(10 ILCS 5/24A-10.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-10.1)
Sec. 24A-10.1. In an election jurisdiction where in-precinct counting
equipment is utilized, the following procedures for counting and
tallying the ballots shall apply:
Immediately after the closing of the polls, the precinct judges of election shall open the ballot box and count the
number of ballots therein
to determine if such number agrees with the number of voters voting as shown
by the applications for ballot or, if the same do not agree, the judges
of election shall make such ballots agree with the applications for ballot
in the manner provided by Section 17-18 of this Act.
The judges of election shall then examine all ballot cards and ballot card
envelopes which are in the ballot box to determine whether the ballot cards
and ballot card envelopes contain the initials of a precinct judge of
election. If any ballot card or ballot card envelope is not initialed, it
shall be marked on the back "Defective", initialed as to such label by all
judges immediately under the word "Defective" and not counted. The judges of
election shall place an initialed blank official ballot card in the place of
the defective ballot card, so that the count of the ballot cards to be counted
on the automatic tabulating equipment will be the same, and each "Defective
Ballot" card and "Replacement" card shall contain the same serial number
which shall be placed thereon by the judges of election, commencing with
number 1 and continuing consecutively for the ballots of that kind in that
precinct. The original "Defective" card shall be placed in the "Defective
Ballot Envelope" provided for that purpose.
When an electronic voting system is used which utilizes a ballot card,
before separating the remaining ballot cards from their respective covering
envelopes, the judges of election shall examine the ballot card envelopes
for write-in votes. When the voter has cast a write-in vote, the judges
of election shall compare the write-in vote with the votes on the ballot
card to determine whether such write-in results in an overvote for any office.
In case of an overvote for any office, the judges of election, consisting
in each case of at least
one judge of election of each of the 2 major political parties, shall make
a true duplicate ballot of all votes on such ballot card except for the
office which is overvoted, by using the ballot label booklet of the precinct
and one of the marking devices of the precinct so as to transfer all votes
of the voter, except for the office overvoted, to a duplicate card. The
original ballot card and envelope upon which there is an overvote shall
be clearly labeled
"Overvoted Ballot", and each such "Overvoted Ballot" as well as its
"Replacement" shall contain the same serial number which shall be placed thereon by the
judges of election, commencing with number 1 and continuing consecutively
for the ballots of that kind in that precinct.
The "Overvoted Ballot" card and ballot envelope shall be placed in an envelope
provided for that purpose labeled "Duplicate Ballot" envelope, and the judges
of election shall initial the "Replacement" ballot
cards and shall place them with the other ballot cards to be counted on
the automatic tabulating
equipment. Envelopes containing write-in votes marked in the place designated
therefor and containing the initials of a precinct judge of election and
not resulting in an overvote and otherwise complying with the election laws
as to marking shall be counted and tallied and their votes recorded on a
tally sheet provided by the election authority.
The ballot cards and ballot card envelopes shall be separated in preparation
for counting by the automatic tabulating equipment provided for that
purpose by the election authority.
Before the ballots are entered into the automatic tabulating
equipment, a precinct identification card provided by the election authority
shall be entered into the device to ensure that the totals are all zeroes
in the count column on the printing unit. A precinct judge of election
shall then count the ballots
by entering each ballot card into the automatic tabulating
equipment, and if any ballot or ballot card is damaged, defective, or cannot otherwise properly be counted by the automatic tabulating equipment, the
judges of election, consisting in each case of at least one judge of election
of each of the
2 major political parties, shall make a true duplicate ballot of all votes
on such ballot card by using the ballot label booklet of the precinct and
one of the marking devices of the precinct. The original ballot or ballot
card and envelope shall be clearly labeled "Damaged Ballot" and the ballot
or ballot card so produced shall be clearly labeled "Duplicate Damaged Ballot",
and each shall contain the same serial number which shall be placed
thereon by the judges of election, commencing with number 1 and continuing
consecutively for the ballots of
that kind in the precinct. The judges of election shall initial the "Duplicate
Damaged Ballot" ballot or ballot cards and shall enter the
duplicate damaged cards into the automatic tabulating equipment. The "Damaged
Ballot" cards
shall be placed in the "Duplicated Ballots" envelope; after all ballot cards
have been successfully read, the judges of election shall check to make certain that
the last number printed by the printing unit is the same as the number of
voters making application for ballot in that precinct.
The number shall be listed on the "Statement of Ballots" form provided by
the election authority.
The totals for all candidates and propositions shall be tabulated. One copy of an "In-Precinct Totals Report" shall be generated by the automatic tabulating equipment for return to the election authority. One copy of an "In-Precinct Totals Report" shall be generated and posted in a conspicuous place inside the polling place, provided that any authorized pollwatcher or other official authorized to be present in the polling place to observe the counting of ballots is present.
