From the Illinois GOP…
The Illinois Republican Party will host a unique opportunity for Republican voters to participate in the first-ever in-person/online presidential straw poll held by a state Republican Party.
Complete with early voting online and in person locations, the Illinois Republican Straw Poll allows any Illinois resident a chance to participate.
“Other states have had straw polls at one location and websites have had online polls but no one has ever done what we’re doing,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady. “Republican voters in Illinois from Chicago to Cairo and anywhere in between can participate without traveling very far and they can even do so without leaving their house. We’ll even have early voting just like a regular election to maximize convenience.”
Online voting will be open from 9:00 AM Central Time on Saturday, October 29 until 7:00 PM Central Time on Saturday, November 5 at IllinoisStrawPoll.com. Voters are able to view the online Straw Poll ballot in order to review candidates now. The in person paper voting, run by county party organizations wishing to participate, will take place from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Saturday, November 5. The results will from both online and paper will be combined and announced during in a special event.
Republican voters who want to participate in the Straw Poll, either online or in person, must be Illinois Residents (for online voting, they must have a credit card with an Illinois zip code) and contribute $5 to the Illinois Republican Party to cover the cost of the straw poll.
Once online voters have cast their vote, they’ll also be given an opportunity to volunteer or donate to the presidential candidate they have selected.
“We have a great field of candidates looking to replace Barack Obama as President,” said Brady. “The general election may be a year away but we want to encourage Illinois Republicans to get involved in the 2012 campaign now.”
For more information, including the full rules of the Illinois Straw Poll, go to IllinoisStrawPoll.com.
Sounds good to me and the price is right too. I think the idea is brilliant. – $5 will keep out the riffraff lefties that would prefer certain left wing candidates over conservatives yet is cheap enough that many conservatives will be willing to make their voices heard through this process.