March Primary Bill Heads To Quinn

By Ashley Badgley, Illinois Statehouse News
The push to move Illinois’ primary election back to March has cleared both legislative chambers and is waiting Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature.

State primary elections in Illinois used to take place on the third Tuesday in March. Legislators changed the date to early February just before President Barack Obama was in the running for the Democratic presidential nomination. Many lawmakers hoped an early primary would help Illinois push Obama ahead in the election. However, now lawmakers think a primary in the first week of February is too early and resulted last month in one of the lowest voter turnouts in Illinois history.

Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline cast the only dissenting vote. He said a March primary is just “one iota” better than a February primary. He said he would like to see the primary pushed to April or later.

Quinn said he is in support of moving the primary back to the original date in March because Illinois has “harsh winters,” and turnout will be much better in March. “I thought the primary was way too early this year,” Quinn said. “We live in a pretty tough climate in the winter in Illinois. Feb. 2 is way too early and I was happy to see the legislature address this issue.”

Quinn said he will sign the bill as soon as he sees it. “I haven’t gotten the bill yet, but I’m definitely for moving the primary back in the future,” Quinn said. “It will be a better turnout and I think it will be a better campaign for the people.”

You can read Ashley's full report at: http://illinoisstatehousenews.com/2010/03/12/bill-moving-primary-back-to-march-heads-to-quinn/