101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5023

 

Introduced 2/18/2020___________, by

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/10-10  from Ch. 46, par. 10-10
10 ILCS 5/22-6  from Ch. 46, par. 22-6
10 ILCS 5/28-9  from Ch. 46, par. 28-9
10 ILCS 5/28-11  from Ch. 46, par. 28-11
10 ILCS 5/28-12  from Ch. 46, par. 28-12
10 ILCS 5/28-13  from Ch. 46, par. 28-13

    Amends the Election Code. In provisions requiring the State Board of Elections to publish on its website precinct-by-precinct vote totals, provides that the Board only has to publish totals for offices and candidates that the Board certifies the election results. Makes changes to requirements for a petition for a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution or proposed statewide advisory public question. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.


LRB101 17658 SMS 67085 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5023LRB101 17658 SMS 67085 b

1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
5Sections 10-10, 22-6, 28-9, 28-11, 28-12, and 28-13 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/10-10)  (from Ch. 46, par. 10-10)
7    Sec. 10-10. Within 24 hours after the receipt of the
8certificate of nomination or nomination papers or proposed
9question of public policy, as the case may be, and the
10objector's petition, the chair of the electoral board other
11than the State Board of Elections shall send a call by
12registered or certified mail to each of the members of the
13electoral board, and to the objector who filed the objector's
14petition, and either to the candidate whose certificate of
15nomination or nomination papers are objected to or to the
16principal proponent or attorney for proponents of a question of
17public policy, as the case may be, whose petitions are objected
18to, and shall also cause the sheriff of the county or counties
19in which such officers and persons reside to serve a copy of
20such call upon each of such officers and persons, which call
21shall set out the fact that the electoral board is required to
22meet to hear and pass upon the objections to nominations made
23for the office, designating it, and shall state the day, hour

 

 

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1and place at which the electoral board shall meet for the
2purpose, which place shall be in the county court house in the
3county in the case of the County Officers Electoral Board, the
4Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the Township Officers
5Electoral Board or the Education Officers Electoral Board,
6except that the Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the
7Township Officers Electoral Board, and the Education Officers
8Electoral Board may meet at the location where the governing
9body of the municipality, township, or community college
10district, respectively, holds its regularly scheduled
11meetings, if that location is available; provided that voter
12records may be removed from the offices of an election
13authority only at the discretion and under the supervision of
14the election authority. In those cases where the State Board of
15Elections is the electoral board designated under Section 10-9,
16the chair of the State Board of Elections shall, within 24
17hours after the receipt of the certificate of nomination or
18nomination papers or petitions for a proposed amendment to
19Article IV of the Constitution or proposed statewide question
20of public policy, send a call by registered or certified mail
21to the objector who files the objector's petition, and either
22to the candidate whose certificate of nomination or nomination
23papers are objected to or to the principal proponent or
24attorney for proponents of the proposed Constitutional
25amendment or statewide question of public policy and shall
26state the day, hour, and place at which the electoral board

 

 

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1shall meet for the purpose, which place may be in the Capitol
2Building or in the principal or permanent branch office of the
3State Board. The day of the meeting shall not be less than 3
4nor more than 5 days after the receipt of the certificate of
5nomination or nomination papers and the objector's petition by
6the chair of the electoral board.
7    The electoral board shall have the power to administer
8oaths and to subpoena and examine witnesses and, at the request
9of either party and only upon a vote by a majority of its
10members, may authorize the chair to issue subpoenas requiring
11the attendance of witnesses and subpoenas duces tecum requiring
12the production of such books, papers, records and documents as
13may be evidence of any matter under inquiry before the
14electoral board, in the same manner as witnesses are subpoenaed
15in the Circuit Court.
16    Service of such subpoenas shall be made by any sheriff or
17other person in the same manner as in cases in such court and
18the fees of such sheriff shall be the same as is provided by
19law, and shall be paid by the objector or candidate who causes
20the issuance of the subpoena. In case any person so served
21shall knowingly neglect or refuse to obey any such subpoena, or
22to testify, the electoral board shall at once file a petition
23in the circuit court of the county in which such hearing is to
24be heard, or has been attempted to be heard, setting forth the
25facts, of such knowing refusal or neglect, and accompanying the
26petition with a copy of the citation and the answer, if one has

 

 

