Law Offices of Jeff Smith

Election Law and Voting Rights

A Career-Long Interest in Voting Rights. Jeff Smith's first work in law school was as an intern on an anti-corruption investigation. Before his senior year of law school, he gave up attractive opportunities for corporate work to instead spend a sweltering summer with the federal Legal Services agency in Texas, working on constitutional and Civil Rights Act litigation to protect minority voters from discriminatory gerrymandering. He wrote his senior thesis on voting rights while taking multiple courses and independent study in constitutional law and serving on the board of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.

Political Advisor and Activist. Back in Chicago, Jeff put his knowledge and ideals to practical application, volunteering and contributing advisory roles to dozens of political campaigns over the next two decades. Jeff served on the board of the Independent Voters of Illinois - Independent Precinct Organization for many years. Other notable participation included serving as
      - campaign manager for the first president of the Citizens Utility Board,
      - Illinois state chair for the McGovern presidential campaign,
      - 49th Ward coordinator for Mayor Harold Washington's re-election campaign, and
      - a 4-year term as elected Democratic Committeeman for the 9th Congressional District,
during which time he drafted a proportional-representation plan for the election of Illinois' Democratic Convention delegation that was enacted into law and is still used by the Democratic Party.

Election Law Scholar. Jeff developed and taught a course in Election Law at Loyola University of Chicago's Law School, with practical instruction in ballot access and special emphasis on voting rights. Guest lecturers included numerous elected officials, including current Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn. Numerous alumni of Jeff's courses currently are in public service in numerous capacities, including Mike Quigley, reformist Cook County Commissioner. The curriculum has been used as a template for similar courses at law schools around the country. Jeff occasionally speaks to groups on election-related issues and recently served as a panelist for the Evanston Leadership Conference's seminar for municipal and school board candidates.

Advice to governments. Jeff Smith in both private and public practice has advised numerous local governments. He served under Mayors Washington and Sawyer as a Senior Attorney with the Law Department. Having been on both sides of litigation involving cities, he is particularly aware of the care government must take in safeguarding the rights of its citizens.

Protection at the Polls. Having worked on campaigns from the top level to the bottom, from campaign manager to precinct worker, Jeff is often called upon for advice to campaigns. He has reviewed thousands of pages of nominating petitions and statements of candidacy. He has been trained and worked as a deputy voting registrar and has been credentialed countless times as an election day pollwatcher, often monitoring ballot counting at the close of polls, and occasionally serving as a volunteer for Project LEAP.

Recent Election Law Work. Jeff represented the Alderman of Evanston's First Ward in an election contest stemming from the April, 2005 consolidated municipal elections. The Circuit Court of Cook County granted Jeff's motion to dismiss the election case from court. The contest then moved to the Evanston City Council, which would not hear the case. The case then moved to federal court, where Judge Gottschall granted our client's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Click this link to download a copy of Judge Gottschall's opinion. Click this link to download a copy of the motion to dismiss before the City of Evanston, which summarizes the interesting case.

Election Law Links. The following are some links to Illinois and local agencies, including in particular those relevant to Evanston school board races, which Jeff referred to in his presentation to Leadership Evanston on November 18, 2006:

• State Board of Elections
• Cook County Clerk Elections Department
• Documents to File with Cook County Clerk
• State Board of Elections Downloads
• SBE Forms
• 2007 Candidate's Guide
• 2007 Elections Handbook for Local Officials
• SBE Campaign Disclosure Page
• Illinois Election Code (10 ILCS 5/1 et seq.)
• Code of Fair Campaign Practices
• District 65 candidate information
• Dist. 202 candidate information
• City of Evanston Maps

The above is not intended as legal advice, but only as general information that may or may not apply to your particular needs.

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