Compromise renovates Board of Elections

ON January 11 the General Assembly came up with a final compromise on the restructuring of the State Board of Elections. The method of appointing members to the board had been declared unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court back in 1976, and five delays been extended on court deadlines for creation of a new board.

At issue was whether the governor would be forced to share appointment power over the board with other executive officers.

A compromise measure (H.B. 2271) reached in consultation between Gov. James R. Thompson and 13 leaders of the legislature, calls for an eight-member board. The governor will appoint all eight members — four from his pairty and four from a list of nominees offered by the highest-ranking constitutional officer in the opposite party. The ranking state official from the opposition (presently Secy. of State Alan J. Dixon) will nominate three persons for each of the four positions open to his party. Four of the eight members must be from Cook County and four from downstate. A Board of Elections with no majority representing any party was mandated by the 1970 Illinois Constitution (Article III, sec. 5). The Senate passed the compromise legislation by a 51-4 vote and the House by a 142-14 vote, just two days before a fifth court-imposed deadline. Gov. Thompson, recovering from an ailing back — injured when his playful dog Guv unexpectedly jumped toward him — signed the bill the day after it was passed (P.A. 80-1178).

Perhaps giving tacit approval of the new board structure, the Illinois Supreme Court then granted a sixth deadline e'xtension for making appointments to the new board. The court allowed the three sitting members of the present four-member board to continue functioning until after the March 21 primary. (They had already supervised the filing of nominating petitions and were preparing the official ballot for the biennial primary election.)

A complex balance exists in the new process for choosing candidates from the governor's opposition for the board. The governor is allowed to reject any or all of the list of candidates submitted by the high-ranking constitutional officer of the opposite party. But, should he do so. Senate confirmation — required for all board appointments — would take more votes. A three-fifths vote is required when the governor makes appointments from the list offered by the partisan officer. However, a two-thirds vote is necessary to confirm candidates of the governor's own choosing.

Chairmanship of the new elections board will alternate between parties, each chairman serving two years. All members will serve four-year terms.

On January 10, farmers demonstrated in Springfield.

Terms will be staggered. Salaries will be $15,000 for members, $25,000 for the chairman and $20,000 for vice chairman. No board member may hold elected political or public office, and no board employee can take part in any political activity. All employees of the board are to be subject to the regulations of the state personnel code.

A controversy had existed over the board ever since 1973, when then-Governor Dan Walker vetoed the original establishing legislation for the present four-member board. Walker said a provision calling for the governor to make one appointment from each of two nominations offered by the majority and minority leaders in both the House and Senate was unconstitutional. He maintained that such a process violated the separation of powers section of the state Constitution (Article II, sec. 1). Although the legislature overrode his veto, the state Supreme Court later proved him right when he challenged the law by a suit in 1976.

When the court ordered that a new board be set up, the legislature began a long series of squabbles resembling a political taffy pull. The court set five successive deadlines for creation of a new board, but each was ignored and passed quietly by.

The fourth deadline produced a legislative compromise that allowed the high-ranking elected official of the opposition party to choose half of the eight-member board. The governor promptly added an amendatory veto that neither won approval nor was overridden by the legislature, so the bill died. Two days before the fifth deadline (January 13 of this year), a compromise was reached between the lawmakers and the governor. There may still be judicial review of the new law if a case comes before the state Supreme Court, but for now it is law — having taken effect with the governor's signature. Because the new law has an effective date of July 1, the court extended its deadline to conform with that date when the new board will begin operating.

Underneath the obvious constitutional entanglements of the three branches of state government, there stirred a political struggle over control of the board's makeup. The governor obviously did not wish to face an unfavorable board any more than did legislators of any party or faction. Such things as how names will appear on a ballot, or

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possibly whether they will appear at all, could have been at stake, since the board is responsible for "general supervision over the administration of the registration and election laws throughout the State." Interpretations about residence requirements for candidates and registration of votes were also involved. Some believe that such factors can have at least a marginal effect on the outcome of an election.

Finally the only solution was for the governor to sit down with legislative leaders of both parties (six of each party) and one independent Democrat (one of the six regular Democrats also happened to be a member of the black caucus). They did come up with a compromise — the sine qua non of Gov. Thompson's administration to this point.

In other action of the one-day session on January 11, the House reacted to a mass tractorcade and demonstration by about 1,000 farmers. Two days after the Statehouse demonstration, the House passed a resolution supporting the nationwide farmer's strike. The resolution (H.J.R. 66) calls for "equitable parity" on farm prices.

Once again the General Assembly is not expected to conduct full sessions this year until after the March 21 primary. Until then, many of the members will be busy campaigning back home and attending periodic committee meetings in Springfield. The governor is expected to deliver his budget message in early March, and that will be the main topic during the session of this even- numbered year. 

38/ March 1978 /Illinois Issues