Even Whitney's own signature on the petition was challenged. The hearing process involved 12 or more election judges consistently working full-time for several weeks. Each party also provided a matching number of members to sit with the election judges, during the workday, as they examined thousands of signatures, either overruling or sustaining each objection. Objections were assumed valid, and automatically sustained, unless a Green Party representative was present before each election judge to compare signatures and present a defense. Following the hearing, the State Board of Elections' Hearing Officer, Barbara Goodman, recommended that the Green Party's candidates be placed on the ballot and stated that the case was "extremely straightforward." The Board's examination confirmed that the Greens collected thousands more than the required number of signatures for ballot access. On Election Day, Whitney ran third, receiving, 361,336 votes for 10.4%. Incumbent Governor Rod Blagojevich won the election, receiving 1,736,731 votes, for 49.8%. State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka ran second, with 1,369,315 votes for 39.3%. By receiving more than 5% of the total vote, Whitney's candidacy allowed the Green Party to become an established political party statewide, according to Illinois state election law.
Even Whitney's own signature on the petition was challenged. The hearing process involved 12 or more election judges consistently working full-time for several weeks. Each party also provided a matching number of members to sit with the election judges, during the workday, as they examined hundreds of signatures, either overruling or sustaining each objection. Objections were assumed valid, and automatically sustained, unless a Green Party representative was present before each election judge to compare signatures and present a defense. Following the hearing, the State Board of Elections' Hearing Officer, Barbara Goodman, recommended that the Green Party's candidates be placed on the ballot and stated that the case was "extremely straightforward." The Board's examination confirmed that the Greens collected thousands more than the required number of signatures for ballot access. On Election Day, Whitney ran third, receiving, 361,336 votes for 10.4%. Incumbent Governor Rod Blagojevich won the election, receiving 1,736,731 votes, for 49.8%. State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka ran second, with 1,369,315 votes for 39.3%. By receiving more than 5% of the total vote, Whitney's candidacy allowed the Green Party to become an established political party statewide, according to Illinois state election law.