| Bob Seidenberg | Evanston Round Table |
Evanston City Council members voted 8-1 Monday in support of an ordinance declaring the city’s intention to establish ranked choice voting to elect certain city offices in the April 2025 election, despite repeated communications from the Cook County clerk’s office that no system is in place to allow the change.
Evanston voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum on the ballot in the November 2022 election that asked voters whether they favored the city moving to a ranked choice voting system starting with the April 2025 consolidated election.
A pledge of cooperation
A number of groups had backed the change, which was first brought forward by Reform for Illinois, a nonpartisan research and advocacy group. Ninth Ward Council Member Juan Geracaris had sponsored the issue at the council level.
The ordinance also contains a pledge of cooperation from the city to work with the clerk’s office in the implementation of the new system.