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Illinois Birth Control in Prescription Drug Coverage Question (2014)

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Birth Control in Prescription Drug Coverage Question
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TypeAdvisory question
OriginIllinois General Assembly
TopicHealthcare on the ballot
StatusApprovedApproveda
2014 measures
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November 4
Right to Vote Amendment Approveda
Crime Victims' Bill of Rights Amendment Approveda
Minimum Wage Increase Question Approveda
Birth Control Coverage Question Approveda
Millionaire Tax Increase Question Approveda
Endorsements • Full text
Polls
Local measures


The Illinois Birth Control in Prescription Drug Coverage Question was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in Illinois as an advisory question, where it was approved. The measure asked voters whether prescription birth control should be covered in health insurance plans with prescription drug coverage.[1]

The advisory question was sponsored in the Illinois Legislature by State Senator Iris Martinez (D-20) as House Bill 5755.[1]

Election results

Below are the official, certified election results:

Illinois Birth Control in Prescription Drug Coverage Question
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 2,312,101 63.00%
No1,186,93732.34%

The amount of total votes in the overall election was used to calculate the percent of "yes" and "no" votes, since this number was less than the percentage of people who voted on this question. This may result in the percents for the "yes" and "no" votes adding up to less than 100 percent.
Election results via: Illinois State Board of Elections

Text of measure

Ballot title

The proposed ballot title was as follows:[1]

“ Shall any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides prescription drug coverage be required to include prescription birth control as part of that coverage?[2] ”

Background

2014 advisory questions

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Democrat-controlled Illinois Legislature referred three non-binding advisory questions to the November 4 general election ballot in hopes of enticing left-leaning voters to come out to the polls. Charles N. Wheeler III, a longtime statehouse reporter and now an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said, "I would look at it as getting people to the polls, basically to gin up the turnout assuming that if you're excited about voting for an increase in the minimum wage, you're not going to vote for [Republican gubernatorial candidate] Bruce Rauner or any other Republican. It also will give (supporters) leverage because on that issue you assume it's overwhelmingly approved, they can go to the General Assembly next session, if need be, and argue, 'Here is strong support, here are the results from your precinct or your legislative district of what people felt about this and they really want that.'"[3]

Support

Supporters

HB 5755 "Yes" votes

The following members of the Illinois General Assembly voted in favor of placing this measure on the ballot.[5][6]

Note: A yes vote on HB 5755 merely referred the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators approved of the stipulations laid out in the measure.

House

Senate

Campaign contributions

Total campaign cash Campaign Finance Ballotpedia.png
as of November 17, 2014
Category:Ballot measure endorsements Support: $574,750
Circle thumbs down.png Opposition: $0

Though this was a non-binding advisory question, supporters had still raised over half a million dollars in support of the measure as of November 17, 2014.[7][8]

PAC info:

PAC/Ballot measure group Amount raised
Save Birth Control in Illinois $538,107
Illinois Votes for Birth Control $36,643
Total $574,750

Opposition

Arguments

Some Republicans criticized all three proposed non-binding advisory questions as attempts to increase turnout among Democrats at the general election in November. Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-54) said, "Let me interpret this for you. The Dems are loading the ballot with referendums that mean nothing, just so they can get their traditional supporters out to the polls to vote for them, so they can protect their power, position, and pension. Only in Illinois."[9]

HB 5755 "No" votes

The following members of the Illinois General Assembly voted against placing this measure on the ballot.[5][6]

Note: A no vote on HB 5755 meant that a legislator did not want to refer the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators disapproved of the stipulations laid out in the measure.

House

Senate

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing ballot measures in Illinois

The Illinois Senate approved HB 5755 on May 29, 2014.[10] The Illinois House approved the bill on May 30, 2014.[11] On July 6, 2014, Governor Quinn approved the measure, thereby placing it on the ballot for Illinois voters in November of 2014.[4]

Senate vote

May 29, 2014 Senate vote

Illinois HB 5755 Senate Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 31 63.27%
No1836.73%

House vote

May 30, 2014 House vote

Illinois HB 5755 House Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 62 56.36%
No4843.64%

See also

External links

Additional reading

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Illinois General Assembly, "Full Text of HB5755," accessed May 30, 2014
  2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  3. ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Democrats pack Illinois ballot with referendum questions," October 13, 2014
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chicago Tribune, "Quinn signs birth-control measure, says court ruling 'distressing'," July 6, 2014
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 OpenStates.org, "House Vote on HB 5755 (May 30, 2014)," accessed October 16, 2014
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 OpenStates.org, "Senate Vote on HB 5755 (May 29, 2014)," accessed October 16, 2014
  7. ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Contributions List: Illinois Votes for Birth Control," accessed December 7, 2014
  8. ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Contributions List: Save Birth Control in Illinois," accessed December 7, 2014
  9. ↑ Belleville News Democrat, "'Only in Illinois': Referendum question on contraception coverage heading to ballot," May 29, 2014
  10. ↑ Illinois Legislature, "House Bill No. 5755," accessed May 30, 2014
  11. ↑ The State, "Illinois House OKs birth control ballot measure," May 30, 2014
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