Judge Strikes Down Evanston Ranked Choice Voting Referendum, Blocks Its Use In April 2025

EVANSTON, IL — A judge has struck down Evanston’s ranked choice voting referendum, ruling that the plan approved by more than 80 percent of voters in 2022 is incompatible with Illinois election laws and fails to meet legal requirements for implementation.

The ruling, issued Nov. 12 by Cook County Circuit Judge Maureen Ward Kirby, voids Evanston’s 2022 referendum and blocks the use of ranked choice voting in the April 2025 municipal election.

In July, nonprofit Reform for Illinois went to court to try to compel Cook County Clerk Cedric Giles to implement ranked choice voting, but the judge found the clerk lacks legal authority to do so, granting a motion to dismiss the case.

Kirby ruled that the referendum was “vague, ambiguous, and not self-executing,” as is required under state law. In this case, the judge found, executing the referendum is dependent on the clerk's office using different voting machines and ballot systems.

An Evanston city spokesperson said municipal officials would review their legal options to defend the city's home rule authority.

Read more: Ranked Choice Voting Approved In Historic Evanston Referendum

Ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting, allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. The system eliminates the lowest-performing candidate in rounds until one candidate secures a majority.

While states like Maine and cities like San Francisco use the system, Kirby ruled that Illinois election laws expressly prohibit voting systems that allow voters to select more candidates than seats available.

The judge also criticized the referendum’s language as vague, pointing out potential gaps in handling tie votes. Kirby ruled that it was not clear what happened in scenarios where multiple candidates tie for last place.

David Melton, the president of Reform for Illinois, told the Evanston RoundTable there was nothing vague about it. The local attorney argued that the judge was bypassing the city's constitutional home rule authority to select the manner by which its own elected representatives are picked.

“We think that the court struggled to find an ambiguity where there was none, seemingly to justify a ruling striking down the referendum," Melton said.

Alison Pure-Slovin, a village trustee in neighboring Skokie, said several state lawmakers had told her ranked choice voting is at least a decade away from being legal in Illinois.

“If it’s not something that is recognized by the state of Illinois as a legal way of voting, we need to be done with this,” Pure-Slovin said, arguing against following Evanston’s lead with a similar referendum.

The implementation of ranked choice voting poses a potential problem for political power players like the Cook County Democratic Party machine.

By eliminating low-turnout primary elections and encouraging broader voter participation by allowing people to support outsider candidates without the risk of "wasting" their vote, the instant runoffs can reduce the influence of party-backed candidates.

It was no surprise then, to see the attorney representing Giles in the Evanston case has a long history as a key player for the Democratic machine.

Michael Kasper, a former top lawyer for longtime Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, has been a prominent figure in defending the Illinois Democratic establishment against challenges to its authority.

Kasper, who once referred to himself as "Vader" at an election board hearing, is known for his work defending Madigan’s legislative maps and representing former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in his residency challenge.

Earlier this year, he also worked on behalf of a landlord's association in an attempt to block Chicago’s “Bring Chicago Home” real estate tax hike referendum, which made it to the ballot but ultimately failed.