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1been filed, together with a copy of the subpoena and the return
2of service thereon, and shall apply for an order of court
3requiring such person to attend and testify, and forthwith
4produce books and papers, before the electoral board. Any
5circuit court of the state, excluding the judge who is sitting
6on the electoral board, upon such showing shall order such
7person to appear and testify, and to forthwith produce such
8books and papers, before the electoral board at a place to be
9fixed by the court. If such person shall knowingly fail or
10refuse to obey such order of the court without lawful excuse,
11the court shall punish him or her by fine and imprisonment, as
12the nature of the case may require and may be lawful in cases
13of contempt of court.
14    The electoral board on the first day of its meeting shall
15adopt rules of procedure for the introduction of evidence and
16the presentation of arguments and may, in its discretion,
17provide for the filing of briefs by the parties to the
18objection or by other interested persons.
19    In the event of a State Electoral Board hearing on
20objections to a petition for an amendment to Article IV of the
21Constitution pursuant to Section 3 of Article XIV of the
22Constitution, or to a petition for a question of public policy
23to be submitted to the voters of the entire State, the
24certificates of the county clerks and boards of election
25commissioners showing the results of the random sample of
26signatures on the petition shall be prima facie valid and

 

 

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1accurate, and shall be presumed to establish the number of
2valid and invalid signatures on the petition sheets reviewed in
3the random sample, as prescribed in Section 28-11 and 28-12 of
4this Code. Either party, however, may introduce evidence at
5such hearing to dispute the findings as to particular
6signatures. In addition to the foregoing, in the absence of
7competent evidence presented at such hearing by a party
8substantially challenging the results of a random sample, such
9results or showing a different result obtained by an additional
10sample, this certificate of a county clerk or board of election
11commissioners shall be presumed to establish the ratio of valid
12to invalid signatures on the petition within the particular
13election jurisdiction.
14    The electoral board shall take up the question as to
15whether or not the certificate of nomination or nomination
16papers or petitions are in proper form, and whether or not they
17were filed within the time and under the conditions required by
18law, and whether or not they are the genuine certificate of
19nomination or nomination papers or petitions which they purport
20to be, and whether or not in the case of the certificate of
21nomination in question it represents accurately the decision of
22the caucus or convention issuing it, and in general shall
23decide whether or not the certificate of nomination or
24nominating papers or petitions on file are valid or whether the
25objections thereto should be sustained and the decision of a
26majority of the electoral board shall be final subject to

 

 

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1judicial review as provided in Section 10-10.1. The electoral
2board must state its findings in writing and must state in
3writing which objections, if any, it has sustained. A copy of
4the decision shall be served upon the parties to the
5proceedings in open proceedings before the electoral board. If
6a party does not appear for receipt of the decision, the
7decision shall be deemed to have been served on the absent
8party on the date when a copy of the decision is personally
9delivered or on the date when a copy of the decision is
10deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or
11package, with postage prepaid, addressed to each party affected
12by the decision or to such party's attorney of record, if any,
13at the address on record for such person in the files of the
14electoral board.
15    Upon the expiration of the period within which a proceeding
16for judicial review must be commenced under Section 10-10.1,
17the electoral board shall, unless a proceeding for judicial
18review has been commenced within such period, transmit, by
19registered or certified mail, a certified copy of its ruling,
20together with the original certificate of nomination or
21nomination papers or petitions and the original objector's
22petition, to the officer or board with whom the certificate of
23nomination or nomination papers or petitions, as objected to,
24were on file, and such officer or board shall abide by and
25comply with the ruling so made to all intents and purposes.
26(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16;

 

 

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1100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
2    (10 ILCS 5/22-6)  (from Ch. 46, par. 22-6)
3    Sec. 22-6. E-Canvass.
4    (a) Within 22 days after each election, each Election
5Authority shall provide unit-by-unit vote totals to the State
6Board of Elections in an electronic format to be prescribed by
7the State Board of Elections. The State Board of Elections
8shall promulgate rules necessary for the implementation of this
9Section.
10    (b) Beginning with the November 2014 general election and
11every primary, consolidated, general, and special election
12thereafter, within 52 days after each election, the State Board
13of Elections shall publish the precinct-by-precinct vote
14totals for offices and candidates that the State Board of
15Elections certifies the election results on its website and
16make them available in a downloadable form.
17(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)
 
18    (10 ILCS 5/28-9)  (from Ch. 46, par. 28-9)
19    Sec. 28-9. Petitions for proposed amendments to Article IV
20of the Constitution pursuant to Section 3, Article XIV of the
21Constitution shall be signed by a number of electors equal in
22number to at least 8% of the total votes cast for candidates
23for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election. Such
24petition shall have been signed by the petitioning electors not

 

 

