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Jacob Meister
Jacob Meister (Democratic Party) ran for election for Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court in Illinois. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 17, 2020.
Meister completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Meister was a candidate for clerk of the circuit court of Cook County, Illinois. Meister was defeated in the primary election on March 12, 2016.
Biography
Jacob Meister earned an undergraduate degree from American University in 1986 and a graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1990. Meister's career experience includes working as an attorney.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2020)
General election
General election for Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court
Iris Martinez defeated Barbara Ruth Bellar in the general election for Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Iris Martinez (D) | 73.0 | 1,549,615 |
 | Barbara Ruth Bellar (R) | 27.0 | 572,169 | |
| Total votes: 2,121,784 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Theresa Benjamin (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court
Iris Martinez defeated Michael Cabonargi, Richard Boykin, and Jacob Meister in the Democratic primary for Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court on March 17, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Iris Martinez | 33.7 | 269,578 |
| Michael Cabonargi | 27.0 | 216,180 | ||
 | Richard Boykin | 24.9 | 199,526 | |
 | Jacob Meister | 14.2 | 113,855 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 1,511 | ||
| Total votes: 800,650 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court
Barbara Ruth Bellar advanced from the Republican primary for Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court on March 17, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Barbara Ruth Bellar | 99.4 | 64,160 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 375 | ||
| Total votes: 64,535 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Cook County held elections for county board of review, state's attorney, clerk of the circuit court, county recorder, and special districts in 2016. The general election was held on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on March 15, 2016.[2] Incumbent Dorothy Brown defeated Michelle Harris and Jacob Meister in the Cook County clerk of the circuit court primary election.[3]
| Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Dorothy Brown Incumbent |
47.27% | 477,503 |
| Michelle Harris | 30.43% | 307,392 |
| Jacob Meister | 21.97% | 221,921 |
| Write-in votes | 0.32% | 3,251 |
| Total Votes | 1,010,067 | |
| Source: Cook County Clerk, "Cook County and The City of Chicago Combined Summary, Primary Election March 15, 2016," accessed November 27, 2016 | ||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jacob Meister completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Meister's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Meister is also the founder and chairman of the Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), a leading non-profit statewide civil rights organization dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights of LGBT people around the state. Among its programs, TCRA helps victims of discrimination in the workplace and at the ballot box. In his role as Chairman of TCRA, Meister served on the steering committee of Illinois Unites for Marriage, the successful statewide campaign that made marriage equality a reality in Illinois.
Through his law practice and TCRA, Meister has represented hundreds of individuals on a pro bono basis in matters ranging from discrimination in the workplace, public accommodations, and housing to defending low income people from predatory lending practices. He was also instrumental in obtaining a heart transplant for an infant whose health insurer refused to provide coverage. In addition, Meister has successfully secured educational and staffing needs for autistic children in claims arising under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Meister has successfully litigated cases in state and federal courts throughout the Country.- Access to justice
- Court reform and transparency
- Modernization
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 2, 2020
- ↑ Cook County Clerk, "Presidential Primary Election General Information," accessed September 7, 2016
- ↑ Cook County Clerk, "Presidential Primary Election General Information," accessed September 7, 2016
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