There are something like 72 judges on the ballot this year. While I'm all-for democracy around things including judges, this is really dragging the voting process down and making long lines for voting in-person due to the length of the ballot. I think it took me around 45 minutes to fill out my mail-in ballot including judge research through sites like Injustice Watch.
Please do your research in advance and create an advance list of how you will vote before going to a polling place. Or, better yet (in the future), get a mail-in ballot, fill it out in advance and drop it off in a ballot box (for Evanston voters, it's inside the Civic Center).
We have much better and more equitable voting systems in IL than in many other states, but we aren't perfect and long lines in some places happen. If you want to avoid that, vote early and, more importantly vote by advance ballot.
Yeah, thats why I use ballotready, I print out my picks in advance and then the judge section goes fast. But it still took 10 mins just to tap all the buttons. You bring up a good point involving the lines - maybe it makes more sense to have the judges on the April ballot with all the municipal candidates?
Oh wow that's actually pretty significant. I wonder if I should offer some paid services for D65 candidates to do better targeting (I did this work with the voter files at ballotready). I actually have the TargetSmart data for the area but I just use it to look up my friends and enemies.
I wanted to also recommend Injustice Watch for information on judges. There’s information on each judge’s professional background and controversies. Sometimes I read the ‘controversy’ and I realize, I actually like how the judge came down on it. Considering all the information there is to process, I find it a useful guide.
There are something like 72 judges on the ballot this year. While I'm all-for democracy around things including judges, this is really dragging the voting process down and making long lines for voting in-person due to the length of the ballot. I think it took me around 45 minutes to fill out my mail-in ballot including judge research through sites like Injustice Watch.
Please do your research in advance and create an advance list of how you will vote before going to a polling place. Or, better yet (in the future), get a mail-in ballot, fill it out in advance and drop it off in a ballot box (for Evanston voters, it's inside the Civic Center).
We have much better and more equitable voting systems in IL than in many other states, but we aren't perfect and long lines in some places happen. If you want to avoid that, vote early and, more importantly vote by advance ballot.
Yeah, thats why I use ballotready, I print out my picks in advance and then the judge section goes fast. But it still took 10 mins just to tap all the buttons. You bring up a good point involving the lines - maybe it makes more sense to have the judges on the April ballot with all the municipal candidates?
You don't have to purchase the entire state voter file for $500 - the voter file for Evanston or D65 is significantly cheaper at $25 - still have to be a registered political organization but that's relatively easy too https://www.elections.il.gov/VotingAndRegistrationSystems/ComputerizedVoterData.aspx
Oh wow that's actually pretty significant. I wonder if I should offer some paid services for D65 candidates to do better targeting (I did this work with the voter files at ballotready). I actually have the TargetSmart data for the area but I just use it to look up my friends and enemies.
I wanted to also recommend Injustice Watch for information on judges. There’s information on each judge’s professional background and controversies. Sometimes I read the ‘controversy’ and I realize, I actually like how the judge came down on it. Considering all the information there is to process, I find it a useful guide.
https://interactives.injusticewatch.org/judicial-election-guide/2024-general/en/
Glenview Dist. 34 also had one that failed; I believe all the others in Northern IL passed. Seems like everything Central and Southern failed.