102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4966

 

Introduced 1/27/2022, by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/1-3  from Ch. 46, par. 1-3
10 ILCS 5/1-13
10 ILCS 5/1-13.5 new

    Amends the Election Code. Provides that, no later than January 1, 2024, the State Board of Elections shall adopt rules authorizing election authorities and local election officials to establish procedures under which digital voter signatures may be collected for nominating, candidate, and referendum petitions. Provides that those rules shall provide that any election authority or local election official may provide or supply electronic devices for the collection of digital voter signatures on petitions. Provides that the electronic devices, whether or not they are supplied by an election authority or local election official, may be capable of allowing a person to access and use the online voter registration system established under specified provisions of the Code. Makes conforming changes.


LRB102 25320 AWJ 34594 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4966LRB102 25320 AWJ 34594 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 1-3 and 1-13 and by adding Section 1-13.5 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/1-3)  (from Ch. 46, par. 1-3)
7    Sec. 1-3. As used in this Act, unless the context
8otherwise requires:
9    1. "Election" includes the submission of all questions of
10public policy, propositions, and all measures submitted to
11popular vote, and includes primary elections when so indicated
12by the context.
13    2. "Regular election" means the general, general primary,
14consolidated and consolidated primary elections regularly
15scheduled in Article 2A. The even numbered year municipal
16primary established in Article 2A is a regular election only
17with respect to those municipalities in which a primary is
18required to be held on such date.
19    3. "Special election" means an election not regularly
20recurring at fixed intervals, irrespective of whether it is
21held at the same time and place and by the same election
22officers as a regular election.
23    4. "General election" means the biennial election at which

 

 

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1members of the General Assembly are elected. "General primary
2election", "consolidated election" and "consolidated primary
3election" mean the respective elections or the election dates
4designated and established in Article 2A of this Code.
5    5. "Municipal election" means an election or primary,
6either regular or special, in cities, villages, and
7incorporated towns; and "municipality" means any such city,
8village or incorporated town.
9    6. "Political or governmental subdivision" means any unit
10of local government, or school district in which elections are
11or may be held. "Political or governmental subdivision" also
12includes, for election purposes, Regional Boards of School
13Trustees, and Township Boards of School Trustees.
14    7. The word "township" and the word "town" shall apply
15interchangeably to the type of governmental organization
16established in accordance with the provisions of the Township
17Code. The term "incorporated town" shall mean a municipality
18referred to as an incorporated town in the Illinois Municipal
19Code, as now or hereafter amended.
20    8. "Election authority" means a county clerk or a Board of
21Election Commissioners.
22    9. "Election Jurisdiction" means (a) an entire county, in
23the case of a county in which no city board of election
24commissioners is located or which is under the jurisdiction of
25a county board of election commissioners; (b) the territorial
26jurisdiction of a city board of election commissioners; and

 

 

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1(c) the territory in a county outside of the jurisdiction of a
2city board of election commissioners. In each instance
3election jurisdiction shall be determined according to which
4election authority maintains the permanent registration
5records of qualified electors.
6    10. "Local election official" means the clerk or secretary
7of a unit of local government or school district, as the case
8may be, the treasurer of a township board of school trustees,
9and the regional superintendent of schools with respect to the
10various school officer elections and school referenda for
11which the regional superintendent is assigned election duties
12by The School Code, as now or hereafter amended.
13    11. "Judges of election", "primary judges" and similar
14terms, as applied to cases where there are 2 sets of judges,
15when used in connection with duties at an election during the
16hours the polls are open, refer to the team of judges of
17election on duty during such hours; and, when used with
18reference to duties after the closing of the polls, refer to
19the team of tally judges designated to count the vote after the
20closing of the polls and the holdover judges designated
21pursuant to Section 13-6.2 or 14-5.2. In such case, where,
22after the closing of the polls, any act is required to be
23performed by each of the judges of election, it shall be
24performed by each of the tally judges and by each of the
25holdover judges.
26    12. "Petition" of candidacy as used in Sections 7-10 and

 

 

