Illinois Assisted Reproductive Healthcare Advisory Question (2024)

Illinois Assisted Reproductive Healthcare Advisory Question (2024)
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Healthcare
Status a Approved
Type Advisory question

The Illinois Assisted Reproductive Healthcare Advisory Question was on the ballot in Illinois as an advisory question on November 5, 2024. The ballot measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported advising state officials on whether to provide for medically assisted reproductive treatments, including in vitro fertilization, to be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides full coverage to pregnancy benefits.

A "no" vote opposed advising state officials on whether to provide for medically assisted reproductive treatments, including in vitro fertilization, to be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides full coverage to pregnancy benefits.

Election results

Illinois Assisted Reproductive Healthcare Advisory Question
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		3,914,126	72.64%
No		1,474,158	27.36%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did this advisory question ask voters?

See also: Text of measure

This measure was a non-binding advisory question which asked voters on whether to provide for medically assisted reproductive treatments, including in vitro fertilization, to be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides full coverage to pregnancy benefits. Because this measure was a non-binding advisory question, it had no legal effect on a state's laws, but allowed for government officials to gauge public opinion..

How do advisory questions work in Illinois?

See also: Types of ballot measures in Illinois

An advisory question is a type of ballot measure that ask votes a non-binding question. The largest difference between an advisory vote and any other type of ballot measure is that the outcome of the ballot question is not legally binding and will not directly result in a new, changed, or rejected law or constitutional amendment. Rather, the advisory question allows voters to express their general opinion on the issue.

In Illinois, only three advisory questions are allowed on statewide ballots at one election.

How did this advisory question get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

In Illinois, advisory questions require a simple majority vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session, and require a governor's signature to get on the ballot.

The advisory questions were proposed in Illinois Senate Bill 2412 (SB2412), which was sponsored by State Sen. Don Harmon (D) and State Rep. Jay Hoffman (D). In addition to the referendum questions, SB2412 also blocked established political party committees from putting candidates on the general election ballot if they do not go through the primary process.

SB2412 passed the Illinois House of Representatives by 67-4 on May 1, 2024, with 67 Democrats voting for the bill, four Democrats voting against it, and 39 Republicans and 4 Democrats not voting on the measure. The bill then passed the Illinois State Senate by 35-3 on May 2, 2024, with 35 Democrats voting for the bill and 3 Democrats voting against it, while 19 Republicans and 1 Democrat did not vote.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Should all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatments, including, but not limited to, in vitro fertilization, be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments?

”

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 23, and the FRE is -7. The word count for the ballot title is 37.

Support

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in support of the ballot measure.

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Illinois ballot measures

Ballotpedia did not identify ballot measure committees registered to support or oppose the ballot measure.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Background

Advisory questions in Illinois

See also: Advisory question

An advisory question is a type of ballot measure that ask votes a non-binding question. The largest difference between an advisory vote and any other type of ballot measure is that the outcome of the ballot question is not legally binding and will not directly result in a new, changed, or rejected law or constitutional amendment. Rather, the advisory question allows voters to express their general opinion on the issue.

In Illinois, advisory questions require a simple majority vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session. That amounts to a minimum of 60 votes in the Illinois House of Representatives and 30 votes in the Illinois State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Advisory questions require the governor's signature to appear on the ballot.

Between 1982 and 2023, Illinois voters decided on three advisory questions. All of these advisory questions were on the ballot in 2014. Voters approved all three advisory questions.

• Minimum Wage Increase Question (2014): This measure asked voters whether they supported increasing the hourly minimum wage to $10 by January 1, 2015. Voters approved the question by 63.74%-31.76%.
• Birth Control in Prescription Drug Coverage Question (2014): This measure asked voters whether prescription birth control should be covered in health insurance plans with prescription drug coverage. Voters approved the question by 63.00%-32.34%.
• Millionaire Tax Increase for Education Question (2014): This measure asked voters whether they supported increasing the tax on incomes greater than one million dollars by 3 percent for the purpose of providing additional revenue to school districts based on their number of students. Voters approved the question by 59.95%-34.24%.

Path to the ballot

Process in Illinois

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Illinois

Advisory questions require a simple majority vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session. That amounts to a minimum of 60 votes in the Illinois House of Representatives and 30 votes in the Illinois State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Advisory questions require the governor's signature to appear on the ballot.

Three advisory questions for the 2024 ballot were proposed in Illinois Senate Bill 2412 (SB2412). SB2412 passed the House on May 1, 2024 by 67-4. It passed the Senate on May 2, 2024 by 35-3, and was signed by the governor on May 3, 2024.

Vote in the Illinois House of Representatives May 1, 2024
Requirement:
Number of yes votes required: 60  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	67	4	43
Total percent	58.77%	3.5%	37.7%
Democrat	67	4	4
Republican	0	0	39

Vote in the Illinois State Senate May 2, 2024
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 30  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	35	3	20
Total percent	60.34%	5.1%	34.4%
Democrat	35	3	1
Republican	0	0	19

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Illinois

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Illinois.

How to vote in Illinois

Poll times

In Illinois, all polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Illinois, a person must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of an Illinois precinct for at least 30 days prior to election day, and at least 18 years old by election day. A 17-year-old may vote in a primary if he or she will be 18 years old at the subsequent general election. Preregistration is available starting at age 16.

Regular registration closes during the period beginning 27 days prior to an election and ending two days after the election. Online registration closes 16 days prior to an election. Grace period registration is available in person through election day at certain locations.

Prospective voters can register online, by mail, or at any of the following locations:

“

County Clerk's Office Board of Election Commissioner's Office City and Village Offices Township Offices Precinct Committeeman Schools Public Libraries Military Recruitment Offices

”

Two forms of identification are required to register in person, one of which must display the voter's current address.

Automatic registration

Illinois automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles and other designated automatic voter registration agencies.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Illinois has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Illinois allows same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

Illinois law requires 30 days of residency in the state before a person may vote.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Illinois does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. As of January 2025, six states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Registration Lookup page, run by the Illinois Board of Elections, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Illinois does not require voters to present identification while voting, in most cases. First-time voters who registered by mail and did not submit their driver’s license number, state ID number, last four digits of their social security number, or other form of ID are required to present identification showing their name and address before voting.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of August 2024. Click here for the Illinois State Board of Elections voting information page to ensure you have the most current information.

“

A current and valid photo identification Utility bill Bank statement Government check Paycheck Lease or contract for residence Student ID & mail addressed to voter’s residence Government document

”

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot

Illinois

• Illinois ballot measures
• Illinois ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Full Text of SB2412