The Daily Illini spoke with junior Katie Holland, vice president of Planned Parenthood Generation Action at the University, about her reactions to the passing of the third ballot measure.

“I was absolutely thrilled that it passed, and especially with such a high percentage,” Holland said. “It does offer me at least a little bit of hope.”

At 91% reporting, the referendum on insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization sits at 72.5% in favor of passing.

“I want to say I did expect this,” Holland said. “However, there’s always a little bit of hesitation in my eyes. Considering the current political climate, nothing is guaranteed.”

The University’s chapter of PPGA successfully passed a referendum last spring, creating access to abortion pills at McKinley Health Center.

“PPGA has been expanding information about reproductive health care,” Holland said. “So I think as a collective group of people who are supporting reproductive healthcare, pushing out that information may have helped contribute to more people knowing about what this (referendum) means.”

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The results of the two other statewide referendums were announced Wednesday morning: Both ballots passed by a sizable measure, as expected.

Ballot advisory question two considers a potential amendment to the Illinois Constitution. The amendment would raise income taxes over $1 million and use the proceeds for property tax relief. The referendum passed with a 60.3% majority, garnering almost 3 million votes.

The third ballot, which would expand reproductive healthcare for women, passed with an even larger win percentage at 72.4%. The referendum would cover various pregnancy benefits, prominently including in vitro fertilization.

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The Associated Press has not yet called the other two ballot measures, but both lean in favor of passing. They deal with increasing taxes on higher-income residents and health insurance coverage for reproductive treatments, respectively.

As tallies near 50% reporting, voters show a strong yes, both in support of in vitro fertilization and raising taxes on higher incomes. The ballot on expanding reproductive healthcare coverage sits just under 74% of voters in approval; the ballot on generating proceeds for property tax relief sits at a slightly more narrow margin with around 61% in approval.

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Results are in for one of the three statewide referendums on the Illinois ballot this year.

The first ballot, which covered penalties for candidates who attempt to interfere with election workers, indicates a wide win margin, with 89.3% voting yes, according to the Associated Press.

While only 43% is currently reporting, the vote has been overwhelmingly called in favor of penalizing candidates who interfere with election workers with civil penalties. Nearly 2.5 million Illinois citizens voted in support of the referendum.

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