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News :: Elections & Legislation |
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Voters in Champaign County Able to Choose Green Primary Ballot |
Current rating: 0 |
by Joe Futrelle
Email: futrelle (nospam) shout.net (verified) |
21 Mar 2006
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Voters in Champaign County Able to Choose Green Primary Ballot
Contact:
Kostas Yfantis, Candidate for County Board District 7, kostasyfantis (at) gmail.com , 217-840-6780
Joe Futrelle, Candidate for County Board District 8, 217-328-7853, futrelle (at) shout.net
Nick Mann, Candidate for County Board District 9, urbanagreen (at) gmail.com, 217-649-8659
Tom Abram, Candidate for 103rd State Representative, 217-417-7118, tom (at) tomabram.org
CHAMPAIGN, IL - Voter in Champaign County Board Districts 7, 8, and 9 will have the unprecedented opportunity to choose a Green county board ballot for the first time in the Spring primary elections. The Prairie Greens of East Central Illinois won ballot status when candidates in the 2004 general election received greater than 5% of the vote in their County Board Districts. Primary elections will be held on March 21. Voters will have opportunity to vote early between February 27 and March 16.
Voters who take a Green ballot will be able to cast a vote for Joe Futrelle (8), Nick Mann (9), and Kostas Yfantis (7), as well as six precinct committee person candidates. In addition, Green voters will have the option to take a Democratic, Republican, or Independent ballot for races at the county wide level or higher.
Joe Futrelle, candidate for County Board District 8, is a lifelong resident of Urbana. Futrelle said, "The opportunity to take a Green ballot in Champaign County allows voters more choices and increases democracy in our county. Voters who take a Green Ballot in the primary will be demonstrating their commitment to bringing about real progressive change in Champaign County."
Kostas Yfantis, an academic professional who has lived in the city of Champaign for over a decade, is running for county board district 7. Yfantis said, "Our Green County board candidates will ensure that sprawl is contained, our water resources are protected and preserved, our public transportation system is once again a source of pride, health care is available to all Champaign county citizens, our county resources are managed fairly and transparently, and will work to end the poisonous partisan and rural/urban conflicts that have sapped public confidence in the County Board."
In 2004, the Prairie Green Party engaged in an unsuccessful attempt to win primary ballot status. "In December of 2004, four Greens applied for precinct committee positions, assuming that the 9% of the vote of our former Congressional Candidate got in Champaign County would more than satisfy the 5% requirement for established party status in Champaign County," said Al Weiss, convener of the Prairie Green Party of East Central Illinois. "The County Clerk, Mark Shelden, removed us from the ballot and we sued him in circuit court. Rather than appeal, we decided to engage in the arduous petitioning process to gain ballot access with candidates in various county offices.
The Prairie Green Party of East Central Illinois is a new political party committed to these ten Key Values: Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Grassroots Democracy, Nonviolence, Decentralization, Community-based Economics, Feminism, Respect for Diversity, Personal and Global Responsibility and Future Focus. For more information visit www.prairiegreens.org. |
See also:
http://www.prairiegreens.org/
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This work is in the public domain |
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Re: Voters in Champaign County Able to Choose Green Primary Ballot |
by se urbana
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
21 Mar 2006
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Since the general election will elect two candidates for county board in district 9 (and the Greens only have one), Greens in that district might want to pull a Dem ballot in the primary so that they have some say over who their second vote is for in the general. Otherwise, you're leaving it up to the Democrats (and Republicans) to choose your second candidate for you. |
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Re: Voters in Champaign County Able to Choose Green Primary Ballot |
by Joe Futrelle
futrelle (nospam) shout.net (verified) |
Current rating: 0
21 Mar 2006
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> Since the general election will elect two candidates for county board in district 9 (and the Greens only have one), Greens in that district might want to pull a Dem ballot in the primary so that they have some say over who their second vote is for in the general. Otherwise, you're leaving it up to the Democrats (and Republicans) to choose your second candidate for you.
It's unfortunate that Illinois election law works this way. I and my fellow Green candidates support comprehensive electoral reforms such as instant runoff voting. In some forms of IRV, we wouldn't have primary elections but instead would consolidate all the choices into the general election. Since IRV allows first/second/third/etc. choices, this would provide all choices to all voters instead of forcing them to choose one primary ballot over another and thus limiting who they can and can't vote for. |
