Illinois puts lots of restrictions on independent candidates. Just one got on the 2024 ballot in 155 races.
It’s hard running for public office in Illinois, but it is much harder if you’re not running as either a Democrat or Republican: that’s by design.
An analysis of the 2024 elections showed only one independent made it onto the ballot out of 155 races for U.S. House, Illinois Senate or Illinois House.
Running as an independent means collecting a lot more signatures to get on the ballot. It also means limits on campaign cash.
Independent candidates who ran for state or federal office in Illinois’ 2024 election cycle were required to collect between 1,256 and 11,503 more petition signatures on average than Democrats or Republicans to get on the ballot.
For independent candidates who ran for a U.S. House seat last year, that was nearly 18 times as many petition signatures as their Democratic counterparts. Compared to Republicans, it was nearly 23 times as many.
To get on the primary ballot for Illinois Senate, the Illinois General Assembly mandates established party candidates to get 1,000 petition signatures from district party members. Illinois House candidates need 500 signatures. For U.S. House, either party’s candidates need signatures from 0.5% of all primary voters from their party in the district.
Independents need signatures from at least 5% of all people who voted in the last general election within their Illinois House, Illinois Senate or congressional district.
In Illinois, only established party candidates, such as Democrats and Republicans, participate in a party primary before running in the general election. Independent candidates skip the primary, so are expected to collect a far higher number of petition signatures to get on the general election ballot.
This higher threshold for signatures was established to deter unserious candidates and ensure independents received a similar amount of voter support before entering the general election. In practice, it limits competition.
Independent candidates often lack the manpower, infrastructure, established credibility and campaign funding Democrats and Republicans gain through party association. Those aren’t the only challenges for independents in Illinois.
Political action committees and individuals are limited on how much they can contribute to independent candidates under Illinois law. There are no limits on contributions from party committees to established party candidates.
That was previously the case only for general elections, but in May 2024 Illinois started allowing established party candidates to accept unlimited contributions during primaries, too. That gives Illinois Democrats and Republicans an even greater advantage that is not available to candidates in most other states.
Submitting the required number of signatures doesn’t guarantee a candidate a spot on the ballot. Petition signatures are often challenged, with parties using experts to challenge and void entire pages of nominating petitions. Candidates often collect four to 10 times the minimum number to protect against challenges.
That is a far higher number for independents.
The consequence of Illinois’ policies: only one independent candidate made it onto the general election ballot for the 155 non-judicial state and federal offices examined in 2024.
But it’s not just independents who lose out. So do Illinois voters.
Illinoisans already suffer from a lack of choice in candidates. Research shows an average of 4.7 million Illinois voters had no choice in their state representative between the 2012 and 2020 election cycles.
And in the 2024 election cycle, 65 of the 155 non-judicial state and federal general elections had only one candidate on the ballot. That means in 65 districts, it only took one vote for a candidate to win a seat representing the entire district.
Research shows more choice drives voter participation and makes legislators less susceptible to the influence of lobbyists and special interests. Lightly contested elections also tend to skew policies in favor of powerful special interests.
Illinois should consider reforms to make it easier for independents to get on the ballot, such as requiring all candidates regardless of party to collect the same number of petition signatures to run for the state legislature. That’s how Iowa, Wisconsin and Tennessee do it.
Until that happens, independents will continue to face an uneven playing field. Illinoisans will continue to see elections with too few choices and too much influence handed to those already in power.
