CBA Record November-December 2023

Voter Information in Judicial Elections: It’s a New World By Albert Klumpp C an anyone still remember life before smartphones and social media? As recently as 2012, most

part of the ballot entirely, and most who completed it had no guidance or informa tion about the individual judges, voting a straight all-yes or all-no. Typically, around 100,000 voters would cast mixtures of yes and no votes using recommendations from a newspaper or bar association. The propor tions of voters in each group were highly consistent from one election to the next. However, 2018 saw the most unusual and complicated retention election in the county’s history. Substantially more voters than usual completed the retention part of the ballot, resulting in the highest-ever voter participation rate. Many of these additional votes likely came from younger, more progressive voters who were drawn to the polls both by dissatisfaction over Republican actions in Washington and by anger over police misconduct and wrong ful convictions in Chicago. Those factors, and the unusual scrutiny of one controversial judge triggered by his involvement in a wrongful conviction years earlier, caused a massive increase in the number of voters who used an information source in their voting. More than 400,000 of the 1.25 million retention voters used some source of information—a category that in this election included political and community organizations along with newspapers and bar associations. But there was a mystery. Post-election analysis isolated 42,000 voters whose votes defied explanation: their vote pat tern was unconnected to any of the

known sources. Ultimately the source was identified: a voter guide prepared by two Northwest Side progressive activists that included a full set of recommendations on retention judges. This “Girl I Guess” voter guide ran a surprisingly hefty 21 pages and was full of discussion about every office and question on the ballot. This was the guide’s first appearance in a general election, and although it received no sig nificant mainstream attention, it was read widely enough to determine 3.4% of the judicial retention votes cast. Local media reported after the elec tion that the guide was extremely popular among young voters and was shared exten sively on multiple social media platforms, both in its entirety and in snapshots of individual pages. Detailed analysis of ward- and township-level voting shows just how widely the guide spread around the county. While its greatest impact was in the wards of the Northwest Side where it originated, it was statistically detectable in 42 of the 50 Chicago wards and 27 of the 30 sub urban townships. In short, it was a unique occurrence, not just in Cook County but in the history of retention elections. And yet, it was “unique” for only two years. Because in the very next general election, another guide appeared and like wise had a detectable impact on retention voting. This one was a “Chicago Voter Cheat Sheet” prepared by two young Black political activists with experience in civic engagement. Unlike the “Girl” guide, the

people in the U.S. did not own a smart phone. Today 91% do. And as recently as 2010, most did not use any form of social media. Today its use is 72% and grow ing. Both have become influential in just about every aspect of our lives. Politics is no exception. When it comes to elections, the greatest influence of new forms of electronic communication is potentially not at the national level, but at the bottom of the ballot—the lower visibility local offices and contests where far less information is available to voters. This category includes the judges in our state and local court systems. Evidence of the impact of electronic media has emerged here in Cook County in just the past few election cycles. Analysis of voting on judicial retention candidates shows that the rise of social media activity, the demise of print media, and the omni presence of smartphones – all of which are inter-related – are having an impact. This impact, for better or for worse, will depend in no small measure on the willingness of bar associations and other civic groups to adapt to this new reality in their judicial evaluation activities. Rise of Social Media For many years, retention voting in Cook County followed highly predictable pat terns. Some voters skipped the retention

16 November/December 2023