Amid Legal Uncertainly, Skokie Voters To Have Say In Ranked Choice Voting Referendum

SKOKIE, IL — Voters in the village will have the chance to decide in April's local elections whether to support the adoption of ranked choice voting — a system whose supporters say empowers voters and increases election fairness but that has so far faced significant legal and logistical hurdles elsewhere in Illinois.

The upcoming referendum comes after volunteers gathered over 2,400 signatures to place the measure on the ballot in Skokie, following similar efforts in Evanston and Oak Park.

Ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting, allows voters to rank candidates by preference rather than selecting a single candidate. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest-performing candidate is eliminated, and votes for that candidate are redistributed to voters' second choices. This process repeats until one candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote.

Proponents, like advocacy groups like FairVote Illinois and Reform for Illinois, argue the system promotes coalition-building, reduces negative campaigning and eliminates the need for costly runoffs. But in Illinois, where it has the potential to threaten the powerful slating power of the Democratic Party establishment, its implementation has so far been stymied in court.

Last November, a Cook County judge struck down Evanston’s ranked choice voting referendum, finding it "vague, ambiguous, and not self-executing" under Illinois election law. The ruling blocked the system’s use in Evanston’s upcoming April elections, which casts significant doubt on how Skokie’s referendum will proceed if it passes.

Skokie’s initiative comes as part of a broader push to bring ranked choice voting to Illinois, but critics and judges alike have questioned its compatibility with the Illinois Election Code.

In Evanston's case, the Cook County Clerk's office argued that implementing ranked choice voting required state-level authorization, changes to election equipment and compliance with legal standards that were not outlined in the referendum.

Cook County Circuit Judge Maureen Ward Kirby sided with the county clerk, ruling that Evanston’s plan lacked clear execution details, including provisions for tie votes and voting systems.

Oak Park's ranked choice voting system is scheduled to begin in April 2027, if county officials allow it to take effect.

While newly elected Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon refused to answer questions about the matter, her office's longtime spokesperson issued a statement to the Chicago Tribune contending that ranked choice voting "is not legally allowed" and would require the Democratic Party supermajority in Springfield to pass a new law — something that would pose a potential threat to the party's tradition of one-party rule in Cook County and other jurisdictions.

Despite the resistance, advocates remain optimistic. Reform for Illinois, which led the campaign for ranked choice voting in Evanston, has appealed the court’s decision, contending that Illinois home rule municipalities, like Skokie, have constitutional authority to determine their election processes, an opinion supported by a 2005 memo from the state's then-attorney general.