The campaign of independent candidate Bill Fraser, running in Illinois' 8th Congressional District, announced Wednesday that he has started his petition period to appear on the general election ballot on November 8. If he succeeds in his efforts, Fraser will face Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi and Republican DuPage County Commissioner Paul DiCianni in an open seat contest.
As previously reported on IVN, Bill Fraser is running on a unique platform. He promises only to serve a single term in office and will not campaign on his own policy platforms, calling them irrelevant, but instead promises to fully serve the will of the people by holding referenda on all major congressional votes.
“I want to base my operations in the 8th District and fly to Washington to vote the way the majority of my constituents vote regardless of the outcome,” he explained in an interview.
According to a press release from Fraser's campaign, there have been some changes to the referenda process of the candidate's platform. The original concept would have had voters weigh in on any given issue at polling locations throughout the district when a vote comes to the House floor.
“We listened to the constituency and the only concern raised was the referenda process,” said Fraser. “Their concern was it needed to be more accessible and simplified as the people I look forward to representing live busy lives and I wanted to ensure there were multiple options.”
The campaign says that district voters will be able to vote in person at a local polling location or online through a mobile device or a "specially designed website." Details on how much it will cost to set up the polling locations or who will end up paying for them has yet to be released.
In addition to his referenda pledge, Fraser also promises not to keep his $174,000 congressional salary, but will use those funds for official travel. His campaign states that at the end of his term in office, Fraser will donate what is left to a charity chosen by his constituents.
To gain access to the November ballot, Bill Fraser will need a minimum of 7,705 signatures from registered voters in the 8th district. In comparison, candidates for the major political parties only had to get 667 signatures on the Democratic side and 475 on the Republican side last November to appear on the primary ballot.
Fraser has until June 27 -- a 90-day period -- to collect the signatures needed and file his nominating papers.
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