SB1586ham001 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Michael J. Zalewski

Filed: 5/31/2011

09700SB1586ham001 LRB097 07064 HLH 56639 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1586

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1586 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 3. The Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act is amended by changing Sections 6 and 7 as follows:

(5 ILCS 20/6) (from Ch. 1, par. 108)

Sec. 6. The county canvassing boards of the counties respectively shall at the time it opens the returns and makes abstracts of the votes cast at such elections for officers, also make abstracts in duplicate of the votes cast for and against such proposed amendment or amendments to the constitution. And immediately after the completion of the abstracts the county canvassing boards shall inclose one of the same in a sealed envelope, and indorse thereon the words "Abstract of votes for and against amendment of the constitution," and address and mail the same to the State Board of Elections secretary of state, and shall file the other of the abstracts in the county clerk's office.

(Source: Laws 1963, p. 1115.)

Section 5. The Statute on Statutes is amended by changing Section 1.25 as follows:

(5 ILCS 70/1.25) (from Ch. 1, par. 1026)

Sec. 1.25. Unless An Act otherwise specifically provides, any writing of any kind or description required or authorized to be filed with, and any payment of any kind or description required or authorized to be paid to, the State or any political subdivision thereof, by the laws of this State:

(1) if transmitted through the United States mail, shall be deemed filed with or received by the State or political subdivision on the date shown by the post office cancellation mark stamped upon the envelope or other wrapper containing it;

(2) if mailed but not received by the State or political subdivision, or if received but without a cancellation mark or with the cancellation mark illegible or erroneous, shall be deemed filed with or received by the State or political subdivision to which it was required or authorized to be directed on the date it was mailed, but only if the sender establishes by competent evidence that the writing or payment was deposited, properly addressed, in the United States mail on or before the date on which it was required or authorized to be filed or was due. In cases in which the writing or payment was mailed but not received, the sender must also file with, or pay to, the State or political subdivision to which the writing or payment was required or authorized to be directed, a duplicate writing or payment within 30 days after written notification is given to the person claiming to have sent the writing or payment, by the State or political subdivision to which the writing or payment was required or authorized to be sent, of its non-receipt of the writing or payment.

If a writing or payment is sent by United States registered mail, certified mail or certificate of mailing, a record authenticated by the United States Post Office of such registration, certification or certificate shall be considered competent evidence that the writing or payment was mailed. The date of registration, certification or certificate shall be deemed the postmarked date.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither a petition for nomination as a candidate for political office nor a petition to submit a public question to be voted upon by the electors of the State or of any political subdivision or district may be considered filed until it is received by the political subdivision, election authority, or the State Board of Elections, as applicable.

(Source: P.A. 76-1111.)

Section 10. The Election Code is amended by changing Sections 4-6.2, 4-50, 5-7.03, 5-16.2, 5-50, 6-50.2, 6-100, 7-10, 7-11, 7-12, 7-61, 8-8, 8-10, 10-1, 16-5.01, 17-9, 18A-5, 19-2, 19-2.1, 19-3, 19A-15, 24A-15, 24B-15, 24C-15, 25-6, 28-5, 28-6, 28-7, 28-9, 28-10, 28-11, 28-12, and 28-13 and by adding Sections 4-55, 20-1b, and 28-14 as follows:

(10 ILCS 5/4-6.2) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-6.2)

Sec. 4-6.2. (a) The county clerk shall appoint all municipal and township or road district clerks or their duly authorized deputies as deputy registrars who may accept the registration of all qualified residents of the State.

The county clerk shall appoint all precinct committeepersons in the county as deputy registrars who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the State, except during the 27 days preceding an election.

The election authority shall appoint as deputy registrars a reasonable number of employees of the Secretary of State located at driver's license examination stations and designated to the election authority by the Secretary of State who may accept the registration of any qualified residents of the State at any such driver's license examination stations. The appointment of employees of the Secretary of State as deputy registrars shall be made in the manner provided in Section 2-105 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.

