Public Act 095-0889
 
SB0439 Enrolled LRB095 10021 JAM 30235 b

    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing Section
16-5.01 as follows:
 
    (10 ILCS 5/16-5.01)  (from Ch. 46, par. 16-5.01)
    Sec. 16-5.01. (a) The election authority shall, at least 60
days prior to the date of any general election at which federal
officers are elected and 45 days prior to any other regular
election, have a sufficient number of ballots printed so that
such ballots will be available for mailing 60 days prior to the
date of the election to persons who have filed application for
a ballot under the provisions of Article 20 of this Act.
    (b) If at any general election at which federal offices are
elected the election authority is unable to comply with the
provisions of subsection (a), the election authority shall mail
to each such person, in lieu of the ballot, a Special Write-in
Absentee Voter's Blank Ballot. The Special Write-in Absentee
Voter's Blank Ballot shall be used only at general elections at
which federal officers are elected and shall be prepared by the
election authority in substantially the following form:
Special Write-in Absentee Voter's Blank Ballot
    (To vote for a person, write the title of the office and
his or her name on the lines provided. Place to the left of and
opposite the title of office a square and place a cross (X) in
the square.)
        Title of Office                 Name of Candidate
(    )                                                       
(    )                                                       
(    )                                                       
(    )                                                       
(    )                                                       
(    )                                                       
    The election authority shall send with the Special Write-in
Absentee Voter's Blank Ballot a list of all referenda for which
the voter is qualified to vote and all candidates for whom
nomination papers have been filed and for whom the voter is
qualified to vote. The voter shall be entitled to write in the
name of any candidate seeking election and any referenda for
which he or she is entitled to vote.
    On the back or outside of the ballot, so as to appear when
folded, shall be printed the words "Official Ballot", the date
of the election and a facsimile of the signature of the
election authority who has caused the ballot to be printed.
    The provisions of Article 20, insofar as they may be
applicable to the Special Write-in Absentee Voter's Blank
Ballot, shall be applicable herein.
    (c) Notwithstanding any provision of this Code or other law
to the contrary, the governing body of a municipality may
adopt, upon submission of a written statement by the
municipality's election authority attesting to the
administrative ability of the election authority to administer
an election using a ranked ballot to the municipality's
governing body, an ordinance requiring, and that
municipality's election authority shall prepare, a ranked
absentee ballot for municipal and township office candidates to
be voted on in the consolidated election. This ranked ballot
shall be for use only by a qualified voter who either is a
member of the United States military or will be outside of the
United States on the consolidated primary election day and the
consolidated election day. The ranked ballot shall contain a
list of the titles of all municipal and township offices
potentially contested at both the consolidated primary
election and the consolidated election and the candidates for
each office and shall permit the elector to vote in the
consolidated election by indicating his or her order of
preference for each candidate for each office. To indicate his
or her order of preference for each candidate for each office,
the voter shall put the number one next to the name of the
candidate who is the voter's first choice, the number 2 for his
or her second choice, and so forth so that, in consecutive
numerical order, a number indicating the voter's preference is
written by the voter next to each candidate's name on the
ranked ballot. The voter shall not be required to indicate his
or her preference for more than one candidate on the ranked
ballot. The voter may not cast a write-in vote using the ranked
ballot for the consolidated election. The election authority
shall, if using the ranked absentee ballot authorized by this
subsection, also prepare instructions for use of the ranked
ballot. The ranked ballot for the consolidated election shall
be mailed to the voter at the same time that the ballot for the
consolidated primary election is mailed to the voter and the
election authority shall accept the completed ranked ballot for
the consolidated election when the authority accepts the
completed ballot for the consolidated primary election.
    The voter shall also be sent an absentee ballot for the
consolidated election for those races that are not related to
the results of the consolidated primary election as soon as the
consolidated election ballot is certified.
    The State Board of Elections shall adopt rules for election
authorities for the implementation of this subsection,
including but not limited to the application for and counting
of ranked ballots.
(Source: P.A. 86-875.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2009