What you need to know about advisory questions on Illinois ballots

Illinoisans will be asked to vote on three advisory questions in the election Nov. 5. Here is what voters should know.

Come Election Day, Illinoisans will see three questions on the statewide ballot: one on election interference, another asking about amending the state constitution to impose a 3% tax on income over $1 million and a third on requiring insurance companies to cover fertility treatments.

These questions were placed on the ballot by Senate Bill 2412, the same bill that attempted to reduce election competition in the middle of the election cycle by barring candidates who did not participate in a primary election from appearing on the 2024 ballot. That provision of the bill as applied to the 2024 election was struck down by a state appellate court in June. The Illinois Supreme Court declined to take up the appeal, so those provisions will not apply until after Nov. 5. The advisory ballot questions remained.

The statewide questions are not the only advisory questions some Illinoisans will see on their ballots. Citizens and governing bodies of municipalities, townships and counties may also place advisory questions on the ballot. For example, Barrington Township will ask voters if they support reforming public pensions by amending the state constitution.

Here are three common questions about nonbinding referenda, and what you should know before heading to the polls.

What is a nonbinding advisory question?

Illinois law allows voters or lawmakers to place questions of public policy on the ballot to be voted for or against at a statewide general election. There is no limitation to the subject matter of advisory questions. Questions can range from local to national to international issues covering public safety, the environment, foreign policy and everything in between.

The results of these ballot questions have no legal impact.

How are non-binding referendum placed on the ballot?

There are two general methods to place an advisory question on the ballot: through petition signature collections or by a resolution passed by elected leaders.

• Voters can place an advisory question on the ballot statewide by collecting the number of signatures equal to 8% of the votes cast for governor in the case of a statewide advisory question. Voters can also place an advisory question on a local ballot by collecting the number of signatures equal to 8% of the votes cast for governor in that political subdivision whether it is a municipality, township, county or school district.
• The local governing body of a municipality, township, county, or school district can place an advisory question on the ballot by passing a resolution. The Illinois General Assembly can place an advisory question on the statewide ballot by passing a law that gets signed by the governor.

Why put a non-binding advisory question on the ballot?

The main reason to place an advisory question on the ballot is to gauge public support for a particular policy proposition in a specific area – municipalities, townships, counties, school districts or statewide. It’s similar to an official poll, but the advantage of nonbinding referenda as compared to polls is the sample size is often larger, and the results measure the views of actual voters who went to the trouble to show up at the polls or to fill out and mail in their ballots. The results signal to lawmakers in a particular jurisdiction the strength of their constituents’ support or opposition to the question.

Advisory questions in Illinois are generally limited to three propositions per political subdivision. If more than three questions would qualify for ballot placement, the first three questions to be validly submitted will be placed on the ballot.

That is another reason lawmakers might place questions on the ballot: to preempt questions they’d rather not see asked. That appears to be what happened this year. A statewide advisory question proposed by the Parents Matter Coalition would have asked voters if they support requiring parental consent for the provision of non-emergency medical treatment or gender counseling of minor children. But by filling up the statewide ballot with three advisory questions before enough signatures could be gathered and submitted, Illinois lawmakers prevented it. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed SB 2412 into law three days before the deadline to file petitions for a statewide advisory question.

In addition, research on non-binding ballot initiatives in California indicate lawmakers pay attention to these results, particularly when the issue area falls under the authority of the jurisdiction where the advisory question is on the ballot. If the question is on an issue that is controversial or that the electorate is passionate about, it can also increase turnout to the polls and increase discussions of the policy proposed, making it more likely that lawmakers address the issue substantively.

As a result, while these questions may not have any legal effect, voters should take them seriously. State and local lawmakers pay attention to the results, and what is only a nonbinding question today may become public policy tomorrow. Voters should educate themselves on the consequences of these hypothetical proposals before they pull the lever for or against, lest they discover that lawmakers take them at their word and put those policies into law.