The county clerk shall appoint each of the following named persons as deputy registrars upon the written request of such persons:

1. The chief librarian, or a qualified person designated by the chief librarian, of any public library situated within the election jurisdiction, who may accept the registrations of any qualified resident of the State, at such library.

2. The principal, or a qualified person designated by the principal, of any high school, elementary school, or vocational school situated within the election jurisdiction, who may accept the registrations of any qualified resident of the State, at such school. The county clerk shall notify every principal and vice-principal of each high school, elementary school, and vocational school situated within the election jurisdiction of their eligibility to serve as deputy registrars and offer training courses for service as deputy registrars at conveniently located facilities at least 4 months prior to every election.

3. The president, or a qualified person designated by the president, of any university, college, community college, academy or other institution of learning situated within the election jurisdiction, who may accept the registrations of any resident of the State, at such university, college, community college, academy or institution.

4. A duly elected or appointed official of a bona fide labor organization, or a reasonable number of qualified members designated by such official, who may accept the registrations of any qualified resident of the State.

5. A duly elected or appointed official of a bonafide State civic organization, as defined and determined by rule of the State Board of Elections, or qualified members designated by such official, who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the State. In determining the number of deputy registrars that shall be appointed, the county clerk shall consider the population of the jurisdiction, the size of the organization, the geographic size of the jurisdiction, convenience for the public, the existing number of deputy registrars in the jurisdiction and their location, the registration activities of the organization and the need to appoint deputy registrars to assist and facilitate the registration of non-English speaking individuals. In no event shall a county clerk fix an arbitrary number applicable to every civic organization requesting appointment of its members as deputy registrars. The State Board of Elections shall by rule provide for certification of bonafide State civic organizations. Such appointments shall be made for a period not to exceed 2 years, terminating on the first business day of the month following the month of the general election, and shall be valid for all periods of voter registration as provided by this Code during the terms of such appointments.

6. The Director of Healthcare and Family Services, or a reasonable number of employees designated by the Director and located at public aid offices, who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the county at any such public aid office.

7. The Director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or a reasonable number of employees designated by the Director and located at unemployment offices, who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the county at any such unemployment office.

8. The president of any corporation as defined by the Business Corporation Act of 1983, or a reasonable number of employees designated by such president, who may accept the registrations of any qualified resident of the State.

If the request to be appointed as deputy registrar is denied, the county clerk shall, within 10 days after the date the request is submitted, provide the affected individual or organization with written notice setting forth the specific reasons or criteria relied upon to deny the request to be appointed as deputy registrar.

The county clerk may appoint as many additional deputy registrars as he considers necessary. The county clerk shall appoint such additional deputy registrars in such manner that the convenience of the public is served, giving due consideration to both population concentration and area. Some of the additional deputy registrars shall be selected so that there are an equal number from each of the 2 major political parties in the election jurisdiction. The county clerk, in appointing an additional deputy registrar, shall make the appointment from a list of applicants submitted by the Chairman of the County Central Committee of the applicant's political party. A Chairman of a County Central Committee shall submit a list of applicants to the county clerk by November 30 of each year. The county clerk may require a Chairman of a County Central Committee to furnish a supplemental list of applicants.

Deputy registrars may accept registrations at any time other than the 27 day period preceding an election. All persons appointed as deputy registrars shall be registered voters within the county and shall take and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of deputy registrar to the best of my ability and that I will register no person nor cause the registration of any person except upon his personal application before me.

............................

(Signature Deputy Registrar)"

This oath shall be administered by the county clerk, or by one of his deputies, or by any person qualified to take acknowledgement of deeds and shall immediately thereafter be filed with the county clerk.

