November 22 was the deadline for candidates for Mayor of Chicago to file petitions. The city requires 12,500 valid signatures. The race is non-partisan. Because no incumbent is running, there are far more candidates than normal. It appears that eleven candidates submitted petitions, although it is too early to know how many of them have at least 12,500 signatures. Under Illinois law, a petition is deemed to be valid, even if it has only one signature, if no one challenges it.
The Chicago election is on February 22, 2011. Chicago requires far more signatures to run for Mayor than any other city in the United States. The new, lower petition requirement to run for Mayor of New York city is 3,750, whether the candidate is running in a party primary or petitioning directly for the general election.
Are you sure it’s non-partisan? It was some time ago, but I remember that Harold Washington became mayor by first beating Jane Byrne in the Democratic primary, and then defeating the Republican nominee, Bernard Epton. Has there been a charter change since that time?
In 1999 the city switched from partisan elections to non-partisan elections for its 3 citywide executive positions. Even before then, the alderman elections had been non-partisan.
In 2005 the legislature passed a bill cutting the petition requirements for the 3 citywide executive non-partisan positions from 25,000 to 12,500.
Back before the Socialist Workers and U.S. Labor Parties won their lawsuit, the citywide partisan offices needed about 50,000 signatures, for minor parties and independents.
The city not only switched from partisan to non-partisan, but also switched to using a runoff at the same time, such that if nobody wins more than 50%, the top two candidates go to a runoff election.
It’s widely known in the city that this was done to make sure that a black candidate wouldn’t be elected Mayor again.
Twenty Candidates have now filed to run for Chicago Mayor.
Nonpartisan Approval Voting for all executive and judicial offices — single and multiple – ONE election day.
Vote for 1 or more, highest win.
Possible to have legislative body appointment if such highest does NOT have voter majority approval — i.e. NONE of the nonpartisan party hacks are acceptable / tolerable to a majority of the voters.