indicates a minimum of 382,355 and a maximum of 395,021 valid signatures were submitted to the state – well in excess of the 290,216 signatures required by law to place the amendment on the ballot. […]

Independent Maps staffers and volunteers were also impressed by the efficiency and professionalism of the Board of Elections employees.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 8:58 am

Comments

Wonderful news for this state. Hope this holds up

Comment by Very fed up Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 9:00 am
IMHO, this is a much bigger deal than term limits. Kudos to those doing all the hard work of getting this done.

Comment by Illinois Bob Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 9:05 am
Next up, the courts.

Comment by Norseman Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 9:05 am
In the big picture, it’s a small thing to worry about. We need a BUDGET!!

Comment by Big Joe Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 9:09 am
Why wouldn’t ISBE staff be efficient and professional?

Comment by GA Watcher Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 9:10 am
I think this could be huge. One of the problems (and this is true nationally as well as at the state level), is that we draw these various districts to be safe for a particular party. So when an elected official is up for election, they don’t need to worry about a challenge in the general election from the other party. But they do need to worry about a challenge from their own party in the primary. This makes Repubs more conservative and Dems more liberal. The polarization makes it harder and harder for elected officials to reach across the aisle and work out compromises. I really hope this moves forward.

Comment by Fusion Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 9:15 am
Finally…a light that is not an oncoming train.

Comment by Saluki Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 9:18 am
Fusion nailed it.
This is one important step in making our government work again.

Comment by Buster Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 9:20 am
I’m not a proponent of this initiative but I am impressed when people do their jobs well. What they accomplished with their signature drive is no small feat. Now let’s see if their lawyers are as good as their field operation.

Comment by The Captain Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 9:21 am
+++ - GA Watcher - @ 9:10 am:
Why wouldn’t ISBE staff be efficient and professional? +++

2 years ago the incompetent clown who ran the maps petition drive spent a lot of time blaming all of the drive’s problems on everyone other than himself, including lies about the ISBE staff and the validation process (which the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board printed without ever checking - like competent journalists should do). The other petition filed 2 years ago sailed through the validation process with flying colors (but with no publicity).

So the present statements as to the process are notable in that they counter the past false allegations that got a lot of publicity.

Comment by titan Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 10:04 am
A terrible reminder of how hard it is changing anything when Madigan does not want it to change.

This could have been on the ballot with a simple vote of the GA. Or it could have been a law by now with bipartisan support.

Instead, we are looking at millions of dollars, multiple years, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and challenges every step of the way. All that, just so the public has a chance to vote on a reform that is supported two to one statewide.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 10:14 am
FKA. How about we just take a day to be thankful for a job well done.

Comment by walker Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 11:34 am
The opponent’s strategy will be to convince hard D’s that a non-biased remap would make it possible for the Republicans to win the General Assembly and instill fears of mini-Donald Trumps running all over the State House.

Since it takes a super-majority to pass the Amendment, if the hard D’s all vote no because of this strategy, the amendment fails.

Comment by Just Me Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 12:41 pm
Racist maps. the inderlying structure of this is to deny minority voters canidates. call it what you will, but the unwillingness to do anything but cut minority votes into tiny segments under the guise of govt boundries is clear

Comment by Ghost Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 1:06 pm
Who funds this “independent” map group and what are their goals? Do they really care about good government or just electing more Republicans? If good government is their game why no ballot initiatives on campaign finance reform or would the people paying for this not benefit from campaign finance? If so what are there motives again? To me this looks more about electing Republicans and less about good government. Would this group be doing the same if the GOP controlled the legislature? I doubt it.

Comment by Skeptic Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 1:28 pm
To ‘Skeptic’s point. I guess the billionaire and multimillionaire elitists who funded this effort will next pick a neighboring state that is just as gerrymandered and controlled by a Republican legislature. Oh wait…

Comment by 'Goose Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 3:19 pm
Skeptic - to be fair, the group looks like a fair mix of both R and D:

http://www.mapamendment.org/SUPPORTERS.html

Comment by titan Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 4:39 pm
Uh, dude, take your finger off the panic button and check out the filings on the State Board of Election’s website. And, uh, try that google thing. Good luck.

Comment by IN RESPONSE TO SKEPTIC Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 10:10 pm