Appointments of deputy registrars under this Section, except precinct committeemen, shall be for 2-year terms, commencing on December 1 following the general election of each even-numbered year; except that the terms of the initial appointments shall be until December 1st following the next general election. Appointments of precinct committeemen shall be for 2-year terms commencing on the date of the county convention following the general primary at which they were elected. The county clerk shall issue a certificate of appointment to each deputy registrar, and shall maintain in his office for public inspection a list of the names of all appointees.

(b) The county clerk shall be responsible for training all deputy registrars appointed pursuant to subsection (a), at times and locations reasonably convenient for both the county clerk and such appointees. The county clerk shall be responsible for certifying and supervising all deputy registrars appointed pursuant to subsection (a). Deputy registrars appointed under subsection (a) shall be subject to removal for cause.

(c) Completed registration materials under the control of deputy registrars, appointed pursuant to subsection (a), shall be returned to the appointing election authority by first-class mail within 2 business days or personal delivery within 7 days, except that completed registration materials received by the deputy registrars during the period between the 35th and 28th day preceding an election shall be returned by the deputy registrars to the appointing election authority within 48 hours after receipt thereof. The completed registration materials received by the deputy registrars on the 28th day preceding an election shall be returned by the deputy registrars within 24 hours after receipt thereof. Unused materials shall be returned by deputy registrars appointed pursuant to paragraph 4 of subsection (a), not later than the next working day following the close of registration.

(d) The county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, must provide any additional forms requested by any deputy registrar regardless of the number of unaccounted registration forms the deputy registrar may have in his or her possession.

(e) No deputy registrar shall engage in any electioneering or the promotion of any cause during the performance of his or her duties.

(f) The county clerk shall not be criminally or civilly liable for the acts or omissions of any deputy registrar. Such deputy registrars shall not be deemed to be employees of the county clerk.

(g) Completed registration materials returned by deputy registrars for persons residing outside the county shall be transmitted by the county clerk within 2 days after receipt to the election authority of the person's election jurisdiction of residence.

(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

(10 ILCS 5/4-50)

Sec. 4-50. Grace period. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary, each election authority shall establish procedures for the registration of voters and for change of address during the period from the close of registration for a primary or election and until the 3rd 7th day before the primary or election. During this grace period, an unregistered qualified elector may register to vote, and a registered voter may submit a change of address form, in person in the office of the election authority or at a voter registration location specifically designated for this purpose by the election authority. The election authority shall register that individual, or change a registered voter's address, in the same manner as otherwise provided by this Article for registration and change of address.

If a voter who registers or changes address during this grace period wishes to vote at the first election or primary occurring after the grace period, he or she must do so by grace period voting, either in person in the office of the election authority or at a location specifically designated for this purpose by the election authority, or by mail, at the discretion of the election authority. Grace period voting shall be in a manner substantially similar to voting under Article 19.

Within one day after a voter casts a grace period ballot, the election authority shall transmit the voter's name, street address, and precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, to the State Board of Elections, which shall maintain those names and that information in an electronic format on its website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local political committees. The name of each person issued a grace period ballot shall also be placed on the appropriate precinct list of persons to whom absentee and early ballots have been issued, for use as provided in Sections 17-9 and 18-5.

A person who casts a grace period ballot shall not be permitted to revoke that ballot and vote another ballot with respect to that primary or election. Ballots cast by persons who register or change address during the grace period must be transmitted to and counted at the election authority's central ballot counting location and shall not be transmitted to and counted at precinct polling places. The grace period ballots determined to be valid shall be added to the vote totals for the precincts for which they were cast in the order in which the ballots were opened.

(Source: P.A. 96-441, eff. 1-1-10.)

(10 ILCS 5/4-55 new)

Sec. 4-55. Public university registration and voting. Each election authority whose jurisdiction includes either the University of Illinois or Southern Illinois University shall conduct grace period registration and early voting on the main campus of the applicable university. Registration and voting required by this Section shall be conducted at (i) the Illini Union, in the case of the University of Illinois and (ii) the Student Center, in the case of Southern Illinois University. The registration and voting required by this Section to be conducted on campus must be conducted as otherwise required by this Code. The University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University shall make space available for, and cooperate and coordinate with the appropriate election authority in, the implementation of this Section.

(10 ILCS 5/5-7.03) (from Ch. 46, par. 5-7.03)

Sec. 5-7.03. The State Board of Elections shall design a registration record card which, except as otherwise provided in this Section, shall be used in triplicate by all election authorities in the State, except those election authorities adopting a computer-based voter registration file authorized under Section 5-43. The Board shall prescribe the form and specifications, including but not limited to the weight of paper, color and print of such cards. Such cards shall contain boxes or spaces for the information required under Sections 5-7 and 5-28.1 of this Code; provided, that such cards shall also contain a box or space for the applicant's social security number, which shall be required to the extent allowed by law but in no case shall the applicant provide fewer than the last 4 digits of the social security number, and a box for the applicant's telephone number, if available.

Except for those election authorities adopting a computer-based voter registration file authorized under Section 5-43, the original and duplicate cards shall respectively constitute the master file and precinct binder registration records of the voter. A copy shall be given to the applicant upon completion of his or her registration or completed transfer of registration.

Whenever a voter moves to another precinct within the same election jurisdiction or to another election jurisdiction in the State, such voter may transfer his or her registration by presenting his or her copy to the election authority or a deputy registrar. If such voter is not in possession of or has lost his or her copy, he or she may effect a transfer of registration by executing an Affidavit of Cancellation of Previous Registration. In the case of a transfer of registration to a new election jurisdiction, the election authority shall transmit the voter's copy or such affidavit to the election authority of the voter's former election jurisdiction, which shall immediately cause the transmission of the voter's previous registration card to the voter's new election authority. No transfer of registration to a new election jurisdiction shall be complete until the voter's old election authority receives notification.

Deputy registrars shall return all copies of registration record cards or Affidavits of Cancellation of Previous Registration to the election authority by first-class mail within 2 business days or personal delivery within 7 working days after the receipt thereof, except that such copies or Affidavits of Cancellation of Previous Registration received by the deputy registrars between the 35th and 28th day preceding an election shall be returned by the deputy registrars to the election authority within 48 hours after receipt. The deputy registrars shall return the copies or Affidavits of Cancellation of Previous Registration received by them on the 28th day preceding an election to the election authority within 24 hours after receipt thereof.

(Source: P.A. 91-73, eff. 7-9-99; 92-816, eff. 8-21-02.)

(10 ILCS 5/5-16.2) (from Ch. 46, par. 5-16.2)

Sec. 5-16.2. (a) The county clerk shall appoint all municipal and township clerks or their duly authorized deputies as deputy registrars who may accept the registration of all qualified residents of the State.

The county clerk shall appoint all precinct committeepersons in the county as deputy registrars who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the State, except during the 27 days preceding an election.

The election authority shall appoint as deputy registrars a reasonable number of employees of the Secretary of State located at driver's license examination stations and designated to the election authority by the Secretary of State who may accept the registration of any qualified residents of the State at any such driver's license examination stations. The appointment of employees of the Secretary of State as deputy registrars shall be made in the manner provided in Section 2-105 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.

The county clerk shall appoint each of the following named persons as deputy registrars upon the written request of such persons:

1. The chief librarian, or a qualified person designated by the chief librarian, of any public library situated within the election jurisdiction, who may accept the registrations of any qualified resident of the State, at such library.

2. The principal, or a qualified person designated by the principal, of any high school, elementary school, or vocational school situated within the election jurisdiction, who may accept the registrations of any resident of the State, at such school. The county clerk shall notify every principal and vice-principal of each high school, elementary school, and vocational school situated within the election jurisdiction of their eligibility to serve as deputy registrars and offer training courses for service as deputy registrars at conveniently located facilities at least 4 months prior to every election.

