Exit Poll: Was Illinois Prepared to Amend its Constitution?

On Tuesday, the Illinois Governor Recall Amendment passed by a margin of 2 to 1. Considering Illinois’ history of corruption-happy governors, it’s no surprise the amendment passed. But were voters prepared?

If yes, what was the best source of information?  If no, what should have been done to educate voters before hand? Leave your comments below.

2010 Recall Amendment: Is Something Better Than Nothing?

An uneducated vote is a spoiled vote (Photo from Keith Bacongo/Flickr)

Heard about the recall amendment you’ll be voting on next Tuesday? Think you know how it works? So did we—until we took a closer look.

Turns out this recall amendment has a few caveats that keep it from being the beacon of reform supporters claim it is.

Unlike every other recall amendment in the U.S., ours would put the power to initiate recalling the governor in the hands of lawmakers—not citizens.

It also requires no grounds to initiate recall, so it could be used as political posturing instead of a citizen crackdown on corruption.

One of the weirdest things we found is that nothing bars the recalled governor from being on the special election ballot. This means that one party could run a successful recall campaign, and the recalled governor could run (and win) again.

All of these considerations beg the question: Is this Amendment worth the estimated $101 million it would cost to implement?

You decide. Check out a more in depth analysis of the amendment here, including a breakdown of the recall procedure it lays out.