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Signature Requirements for a Ballot Question

Robert Timothy Reagan, Margaret S. Williams, Marie Leary, Catherine R. Borden, Jessica L. Snowden, Patricia D. Breen, Jason A. Cantone
July 11, 2023

Protect Marriage Illinois v. Orr (Elaine E. Bucklo, N.D. Ill. 1:06-cv-3835)
On July 14, 2006, proponents of an advisory question for the 2006 general election in Illinois filed a constitutional challenge to the petition requirements for getting their question on the ballot. The plaintiffs claimed that the number of signatures required was too onerous, as was the requirement that the signatures and the signers’ addresses match voter-registration cards. On August 2, the district judge granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case. The court of appeals affirmed the dismissal.
Subject: Ballot measures. Topics: Getting on the ballot; ballot measure; intervention.

One of many Case Studies in Emergency Election Litigation.