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1more than 24 months preceding the general election at which the
2proposed amendment is to be submitted and shall be filed with
3the Secretary of State at least 6 months before that general
4election.
5    Upon receipt of a petition for a proposed Constitutional
6amendment, the Secretary of State shall, as soon as is
7practicable, but no later than the close of the next business
8day, deliver such petition to the State Board of Elections.
9    Petitions for advisory questions of public policy to be
10submitted to the voters of the entire State shall be signed by
11a number of voters equal in number to 8% of the total votes
12cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial
13election. Such petition shall have been signed by said
14petitioners not more than 24 months preceding the date of the
15general election at which the question is to be submitted and
16shall be filed with the State Board of Elections at least 6
17months before that general election.
18    The proponents of the proposed statewide advisory public
19question shall file the original petition for a proposed
20Constitutional amendment or a statewide advisory public
21question in bound sections. Each section shall be composed of
22consecutively numbered petition sheets bound in sections
23containing only the original signatures of registered voters in
24the State. Any petition sheets not consecutively numbered or
25which contain duplicate page numbers already used on other
26sheets, or are photocopies or duplicates of the original

 

 

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1sheets, shall not be considered part of the petition for the
2purpose of the random sampling verification and shall not be
3counted toward the minimum number of signatures required to
4qualify the proposed statewide advisory public question for the
5ballot.
6    Within 7 business days following the last day for filing
7the original petition, the proponents shall also file copies of
8the petition sheets with each proper election authority and
9obtain a receipt therefor.
10    For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be
11defined and construed as follows:
12    1. "Board" means the State Board of Elections.
13    2. "Election Authority" means a county clerk or city or
14county board of election commissioners.
15    3. (Blank).
16    4. "Proponents" means any person, association, committee,
17organization or other group, or their designated
18representatives, who advocate and cause the circulation and
19filing of petitions for a statewide advisory question of public
20policy or a proposed constitutional amendment for submission at
21a general election and who has registered with the Board as
22provided in this Act.
23    5. "Opponents" means any person, association, committee,
24organization or other group, or their designated
25representatives, who oppose a statewide advisory question of
26public policy or a proposed constitutional amendment for

 

 

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1submission at a general election and who have registered with
2the Board as provided in this Act.
3(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11; 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)
 
4    (10 ILCS 5/28-11)  (from Ch. 46, par. 28-11)
5    Sec. 28-11. The Board shall design a standard and
6scientific random sampling method for the verification of
7petition signatures for statewide advisory referenda and
8proposed Constitutional amendments. In addition, the Board
9shall adopt rules of procedure for the petition filing process,
10including, but not limited to, the signature verification and
11signature rehabilitation procedures. shall conduct a public
12test to prove the validity of its sampling method. Notice of
13the time and place for such test shall be given at least 10
14days before the date on which such test is to be conducted and
15in the manner prescribed for notice of regular Board meetings.
16Signatures on petitions for constitutional amendments
17initiated pursuant to Article XIV, Section 3 of the Illinois
18Constitution need not be segregated by election jurisdiction.
19The Board shall design an alternative signature verification
20method for referenda initiated pursuant to Article XIV, Section
213 of the Illinois Constitution.
22    Within 14 business days following the last day for the
23filing of the original petition as prescribed in Section 28-9,
24the
25    The Board shall apply its proven random sampling method to

 

 

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1the petition sheets in each election jurisdiction section for
2the purpose of selecting and identifying the petition
3signatures to be included in the sample for signature
4verification to be conducted by the Board. for the respective
5jurisdictions and shall prepare and transmit to each proper
6election authority a list by page and line number of the
7signatures from its election jurisdiction selected for
8verification.
9    For each election jurisdiction, the sample verification
10shall include an examination of either (a) 10% of the
11signatures if 5,010 or more signatures are involved; or (b) 500
12signatures if more than 500 but less than 5,010 signatures are
13involved; or (c) all signatures if 500 or less signatures are
14involved.
15    Each election authority with whom jurisdictional copies of
16petition sheets were filed
17    The Board shall determine the validity of those signatures
18contained in the sample use the proven random sampling method
19designed and furnished by the Board for the verification of
20signatures shown on the list supplied by the Board and in
21accordance with the adopted rules of procedure the following
22criteria for determination of petition signature validity:
23        1. Determine if the person who signed the petition is a
24    registered voter in that election jurisdiction or was a
25    registered voter therein on the date the petition was
26    signed;

 

 

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1        2. Determine if the signature of the person who signed
2    the petition reasonably compares with the signature shown
3    on that person's registration record card.
4    Within 14 business days following receipt from the Board of
5the list of signatures for verification, each election
6authority shall transmit a properly dated certificate to the
7Board which shall indicate; (a) the page and line number of
8petition signatures examined, (b) the validity or invalidity of
9such signatures, and (c) the reasons for invalidity, based on
10the criteria heretofore prescribed. The Board shall prepare and
11adopt a standard form of certificate for use by the election
12authorities which shall be transmitted with the list of
13signatures for verification.
14    Upon written request of the election authority that, due to
15the volume of signatures in the sample for its jurisdiction,
16additional time is needed to properly perform the signature
17verification, the Board may grant the election authority
18additional days to complete the verification and transmit the
19certificate of results. These certificates of random sample
20verification results shall be available for public inspection
21within 24 hours after receipt by the State Board of Elections.
22(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11.)
 
