Illinois voters won’t be asked this fall whether they think the state constitution should be rewritten to define "marriage" as only for male-female couples.

Supporters of such a constitutional amendment have been trying to collect enough signatures to put an advisory referendum on Nov. 4 election ballots. But they did not file the required paperwork with the State Board of Elections by Monday’s deadline, said Eric Donnewald, director of election training.

An organization called Protect Marriage Illinois spearheaded the petition drive. Efforts to contact Protect Marriage Illinois volunteers by telephone and e-mail were unsuccessful on Friday and Monday.

But a couple of weeks ago, Joetta Deutsch, a Taylorville resident and board member for Protect Marriage Illinois, said the organization was aiming to gather more than 300,000 signatures statewide. About 270,000 valid signatures would have been needed to put the advisory referendum on the fall ballot.

Deutsch wouldn’t disclose at the time how many signatures had been collected. But she said if the current effort fell short, volunteers would try again later.

If the petition drive had succeeded, voters on Nov. 4 would have been asked in a non-binding referendum if the Illinois General Assembly should propose a constitutional amendment that states:

"To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as marriage or similar union for any purpose."

Deutsch said last month she hoped that voters would be able to decide in the 2010 election on a binding referendum to amend the Illinois Constitution by defining marriage.

Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or adriana.colindres@sj-r.com.