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ELECTIONS
(10 ILCS 5/) Election Code.

10 ILCS 5/24B-11

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-11)
    Sec. 24B-11. Proceedings at location for central counting; employees; approval of list. All proceedings at the location for central counting shall be under the direction of the county clerk or board of election commissioners. Except for any specially trained technicians required for the operation of the automatic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology 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 the 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 or her approval or disapproval, a list of persons of his or her party proposed to be employed. If a chair fails to notify the election authority of his or her 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.)

10 ILCS 5/24B-13

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-13)
    Sec. 24B-13. Tabulating Votes; Direction; Presence of Public; Computer Operator's Log and Canvass. The procedure for tabulating the votes by the automatic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology tabulating equipment shall be under the direction of the election authority and shall conform to the requirements of the automatic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology tabulating equipment. During any election-related activity using the automatic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology tabulating equipment, the election authority shall make a reasonable effort to dedicate the equipment to vote processing 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 operator 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:
        a. alterations made to programs associated with the
    
vote counting process;
        b. if applicable, console messages relating to the
    
program and the respective responses made by the operator;
        c. the starting time for each precinct counted, the
    
number of ballots counted for each precinct, any equipment problems and, insofar as practicable, the number of invalid security designations encountered during that count; and
        d. 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. 89-394, eff. 1-1-97.)

10 ILCS 5/24B-14

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-14)
    Sec. 24B-14. Damaged, defective, or unreadable ballots; duplicates. If any ballot is damaged, defective, or cannot otherwise properly be counted by the automatic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology tabulating equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be made of the ballot in the presence of witnesses and substituted for the original 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.)

10 ILCS 5/24B-15

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-15)
    Sec. 24B-15. Official return of precinct; check of totals; retabulation. The precinct return printed by the automatic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology 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 regarding the total number of votes cast in any precinct, shall have the ballots for that 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 use 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 the certificate of results, the ballots for that 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 used, 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 the random selection procedure and may be represented at the procedure. The retabulation shall consist of counting the ballots which were originally counted and shall not involve any determination of which ballots were, in fact, properly counted. The ballots from the precincts selected for the 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 the retabulation, the election authority shall test the computer program in the selected precincts and on the selected early voting devices. The test shall be conducted by processing a preaudited group of ballots marked 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 to test the ability of the equipment and the marking device to reject such votes. If any error is detected, the cause shall be determined 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 the retabulation and may be represented at the 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 Code. 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. The 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. Upon completion of the retabulation, the returns shall be open to the public.
(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)

10 ILCS 5/24B-15.01

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-15.01)
    Sec. 24B-15.01. Transporting Ballots to Central Counting Station; Container. Upon completion of the tabulation and retabulation of votes pursuant to Sections 24B-11 through 24B-15, the ballots from each precinct shall be replaced in the container in which they were transported to the central counting station. If the container is not a type which may be securely locked, then each container, before being transferred from the counting station to storage, shall be sealed with filament tape wrapped around the container lengthwise and crosswise, at least twice each way, and in a manner that the ballots cannot be removed from the container without breaking the tape.
(Source: P.A. 89-394, eff. 1-1-97.)

10 ILCS 5/24B-15.1

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-15.1)
    Sec. 24B-15.1. Discovery recounts and election contests. Except as provided, discovery recounts and election contests shall be conducted as otherwise provided for in this Code. The automatic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology tabulating equipment shall be tested prior to the discovery recount or election contest as provided in Section 24B-9, and then the official ballots shall be recounted on the automatic tabulating equipment. In addition, (a) the ballots shall be checked for the presence or absence of judges' initials and other distinguishing marks, and (b) the ballots marked "Rejected", "Defective", "Objected To", "Early Ballot", and "Vote by Mail Ballot" shall be examined to determine the propriety of the labels, and (c) the "Duplicate Vote by Mail Ballots", "Duplicate Overvoted Ballots", "Duplicate Early Ballot", 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 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. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)

10 ILCS 5/24B-16

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-16)
    Sec. 24B-16. Approval of Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology Voting Systems; Requisites. The State Board of Elections shall approve all Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting systems provided by this Article.
    No Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting system shall be approved unless it fulfills the following requirements:
        (a) It enables a voter to vote in absolute secrecy;
        (b) (Blank);
        (c) It enables a voter to vote a ticket selected in
    
part from the nominees of one party, and in part from the nominees of any or all parties, and in part from independent candidates, and in part of candidates whose names are written in by the voter;
        (d) It enables a voter to vote a written or printed
    
ticket of his or her own selection for any person for any office for whom he or she may desire to vote;
        (e) It will reject all votes for an office or upon a
    
proposition when the voter has cast more votes for the office or upon the proposition than he or she is entitled to cast;
        (e-5) It will identify when a voter has not voted for
    
all statewide constitutional offices; and
        (f) It will accommodate all propositions to be
    
submitted to the voters in the form provided by law or, where no form is provided, then in brief form, not to exceed 75 words.
    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 Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology 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 Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology 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. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06; 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)

10 ILCS 5/24B-17

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-17)
    Sec. 24B-17. Rules; Number of Voting Booths. 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. 89-394, eff. 1-1-97.)

10 ILCS 5/24B-18

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-18)
    Sec. 24B-18. Specimen Ballots; Publication. When an electronic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology 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. A true legible copy may be in the form of an actual size ballot and shall be published as required by this Section if distributed in 2 or more newspapers published and having a general circulation in the county as an insert. For each election prescribed in Article 2A of this Code, 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. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03.)

10 ILCS 5/24B-19

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-19)
    Sec. 24B-19. Additional Method of Voting. The foregoing Sections of this Article shall be deemed to provide a method of voting in addition to the methods otherwise provided in this Code.
(Source: P.A. 89-394, eff. 1-1-97.)

10 ILCS 5/24B-20

    (10 ILCS 5/24B-20)
    Sec. 24B-20. Voting Defect Identification Capabilities. An election authority is required to use the Voting Defect Identification capabilities of the automatic tabulating equipment when used in-precinct, including both the capability of identifying an under-vote and the capability of identifying an over-vote.
(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)

10 ILCS 5/Art. 24C

 
    (10 ILCS 5/Art. 24C heading)
ARTICLE 24C. DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS