Will County Gazette

Illinois State Senate District 43 candidate Jen Monson has called for a return to early voting at select locations, emphasizing the need to streamline legislation and return to basics in government. She made this statement in a Facebook post on July 24.

"We need to go back to day of voting w/early voting at select locations and absentee ballots only," said jennifer Monson for IL Senate, according to Facebook. "We need to streamline legislation and get back to basics in government. Excessive legislation and government overreach is a breeding ground for corruption."

In her post, Monson shared content from Awake Illinois, which also advocated for the rejection of ranked-choice voting. The post stated: "Petitions are circulating at Naperville train station to put a ‘rank choice voting’ (RCV) referendum on the April 2025 ballot for Mayor and city council. Reject ‘rank choice voting’ and tell your friends. If this comes to your town, it’s the end of democracy. Wake up."

Screenshot of Jen Monson's July 24 Facebook post | JenMonson4ILSenate43 Facebook page

The Facebook post from Awake Illinois included a link to an August 2022 paper from the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), which described ranked-choice voting as "a disaster in disguise." It argued that ballots in ranked-choice voting elections are more complex than one person one vote and that it delays the election counting process. The paper also called for lawmakers to ban ranked-choice voting at all levels of government.

In Illinois, a bill to create the "Ranked Choice for Presidential Primaries Act" was introduced in February 2023. However, after being referred to the House Rules Committee on March 10, no meaningful action has been taken. According to the Illinois Legislative General Assembly’s website focused on the bill, it would require that "any State-administered primary election for the President of the United States shall be conducted using ranked choice voting." The bill outlines how ballots will be counted and handled, including provisions for inactive ballots and undervotes.

The proposed legislation mandates that at least 150 days before the presidential primary election date, each political party intending to use the State-administered presidential primary must inform the State Board of Elections in writing of its intention. This notice would specify whether the party prefers a winner-take-all or proportional basis; if not specified, the election will be counted on a statewide winner-takes-all basis.

Jen Monson is running as the Republican nominee for Illinois State Senate District 43 after an uncontested race in the primary election. According to her campaign website, she is an educator and school board member who aims to "work to maintain citizen rights and their ability to exercise their God-given rights to exist and live freely without unconstitutional government overreach."