The judges of election shall
provide, if requested, a set for each authorized pollwatcher or other official authorized
to be present in the polling place to observe the counting of ballots. In addition,
sufficient
time shall be provided by the judges of election to the pollwatchers to
allow them to copy information from the copy
which has been posted.
The judges of election shall count all unused ballot cards and enter the
number on the "Statement of Ballots". All "Spoiled", "Defective" and
"Duplicated" ballot cards shall be counted and the number entered on the
"Statement of Ballots".
The precinct judges of election shall select a bi-partisan team of 2 judges,
who shall immediately return the ballots in a sealed container, along with
all other election materials as instructed by the election authority;
provided, however, that such container must first be sealed by the election
judges with filament tape provided for such purpose which shall be wrapped
around the container lengthwise and crosswise, at least twice each way, in
such manner that the ballots cannot be removed from such container without
breaking the seal and filament tape and disturbing any signatures affixed
by the election judges to the container. The election authority shall keep
the office of the election authority, or any receiving stations designated
by such authority, open for at least 12 consecutive hours after the polls
close or until the ballots from all precincts with in-precinct counting
equipment within the jurisdiction of the election authority have been
returned to the election authority. Ballots returned to the office of the
election authority which are not signed and sealed as required by law shall
not be accepted by the election authority until the judges returning the
same make and sign the necessary corrections. Upon acceptance of the ballots
by the election authority, the judges returning the same shall take a
receipt signed by the election authority and stamped with the time and date
of such return. The election judges whose duty it is to return any ballots
as herein provided shall, in the event such ballots cannot be found when
needed, on proper request, produce the receipt which they are to take as above provided.
(Source: P.A. 102-819, eff. 5-13-22.)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-11) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-11)
Sec. 24A-11.
All proceedings at the location for central counting
shall be under the
direction of the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the
case may be. Except for any specially trained technicians required for the
operation of the automatic tabulating equipment, the employees at the
counting station shall be equally divided between members of the 2 leading
political parties and all duties performed by such employees shall be by
teams consisting of an equal number of members of each political party.
Thirty days before an election the county clerk or board of election
commissioners shall submit to the chair of each political party, for his
approval or disapproval, a list of persons of his party proposed to be
employed. If a chair fails to notify the election authority of his
disapproval of any proposed employee within a period of 10 days thereafter
the list shall be deemed approved.
(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19 .)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-13) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-13)
Sec. 24A-13.
The procedure for tabulating the votes by the automatic
tabulating equipment shall be under the direction of the election authority
and shall conform to
the requirements of the automatic tabulating equipment. During any election-related
activity utilizing the automatic tabulating equipment, the election authority
shall make a reasonable effort to dedicate the equipment to vote processing
so as to ensure the security and integrity of the system.
A reasonable number of pollwatchers shall be admitted to the counting
location. Persons may observe the tabulating process at the discretion
of the election authority; however, at least one representative of each
established political
party and authorized agents of the State Board of Elections shall
be permitted to observe this process at all times. No
persons except
those employed and authorized for the purpose shall touch any ballot,
ballot box, return, or equipment.
The computer operators shall be designated by the election authority
and shall be sworn as a deputy of the election authority. In conducting
the vote tabulation and canvass, the computer operator must maintain a log
which shall include the following information:
1. Alterations made to programs associated with the vote counting process;
2. if applicable, console messages relating to the program and the respective
responses made by the operator;
3. the starting time for each precinct counted, the number of cards counted
for each precinct, any equipment problems and, insofar as practicable, the
number of invalid security punches encountered
during that count; and
4. changes and
repairs made to the equipment during the vote tabulation and canvass.
The computer operator's log and canvass shall be available for public inspection
in the office of the election authority for a period of 60 days following
the proclamation of election results. A copy of the computer operator's
log and the canvass shall be transmitted to the State Board of Elections
upon its request and at its expense.
(Source: P.A. 82-1014.)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-14) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-14)
Sec. 24A-14. Damaged, defective, or unreadable ballots; duplicates. If any ballot is damaged, defective, or cannot
otherwise properly be counted by the automatic tabulating equipment, a true duplicate
copy shall be made of the ballot in the presence of witnesses and
substituted for the damaged ballot. Likewise, a duplicate ballot shall not include the invalid votes appearing on the original ballot. All
duplicate ballots shall be clearly labeled "duplicate", shall bear a serial
number which shall be registered on the damaged, defective, or otherwise unreadable ballot, and
shall be counted in lieu of the damaged, defective, or otherwise unreadable ballot.
