Illinois voters voted in overwhelming support of a non-binding advisory referendum to impose civil penalties on candidates who interfere or attempt to interfere with election workers’ duties.
With 68% of the votes counted as of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night, 88.9% of voters were in favor of the referendum, according to data from The Associated Press. The New York Times called the race at about 9 p.m.
In Cook County, where 94.2% of votes have been counted, 91% of voters approve of the referendum, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The penalty applies to candidates appearing on the Illinois ballot for federal, state and local office.
Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) co-sponsored Illinois Senate Bill 2412, which includes the referendum. He said the measure comes at a time when some people doubt election fairness with “no basis of evidence at all.”
“We keep seeing and hearing of incidents about the difficulty of election workers being able to do their job and the fact that they and their families have even been harassed and even threatened,” Hoffman said. “This is something that is rearing its ugly head this election cycle. It’s something we never had experienced in this country before.”
Non-binding advisory questions do not change state law but assess public opinion for officials. Hoffman said the next step is for the House and Senate committees on election integrity to draft the penalty and codify it into law.
A section of the Illinois election code currently prohibits elected officials from using public funds to sway voters.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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