A comprehensive election bill that gained final approval by the Democratic-led Illinois legislature on Thursday would give Democrats a significant advantage toward keeping their legislative majorities before any votes are even cast in the Nov. 5 general election.

Democrats already enjoy legislative supermajorities in the Illinois House and Senate thanks to district maps drawn by party leaders following the 2020 federal census that were crafted to minimize Republican opposition.

But the election bill given final approval by Senate Democrats Thursday on a 35-3 vote, with 18 Republicans voting “present” in protest, would further help Democrats maintain control in the next General Assembly.

Under the measure, local political party organizations could no longer appoint candidates to fill out legislative ballots where the party did not field a primary candidate. Current law allows the appointment process within 75 days of the primary.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that while he had not seen all the details of the measure, he considered it an “ethics” bill.

“It really does make sure that we don’t have backroom deals to put people on the ballot and run as a result of some small group of people in a smoke-filled room making the choice,” Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference in Bloomington. “So I think to me, more transparency is better.”

In the 59-member Illinois Senate, Democrats hold a 39-19 advantage over Republicans with one Democratic vacancy. A total of 30 votes are needed for a majority and 36 votes for a veto-proof supermajority.

There are 23 Senate seats up for election this year. Republicans failed to field a candidate in eight seats held by Democrats, and 20 other seats held by Democrats are not on the ballot this year. That means before any vote is cast, Democrats would be only two seats shy of keeping a Senate majority and need only eight seats to keep a supermajority if the election legislation becomes law,

Under the legislation, Republicans would at least maintain the 19 seats they now hold. Democrats did not field a primary candidate against four Republicans and 15 other GOP seats are not on the ballot in November.

Of the 23 Senate seats on the ballot, only 11 have contested races — all of them held by Democrats.

In the House, where all 118 seats are up for election in the fall, Democrats hold a record 78-40 advantage over Republicans. A minimum of 60 votes is needed for chamber control, and 71 votes is a veto-proof supermajority.

Republicans in March failed to field a primary candidate against 42 House Democrats. That puts Democrats only 18 votes shy of retaining majority status and 29 votes short of supermajority status if Pritzker signs the legislation.

Democrats did not file primary challenges against 24 House Republicans. That leaves 52 seats with partisan competition, 36 currently held by Democrats and 16 by Republicans.

Democratic House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Walsh and House GOP leader Tony McCombie are among lawmakers who would not face a general election opponent under the legislation.

Republicans accused Democrats of using the appointment ban in an effort to help protect some incumbents in November, most notably one of the few downstate House Democrats, state Rep. Katie Stuart of Edwardsville.

Following House passage of the bill on Wednesday, Stuart’s slated Republican challenger in the fall, Jay Keeven, quickly gathered required petition signatures and filed with the State Board of Elections to appear on the November ballot.

Senate GOP leader John Curran called the measure an example of “how you steal an election,” criticizing Democrats for rushing to “change the rules halfway through an election cycle to stack the deck for their favored incumbent candidates.”

The measure also would place on the November ballot three nonbinding advisory proposals, asking voters if they favor insurance coverage protections for in vitro fertilization, if earners of a million dollars or more a year should be taxed extra to pay for property tax relief, and if candidates for office should face civil charges for attempting to interfere with election workers.

The proposals are viewed as an attempt to try to bump up Democratic turnout. A maximum of three nonbinding proposals is allowed on the ballot, and they would crowd out attempts by conservatives to try to place their own advisory question asking if parental consent should be required for gender counseling, therapy or modification procedures.