HR0145 LRB096 11868 JAM 22798 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Federal law requires a special election to be held
3 to fill the vacancy in the office of any member of the United
4 States House of Representatives; and
 
5     WHEREAS, There is ongoing discussion in Illinois and in the
6 nation about using a special election to fill any vacancies in
7 the United States Senate; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The cost of holding a statewide special election
9 has been estimated to be as much as $50,000,000; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Minimizing the time it takes to fill a vacancy is
11 almost as important as minimizing the cost of conducting a
12 special election because voters suffer when they do not have a
13 Representative or Senator to advocate on their behalf while
14 there is a vacancy; and
 
15     WHEREAS, The biggest cost driver of conducting special
16 elections is the requirement to hold 2 separate elections which
17 doubles the cost of election administration; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Consolidating the 2 elections into one would cut
19 the cost of conducting a special election in half and would
20 reduce the time it takes to fill a vacancy; therefore, be it
 

 

 

HR0145 - 2 - LRB096 11868 JAM 22798 r

1     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that a
3 Task Force on Consolidating Special Elections be established to
4 consider the administrative feasibility of consolidating 2
5 special elections into one in order to minimize the time and
6 expense of filling vacancies in Congress; and be it further
 
7     RESOLVED, That the Task Force be appointed equally by the
8 Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and
9 be composed of members of the State Board of Elections,
10 officers or members of the State's election authorities, 2
11 representatives of FairVote, and any other experts on election
12 administration and consolidation of elections; and be it
13 further
 
14     RESOLVED, That the Task Force on Consolidating Special
15 Elections report to the House of Representatives as soon as
16 possible with any findings for deliberation and consideration.