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91_HB2546
LRB9105382MWgcA
1 AN ACT to amend the Election Code by changing Section
2 10-10.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
6 Section 10-10 as follows:
7 (10 ILCS 5/10-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 10-10)
8 Sec. 10-10. Objections; hearings; rulings. Within 24
9 hours after the receipt of the certificate of nomination or
10 nomination papers or proposed question of public policy, as
11 the case may be, and the objector's petition, the chairman of
12 the electoral board other than the State Board of Elections
13 shall send a call by registered or certified mail to each of
14 the members of the electoral board, and to the objector who
15 filed the objector's petition, and either to the candidate
16 whose certificate of nomination or nomination papers are
17 objected to or to the principal proponent or attorney for
18 proponents of a question of public policy, as the case may
19 be, whose petitions are objected to, and shall also cause the
20 sheriff of the county or counties in which such officers and
21 persons reside to serve a copy of such call upon each of such
22 officers and persons, which call shall set out the fact that
23 the electoral board is required to meet to hear and pass upon
24 the objections to nominations made for the office,
25 designating it, and shall state the day, hour and place at
26 which the electoral board shall meet for the purpose, which
27 place shall be in the county court house in the county in the
28 case of the County Officers Electoral Board, the Municipal
29 Officers Electoral Board, the Township Officers Electoral
30 Board or the Education Officers Electoral Board. In those
31 cases where the State Board of Elections is the electoral
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1 board designated under Section 10-9, the chairman of the
2 State Board of Elections shall, within 24 hours after the
3 receipt of the certificate of nomination or nomination papers
4 or petitions for a proposed amendment to Article IV of the
5 Constitution or proposed statewide question of public policy,
6 send a call by registered or certified mail to the objector
7 who files the objector's petition, and either to the
8 candidate whose certificate of nomination or nomination
9 papers are objected to or to the principal proponent or
10 attorney for proponents of the proposed Constitutional
11 amendment or statewide question of public policy and shall
12 state the day, hour and place at which the electoral board
13 shall meet for the purpose, which place may be in the Capitol
14 Building or in the principal or permanent branch office of
15 the State Board. The day of the meeting shall not be less
16 than 3 nor more than 5 days after the receipt of the
17 certificate of nomination or nomination papers and the
18 objector's petition by the chairman of the electoral board.
19 The electoral board shall have the power to administer
20 oaths and to subpoena and examine witnesses and at the
21 request of either party the chairman may issue subpoenas
22 requiring the attendance of witnesses and subpoenas duces
23 tecum requiring the production of such books, papers, records
24 and documents as may be evidence of any matter under inquiry
25 before the electoral board, in the same manner as witnesses
26 are subpoenaed in the Circuit Court.
27 Service of such subpoenas shall be made by any sheriff or
28 other person in the same manner as in cases in such court and
29 the fees of such sheriff shall be the same as is provided by
30 law, and shall be paid by the objector or candidate who
31 causes the issuance of the subpoena. In case any person so
32 served shall knowingly neglect or refuse to obey any such
33 subpoena, or to testify, the electoral board shall at once
34 file a petition in the circuit court of the county in which
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1 such hearing is to be heard, or has been attempted to be
2 heard, setting forth the facts, of such knowing refusal or
3 neglect, and accompanying the petition with a copy of the
4 citation and the answer, if one has been filed, together with
5 a copy of the subpoena and the return of service thereon, and
6 shall apply for an order of court requiring such person to
7 attend and testify, and forthwith produce books and papers,
8 before the electoral board. Any circuit court of the state,
9 excluding the judge who is sitting on the electoral board,
10 upon such showing shall order such person to appear and
11 testify, and to forthwith produce such books and papers,
12 before the electoral board at a place to be fixed by the
13 court. If such person shall knowingly fail or refuse to obey
14 such order of the court without lawful excuse, the court
15 shall punish him or her by fine and imprisonment, as the
16 nature of the case may require and may be lawful in cases of
17 contempt of court.
18 The electoral board on the first day of its meeting shall
19 adopt rules of procedure for the introduction of evidence and
20 the presentation of arguments and may, in its discretion,
21 provide for the filing of briefs by the parties to the
22 objection or by other interested persons.
23 In the event of a State Electoral Board hearing on
24 objections to a petition for an amendment to Article IV of
25 the Constitution pursuant to Section 3 of Article XIV of the
26 Constitution, or to a petition for a question of public
27 policy to be submitted to the voters of the entire State, the
28 certificates of the county clerks and boards of election
29 commissioners showing the results of the random sample of
30 signatures on the petition shall be prima facie valid and
31 accurate, and shall be presumed to establish the number of
32 valid and invalid signatures on the petition sheets reviewed
33 in the random sample, as prescribed in Section 28-11 and
34 28-12 of this Code. Either party, however, may introduce
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1 evidence at such hearing to dispute the findings as to
2 particular signatures. In addition to the foregoing, in the
3 absence of competent evidence presented at such hearing by a
4 party substantially challenging the results of a random
5 sample, or showing a different result obtained by an
6 additional sample, this certificate of a county clerk or
7 board of election commissioners shall be presumed to
8 establish the ratio of valid to invalid signatures within the
9 particular election jurisdiction.
10 The electoral board shall take up the question as to
11 whether or not the certificate of nomination or nomination
12 papers or petitions are in proper form, and whether or not
13 they were filed within the time and under the conditions
14 required by law, and whether or not they are the genuine
15 certificate of nomination or nomination papers or petitions
16 which they purport to be, and whether or not in the case of
17 the certificate of nomination in question it represents
18 accurately the decision of the caucus or convention issuing
19 it, and in general shall decide whether or not the
20 certificate of nomination or nominating papers or petitions
21 on file are valid or whether the objections thereto should be
22 sustained and the decision of a majority of the electoral
23 board shall be final subject to judicial review as provided
24 in Section 10-10.1. The electoral board must state its
25 findings in writing and must state in writing which
26 objections, if any, it has sustained.
27 If the electoral board finds that the papers or petitions
28 are not complete or valid, but that certain mistakes in the
29 papers or petitions were made in good faith, the electoral
30 board shall deem the mistakes inconsequential and may not
31 disqualify the candidate.
32 Upon the expiration of the period within which a
33 proceeding for judicial review must be commenced under
34 Section 10--10.1, the electoral board shall, unless a
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1 proceeding for judicial review has been commenced within such
2 period, transmit, by registered or certified mail, a
3 certified copy of its ruling, together with the original
4 certificate of nomination or nomination papers or petitions
5 and the original objector's petition, to the officer or board
6 with whom the certificate of nomination or nomination papers
7 or petitions, as objected to, were on file, and such officer
8 or board shall abide by and comply with the ruling so made to
9 all intents and purposes.
10 (Source: P.A. 85-293; 86-1348.)