(Source: P.A. 102-819, eff. 5-13-22.)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-15) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-15)
Sec. 24A-15. The precinct return printed by the automatic tabulating
equipment shall include the number of ballots cast
and votes cast for each candidate and proposition and shall constitute the
official return of each precinct. In addition to the precinct return, the
election authority shall provide the number of applications for ballots
in each precinct, the write-in votes, the total number of ballots counted in
each precinct for each political subdivision and district and the number
of registered voters in each precinct. However, the election authority
shall check the totals shown by the precinct return and, if there is an
obvious discrepancy with respect to the total number of votes cast in any
precinct, shall have the ballots for such precinct retabulated to correct
the return. The procedures for retabulation shall apply prior to and
after the proclamation is completed; however, after the proclamation of
results, the election authority must obtain a court order to unseal voted
ballots except for election contests and discovery recounts.
In those election jurisdictions that utilize in-precinct counting
equipment, the certificate of results, which has been prepared by the
judges of election after the ballots have been
tabulated, shall be the document used for the canvass of votes for such
precinct. Whenever a discrepancy exists during the canvass of votes
between the unofficial results and the certificate of results, or whenever
a discrepancy exists during the canvass of votes between the certificate of
results and the set of totals which has been affixed to such certificate of
results, the ballots for such precinct shall be retabulated to correct the
return. As an additional part of this check prior to the proclamation, in
those jurisdictions where in-precinct counting equipment is utilized, the
election authority shall retabulate the total number of votes cast in 5% of
the precincts within the election jurisdiction, as well as 5% of the voting devices used in early voting. The precincts and the voting devices to be
retabulated shall be selected after election day on a random basis by the
State Board of Elections, so that every precinct in the election jurisdiction and every voting device used in early voting has
an equal mathematical chance of being selected. The State Board of
Elections shall design a standard and scientific random method of selecting
the precincts and voting devices which are to be retabulated. The State central committee chair
of each established political party shall be given prior written notice of the time and place of
such random selection procedure and may be represented at such procedure.
Such retabulation shall consist of counting the ballot cards which were
originally counted and shall not involve any determination as to which
ballot cards were, in fact, properly counted. The ballots from the
precincts selected for such retabulation shall remain at all times under
the custody and control of the election authority and shall be transported
and retabulated by the designated staff of the election authority.
As part of such retabulation, the election authority shall test the
computer program in the selected precincts and on the selected early voting devices. Such test
shall be conducted by processing a preaudited group of ballots so punched
so as to record a predetermined number of valid votes for each candidate
and on each public question, and shall include for each office one or more
ballots which have votes in excess of the number allowed by law in order
to test the ability of the equipment to reject such votes. If any error
is detected, the cause therefor shall be ascertained and corrected and an
errorless count shall be made prior to the official canvass and proclamation
of election results.
The State Board of Elections, the State's Attorney and other appropriate
law enforcement agencies, the county chair of each established political
party and qualified civic organizations shall be given prior written notice
of the time and place of such retabulation and may be represented at such
retabulation.
The results of this retabulation shall be treated in the same manner and
have the same effect as the results of the discovery procedures set forth
in Section 22-9.1 of this Act. Upon completion of the retabulation, the
election authority shall print a comparison of the results of the
retabulation with the original precinct return printed by the automatic
tabulating equipment. Such comparison shall be done for each precinct and for each early voting device selected for testing and
for each office voted upon within that precinct or on that voting device, and the comparisons shall
be open to the public.
(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19 .)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-15.01) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-15.01)
Sec. 24A-15.01.
Upon completion of the tabulation and retabulation of votes
pursuant to Sections 24A-11 through 24A-15, the ballots from each precinct
shall be replaced in the container in which they were transported to the
central counting station. If such container is not a type which may be
securely locked, then each such container - before being transferred from the
counting station to storage - shall be sealed with filament tape wrapped around
such container lengthwise and crosswise, at least twice each way, and in such
manner that the ballots cannot be removed from the container without breaking
the tape.
(Source: P.A. 88-45.)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-15.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-15.1)
Sec. 24A-15.1. Except as herein provided, discovery recounts and election
contests shall be conducted as otherwise provided for in this Code. The automatic tabulating equipment shall be tested prior to the
discovery recount or election contest as provided in Section 24A-9, and
then the official ballots or ballot cards shall be recounted on the
automatic tabulating equipment. In addition, (1) the ballot or ballot cards
shall be checked for the presence or absence of judges' initials and other
distinguishing marks, and (2) the ballots marked "Rejected", "Defective",
"Objected to",
"Vote by Mail Ballot", and "Early Ballot" shall be
examined
to determine the
propriety of the labels, and (3) the "Duplicate Vote by Mail Ballots",
"Duplicate Early Ballots",
"Duplicate Overvoted Ballots", and "Duplicate
Damaged Ballots" shall be
compared with their respective originals to determine the correctness of
the duplicates.
Any person who has filed a petition for discovery recount may request that
a redundant count be conducted in those precincts in which the discovery
recount is being conducted. The additional costs of such a redundant count
shall be borne by the requesting party.
The log of the computer operator and all materials retained by the election
authority in relation to vote tabulation and canvass shall be made available
for any discovery recount or election contest.
(Source: P.A. 100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-16) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-16)
Sec. 24A-16. The State Board of Elections shall approve all voting
systems provided by this Article. No voting system shall be approved
unless it fulfills the following requirements:
(1) It enables a voter to vote in absolute secrecy;
(2) (Blank);
(3) It enables a voter to vote a ticket selected in | ||
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(4) It enables a voter to vote a written or printed | ||
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(5) It will reject all votes for an office or upon a | ||
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(5.5) It will identify when a voter has not voted for | ||
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(6) It will accommodate all propositions to be | ||
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(7) It will accommodate the tabulation programming | ||
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The State Board of Elections shall not approve any voting equipment or system that includes an external Infrared Data Association (IrDA) communications port.
The State Board of Elections is authorized to withdraw its approval of a
voting system if the system fails to fulfill the above requirements.
The vendor, person, or other private entity shall be solely responsible for the production and cost of: all application fees; all ballots; additional temporary workers; and other equipment or facilities needed and used in the testing of the vendor's, person's, or other private entity's respective equipment and software.
Any voting system vendor, person, or other private entity seeking the State Board of Elections' approval of a voting system shall, as part of the approval application, submit to the State Board a non-refundable fee. The State Board of Elections by rule shall establish an appropriate fee structure, taking into account the type of voting system approval that is requested (such as approval of a new system, a modification of an existing system, the size of the modification, etc.). No voting system or modification of a voting system shall be approved unless the fee is paid.
No vendor, person, or other entity may sell, lease, or loan, or have a written contract, including a contract contingent upon State Board approval of the voting system or voting system component, to sell, lease, or loan, a voting
system or voting system component to any election jurisdiction unless the
voting system or voting system component is first approved by the State
Board of Elections pursuant to this Section.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14.)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-17) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-17)
Sec. 24A-17.
The State Board of Elections may make reasonable rules for the
administration of this Article and may prescribe the number of voting
booths required for the various types of voting systems.
(Source: P.A. 78-918.)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-18) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-18)
Sec. 24A-18.
When an electronic voting system is used, the election
authority shall cause to be published, at least 5 days before the day of
each general and general primary election, in 2 or more newspapers
published in and having a general circulation in the county, a true and
legible copy of the specimen ballot label containing the names of
offices and candidates and statements of measures to be voted on, as
near as may be, in the form in which they will appear on the official
ballot label on election day. Such true legible copy may be in the form
of an actual size ballot label booklet and shall be published as
required by this section if distributed in 2 or more newspapers
published in and having a general circulation in the county as an insert
thereto. For each election prescribed in Article 2A of this Code, such
specimen ballots shall be made available for public distribution
and shall be supplied to the judges of election for posting in the polling
place on the day of election. Notice for the nonpartisan and consolidated
elections shall be
given as provided in Article 12.
(Source: P.A. 81-1535.)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-20)
Sec. 24A-20.
State Board testing of electronic ballot forms using direct
recording electronic voting systems. The State Board of Elections may test
direct recording electronic
voting systems. Testing by
the State Board of Elections shall include the operation of direct recording
electronic voting systems during a mock voting procedure and during a mock
contested
election in
which
ballots are objected to or recounted. The State
Board of Elections shall certify to the General Assembly the results of any
tests it
performs under this Section. Notwithstanding the results of the State Board of
Elections test and its certification to the General Assembly, nothing in this
Section shall authorize the use of a direct recording electronic voting system
unless further authorized by the
General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 90-745, eff. 8-14-98.)
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(10 ILCS 5/24A-22)
Sec. 24A-22. Definition of a vote.
(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, for the purpose of this
Article, a person casts a valid vote on a punch card ballot when:
(1) A chad on the card has at least one corner | ||
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(2) The fibers of paper on at least one edge of the | ||
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(3) An indentation on the chad from the stylus or | ||
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(b) Write-in votes shall be counted in a manner consistent with the existing
provisions of this Code.
(c) For purposes of this Section, a "chad" is that portion of a ballot card
that a voter punches or perforates with a stylus or other designated marking
device to manifest his or her vote for a particular ballot position on a ballot
card as defined in subsection (a).
(d) Prior to the original counting of any punch card ballots, an election judge may not alter a punch card ballot in any manner, including, but not limited to, the removal or manipulation of chads.
(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)
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