Who's on first?

State legislative candidates were once listed on the ballot in the order preferred by the Illinois Secretary of State, who was responsible for election administration prior to the creation of the Illinois State Board of Elections. 

Space was limited on voting machines, which were used at the time, so only two slots were available on the top line of the ballot for candidates for the two state legislative positions up for nomination in the primary.             

Those positions were typically awarded to the candidates backed by the politicians in power at the time. Challengers were listed on lower lines, where they were less visible to voters.             

Secretary of State Paul Powell, a former Speaker of the Illinois House, was asked if he placed the candidates he knew on the top line.             

“Of course,” he answered. “I don’t know the others. They could be a bunch of Commies.” 

A court decision ended that practice and a lottery was held for ballot position, much to the politicians’ chagrin. Several insurgents gained a first line space in the 1972 Democratic Primary and beat incumbent Machine candidates for their party’s nomination. 

The value of ballot placement was even more evident in a Republican primary race where Illinois House Majority Leader Henry Hyde appeared on the second line on the ballot and lost. Party leaders had to pressure one of the winners to step down so Committeemen in the district could name Hyde as a replacement for that candidate in the general election.