Several members of the Illinois General Assembly are backing a proposed constitutional amendment that would dramatically change the state’s legislative branch.

The proposed amendment, currently tabled by the House Executive Committee, would scrap the current system of 118 one-representative districts in favor of 39 larger districts with three representatives each.

Each district would elect their three representatives using a cumulative voting system, in which each voter has three votes to distribute among the candidates.

With cumulative voting, “you could give all three votes to one person, or you could distribute your votes to three different people,” said Fred Nelson, legislative coordinator of the Midwest Democracy Center, a non-partisan think tank based in Chicago. “Each voter can distribute their votes how they want to.”

Electing three representatives to each district allows minority parties to be heard, Nelson said.

“If you’re a Democrat in a district that always elects a Republican, you’ve basically got no representation,” he said. “But with cumulative voting, it ensures that someone who thinks like you will get elected.”

Nelson said the proposed system would be most effective in areas of the state where one party dominates the political scene, such as the Democrats in Chicago and Republicans in suburban Kane County.

Cumulative voting would also help to stop political gerrymandering by politicians who want to rework district borders to their advantage, he said.

Cumulative voting is not a new idea to Illinois, who has used the system for over a century.

The state began using the system in 1870, after prodding by Joseph Medill, an early publisher of the Chicago Tribune. Illinois continued using the system until 1980, when voters passed a constitutional amendment abolishing cumulative voting.

Nelson said voters passed the 1980 amendment mainly because it also reduced the size of the state assembly by 59 during a time of financial difficulties.

“People were just looking for a way to save tax money,” he said. “I don’t think they knew they were voting on the electoral system as they thought about the fact that they were going to fire 59 politicians at one time.”

Nelson said that it was a good time to bring the system back, especially in light of the tension caused by the recent presidential election.

Legislators on both sides of the aisle spoke in support of cumulative voting.

“It’s a matter of fairness,” said Rep. Terry Parke (R -Hoffman Estates). “I happen to be a fiscal and social conservative. If some people are very liberal, I am not going to be representative of their point of view.”

Parke said cumulative voting also negates the power base of legislative leaders by attracting a more diverse group of representatives.

“(Cumulative voting) gives a new personality, new flavor that leaders cannot control,” he said. “To me, it opens up the legislative process individual thinking more. It brings different kinds of people into the process that don’t have power now. (Leaders) would have to deal with people who would be a lot different, more diverse.”

Rep. Barbera Flynn Currie (D – Chicago) also came out in favor of cumulative voting.

“The old system was created and intended to increase cooperation across party lines, ” she said. “This reasoning has merit today.”

However, the issue could be a tough sell to downstate legislators, who do not face the political divide found in the Chicago area.

Dale Righter, Eastern’s state representative, was hesitant to support the idea, and said the new system would not make much of a difference downstate, where political ideologies are more homogeneous.

“I don’t think it would have much effect here at all,” Righter said. “Oftentimes, there’s not much difference in the ideological view between Republicans and Democrats. We’re pretty conservative regardless of party.”

Righter also said that while he supported allowing racial minorities to have an increased role in government, he was unsure about political minorities.

“I’m not sure we want to extend that rational to political affiliation, which is a vocal, conscious choice you’re making,” he said.

Nelson said that the proposed amendment could reach the House floor sometime in early May.

“It’s all up to the Democratic leadership office,” he said.

In addition to lobbying legislators, supporters of cumulative voting also must educate the public about the idea.

“(Cumulative voting) is not familiar to a lot of people,” Parke said. “We have to re-educate a lot of voters.”

As a result of this lack of knowledge, Parke said voters would probably defeat the proposed amendment if they voted on the idea today.

Currie agreed that more publicity of the issue is needed.

“People are not really aware of the issue now,” Currie said

Nelson said the Midwest Democracy Center is organizing a petition drive for this summer to inform people about cumulative voting.

“It’s a lot easier (to inform people) in the summer, with events like the Taste of Chicago,” he said.