23    (10 ILCS 5/28-12)  (from Ch. 46, par. 28-12)
24    Sec. 28-12. Upon completion of the signature verification
25process, Upon receipt of the certificates of the election

 

 

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1authorities showing the results of the sample signature
2verification, the Board shall:
3        1. Based on the sample of signatures examined,
4    calculate the ratio of invalid and or valid signatures on
5    the petition in each election jurisdiction.
6        2. Apply the ratio of invalid to valid signatures in an
7    election jurisdiction sample to the total number of
8    petition signatures submitted on the petition from that
9    election jurisdiction.
10        3. Compute the degree of multiple signature
11    contamination in each election jurisdiction sample.
12        4. Adjusting Adjust for multiple signature
13    contamination and the the number of invalid signatures,
14    project the total number of valid petition signatures
15    submitted from each election jurisdiction.
16        5. Aggregate the total number of projected valid
17    signatures from each election jurisdiction and project the
18    total number of valid signatures on the petition statewide.
19    If such statewide projection establishes a total number of
20valid petition signatures less than 95% not greater than 95.0%
21of the minimum number of signatures required to qualify the
22proposed Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public
23question for the ballot, the petition shall be presumed
24invalid; provided that, prior to the last day for ballot
25certification for the general election, the Board shall conduct
26a hearing for the purpose of allowing the proponents to present

 

 

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1competent evidence or an additional sample to rebut the
2presumption of invalidity. At the conclusion of such hearing,
3and after the resolution of any specific objection filed
4pursuant to Section 10-8 of this Code, the Board shall issue a
5final order declaring the petition to be valid or invalid and
6shall, in accordance with its order, certify or not certify the
7proposition for the ballot.
8    If such statewide projection establishes a total number of
9valid petition signatures equal to or greater than 95% greater
10than 95.0% of the minimum number of signatures required to
11qualify the proposed Constitutional amendment or statewide
12advisory public question for the ballot, the results of the
13sample shall be considered inconclusive and, if no specific
14objections to the petition are filed pursuant to Section 10-8
15of this Code, the Board shall issue a final order declaring the
16petition to be valid and shall certify the proposition for the
17ballot.
18    In either event, the Board shall append to its final order
19the detailed results of the sample from each election
20jurisdiction which shall include: (a) specific page and line
21numbers of signatures actually verified or determined to be
22invalid by the respective election authorities, and (b) the
23calculations and projections performed by the Board for each
24election jurisdiction.
25(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11.)
 

 

 

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1    (10 ILCS 5/28-13)  (from Ch. 46, par. 28-13)
2    Sec. 28-13. Each political party and civic organization as
3well as the registered proponents and opponents of a proposed
4Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question
5shall be entitled to one watcher in the office of the election
6authority to observe the conduct of the sample signature
7verification and participate in any proceedings related
8thereto. However, in those election jurisdictions where a 10%
9sample is required, the proponents and opponents may appoint no
10more than 5 assistant watchers in addition to the 1 principal
11watcher permitted herein.
12    Within 7 days following the last day for filing of the
13original petition, the proponents and opponents shall certify
14in writing to the Board that they publicly support or oppose
15the proposed statewide advisory public question. The
16proponents and opponents of such questions shall register the
17name and address of its group and the name and address of its
18chair and designated agent for acceptance of service of notices
19with the Board. Thereupon, the Board shall prepare a list of
20the registered proponents and opponents and shall adopt a
21standard proponents' and opponents' watcher credential form. A
22copy of such list and sufficient copies of such credentials
23shall be transmitted with the list for the sample signature
24verification to the appropriate election authorities. Those
25election authorities shall issue credentials to the
26permissible number of watchers for each proponent and opponent

 

 

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1group; provided, however, that a prospective watcher shall
2first present to the election authority a letter of
3authorization signed by the chair of the proponent or opponent
4group he or she represents.
5    Political party and qualified civic organization watcher
6credentials shall be substantially in the form and shall be
7authorized in the manner prescribed in Section 7-34 of this
8Code.
9    The rights and limitations of pollwatchers as prescribed by
10Section 7-34 of this Code, insofar as they may be made
11applicable, shall be applicable to watchers at the conduct of
12the sample signature verification.
13    The principal watcher for the proponents and opponents may
14make signed written objections to the Board relating to
15procedures observed during the conduct of the sample signature
16verification which could materially affect the results of the
17sample. Such written objections shall be presented to the
18election authority and a copy mailed to the Board and shall be
19attached to the certificate of sample results transmitted by
20the election authority to the Board.
21(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
22    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
23becoming law.