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17-10.1 shall consist of a statement of candidacy, candidate's
2statement containing oath, and sheets containing signatures of
3qualified primary electors bound together.
4    13. "Election district" and "precinct", when used with
5reference to a 30-day residence requirement, means the
6smallest constituent territory in which electors vote as a
7unit at the same polling place in any election governed by this
8Act.
9    14. "District" means any area which votes as a unit for the
10election of any officer, other than the State or a unit of
11local government or school district, and includes, but is not
12limited to, legislative, congressional and judicial districts,
13judicial circuits, county board districts, municipal and
14sanitary district wards, school board districts, and
15precincts.
16    15. "Question of public policy" or "public question" means
17any question, proposition or measure submitted to the voters
18at an election dealing with subject matter other than the
19nomination or election of candidates and shall include, but is
20not limited to, any bond or tax referendum, and questions
21relating to the Constitution.
22    16. "Ordinance providing the form of government of a
23municipality or county pursuant to Article VII of the
24Constitution" includes ordinances, resolutions and petitions
25adopted by referendum which provide for the form of
26government, the officers or the manner of selection or terms

 

 

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1of office of officers of such municipality or county, pursuant
2to the provisions of Sections 4, 6 or 7 of Article VII of the
3Constitution.
4    17. "List" as used in Sections 4-11, 4-22, 5-14, 5-29,
56-60, and 6-66 shall include a computer tape or computer disc
6or other electronic data processing information containing
7voter information.
8    18. "Accessible" means accessible to persons with
9disabilities and elderly individuals for the purpose of voting
10or registration, as determined by rule of the State Board of
11Elections.
12    19. "Elderly" means 65 years of age or older.
13    20. "Person with a disability" means a person having a
14temporary or permanent physical disability.
15    21. "Leading political party" means one of the two
16political parties whose candidates for governor at the most
17recent three gubernatorial elections received either the
18highest or second highest average number of votes. The
19political party whose candidates for governor received the
20highest average number of votes shall be known as the first
21leading political party and the political party whose
22candidates for governor received the second highest average
23number of votes shall be known as the second leading political
24party.
25    22. "Business day" means any day in which the office of an
26election authority, local election official or the State Board

 

 

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1of Elections is open to the public for a minimum of 7 hours.
2    23. "Homeless individual" means any person who has a
3nontraditional residence, including, but not limited to, a
4shelter, day shelter, park bench, street corner, or space
5under a bridge.
6    24. "Signature" means a name signed in ink or in digitized
7form. Except as otherwise provided in Section 1-13.5, this
8This definition does not apply to a nominating or candidate
9petition or a referendum petition.
10    25. "Intelligent mail barcode tracking system" means a
11printed trackable barcode attached to the return business
12reply envelope for mail-in ballots under Article 19 or Article
1320 that allows an election authority to determine the date the
14envelope was mailed in absence of a postmark.
15(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)
 
16    (10 ILCS 5/1-13)
17    Sec. 1-13. Forms of signature. The making and signing of
18any form, including an application to register, a certificate
19authorizing cancellation of a registration or authorizing a
20transfer of registration, an application to vote, a
21provisional ballot, or affidavit, but not including a
22nominating or candidate petition or a referendum petition, may
23be by a signature written in ink or in digitized form. Except
24as otherwise provided in Section 1-13.5, the making and
25signing of forms under this Section does not include the

 

 

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1signing of a nominating or candidate petition or a referendum
2petition.
3(Source: P.A. 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)
 
4    (10 ILCS 5/1-13.5 new)
5    Sec. 1-13.5. Authorization of digital signatures on
6nominating, candidate, and referendum petitions. No later than
7January 1, 2024, the State Board of Elections shall adopt
8rules authorizing election authorities and local election
9officials to establish procedures under which digital voter
10signatures may be collected for nominating, candidate, and
11referendum petitions. Those rules shall provide that any
12election authority or local election official may provide or
13supply electronic devices for the collection of digital voter
14signatures on petitions. The electronic devices, whether or
15not they are supplied by an election authority or local
16election official, may be capable of allowing a person to
17access and use the online voter registration system
18established under Section 171A-16.5.