Lawmakers can accept or reject the Democratic governor's amendatory veto. If lawmakers do nothing, the bill dies and the current primary system stays in place.
Bills for so-called "open" primaries have been introduced many times before but have gone nowhere.
eliminates the requirement that a voter publicly declare party affiliation when voting at a primary election. Voting is a sacred right and as long as I am Governor, I will do everything within my power to protect each citizen’s ability to cast a ballot. With my recommendation today, a voter’s partisan preference will no longer be known to others. The decision to cast a primary ballot for one party or another will be strictly a matter of personal choice.
On July 13, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn used the Governor’s authority to amend a bill that the legislature had passed. In particular, he amended an uncontroversial election bill to set up Voters Pamphlets on the internet. Quinn amended this bill, HB 4842, so that the bill also switches Illinois from a public open primary to a secret open primary. Here is the text of the bill as amended, which is 15 pages long.
Most observers believe the legislature will not permit the bill to become law. If the bill were to become law, it appears to violate the Democratic and Republican Party national bylaws, which don’t recognize presidential primaries if they are secret open primaries (although the national parties have made exceptions for a few states
Click on the following for more details: Ballot Access News » Blog Archive » Illinois Governor Alters an Election Law Bill to Convert Illinois Open Primary Into a Secret Open Primary
