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ORDINANCE ENACTING RANKED BALLOTS IN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS FOR OVERSEAS VOTERS
Whereas overseas voters and military voters enjoy the full voting rights of American citizens and have the right to vote in all elections for federal, state, county, and municipal offices; and
Whereas, in odd-numbered years, the time between consolidated primary election and the consolidated election makes it impossible for election authorities to receive ballots from the consolidated primary, tally the vote, print ballot for the subsequent consolidated election, mail those ballots, and receive those ballots by the deadline from many overseas absentee voters and military absentee voters, thereby disenfranchising overseas absentee voters; and
Whereas such compressed timeframe, without an allowance for overseas and military absentee voters, effectively disenfranchises those voters from participating in municipal elections; and
Whereas the Illinois General Assembly provided for a procedure to eliminate this disenfranchisement in 10 ILCS 5/16-5.01(c); and
Whereas 10 ILCS 5/16-5.01(c) allows for municipal election authorities to utilize a ranked ballot for overseas and military absentee voters to prevent disenfranchisement, should such election authority have the ability and the municipality approve the use of a ranked ballot for such voters; and
Whereas ranked ballots allow voters to rank their selections for each office in order of preference, and the voter's vote goes to their next selected preference should their higher preference candidate be eliminated; and
Whereas ranked balloting folds smoothly with Chicago's municipal runoff election format;
Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Chicago:
SECTION 1. The above recitals are expressly incorporated in and made a part of this ordinance as though fully set forth herein.
SECTION 2. Title 1 of the Municipal Code of the City of Chicago is hereby amended by adding new Chapter 1-17.
Chapter 1-17
Overseas and Military Absentee Voti...
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