OnNovember 4, 2014, Illinois voters approved the Illinois Right to Vote Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Constitution of Illinois. The amendment was designed to provide that no person shall be denied the right to register to vote or cast a ballot in an election based on race, color, ethnicity, language, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation or income.[1]
Both proponents and opponents argued that the legislation was intended to block voter identification laws from being passed in Illinois.[1]
Before it could be to be referred to the voters, the amendment needed to be approved by a joint resolution of the Illinois Legislature, receiving the affirmative vote of 60% of the members of each chamber.[2]
The bill passed the Illinois House of Representatives on April 8, 2014 by a vote of 109–5. The five "nay" votes came from Republicans Brad Halbrook, Jeanne Ives, Tom Morrison, David Reis, and Michael W. Tryon.[3] The bill passed the Illinois Senate on April 10, 2014 by a unanimous vote of 52–0.[4]
No person shall be denied the right to register to vote or to cast a ballot in an election based on race, color, ethnicity, status as a member of a language minority, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or income.[1]
The proposed amendment adds a new section to the Suffrage and Elections Article of the Illinois Constitution. The proposed amendment would prohibit any law that disproportionately affects the rights of eligible Illinois citizens to register to vote or cast a ballot based on the voter’s race, color, ethnicity, status as a member of a language minority, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or income. You are asked to decide whether the proposed amendment should become part of the Illinois Constitution.
In order to be approved, the measure required either 60% support among those specifically voting on the amendment or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.[5] The measure ultimately achieved both.[5]