3. The president, or a qualified person designated by the president, of any university, college, community college, academy or other institution of learning situated within the election jurisdiction, who may accept the registrations of any resident of the State, at such university, college, community college, academy or institution.

4. A duly elected or appointed official of a bona fide labor organization, or a reasonable number of qualified members designated by such official, who may accept the registrations of any qualified resident of the State.

5. A duly elected or appointed official of a bona fide State civic organization, as defined and determined by rule of the State Board of Elections, or qualified members designated by such official, who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the State. In determining the number of deputy registrars that shall be appointed, the county clerk shall consider the population of the jurisdiction, the size of the organization, the geographic size of the jurisdiction, convenience for the public, the existing number of deputy registrars in the jurisdiction and their location, the registration activities of the organization and the need to appoint deputy registrars to assist and facilitate the registration of non-English speaking individuals. In no event shall a county clerk fix an arbitrary number applicable to every civic organization requesting appointment of its members as deputy registrars. The State Board of Elections shall by rule provide for certification of bona fide State civic organizations. Such appointments shall be made for a period not to exceed 2 years, terminating on the first business day of the month following the month of the general election, and shall be valid for all periods of voter registration as provided by this Code during the terms of such appointments.

6. The Director of Healthcare and Family Services, or a reasonable number of employees designated by the Director and located at public aid offices, who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the county at any such public aid office.

7. The Director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or a reasonable number of employees designated by the Director and located at unemployment offices, who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the county at any such unemployment office.

8. The president of any corporation as defined by the Business Corporation Act of 1983, or a reasonable number of employees designated by such president, who may accept the registrations of any qualified resident of the State.

If the request to be appointed as deputy registrar is denied, the county clerk shall, within 10 days after the date the request is submitted, provide the affected individual or organization with written notice setting forth the specific reasons or criteria relied upon to deny the request to be appointed as deputy registrar.

The county clerk may appoint as many additional deputy registrars as he considers necessary. The county clerk shall appoint such additional deputy registrars in such manner that the convenience of the public is served, giving due consideration to both population concentration and area. Some of the additional deputy registrars shall be selected so that there are an equal number from each of the 2 major political parties in the election jurisdiction. The county clerk, in appointing an additional deputy registrar, shall make the appointment from a list of applicants submitted by the Chairman of the County Central Committee of the applicant's political party. A Chairman of a County Central Committee shall submit a list of applicants to the county clerk by November 30 of each year. The county clerk may require a Chairman of a County Central Committee to furnish a supplemental list of applicants.

Deputy registrars may accept registrations at any time other than the 27 day period preceding an election. All persons appointed as deputy registrars shall be registered voters within the county and shall take and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of deputy registrar to the best of my ability and that I will register no person nor cause the registration of any person except upon his personal application before me.

...............................

(Signature of Deputy Registrar)"

This oath shall be administered by the county clerk, or by one of his deputies, or by any person qualified to take acknowledgement of deeds and shall immediately thereafter be filed with the county clerk.

Appointments of deputy registrars under this Section, except precinct committeemen, shall be for 2-year terms, commencing on December 1 following the general election of each even-numbered year, except that the terms of the initial appointments shall be until December 1st following the next general election. Appointments of precinct committeemen shall be for 2-year terms commencing on the date of the county convention following the general primary at which they were elected. The county clerk shall issue a certificate of appointment to each deputy registrar, and shall maintain in his office for public inspection a list of the names of all appointees.

(b) The county clerk shall be responsible for training all deputy registrars appointed pursuant to subsection (a), at times and locations reasonably convenient for both the county clerk and such appointees. The county clerk shall be responsible for certifying and supervising all deputy registrars appointed pursuant to subsection (a). Deputy registrars appointed under subsection (a) shall be subject to removal for cause.

(c) Completed registration materials under the control of deputy registrars, appointed pursuant to subsection (a), shall be returned to the appointing election authority by first-class mail within 2 business days or personal delivery within 7 days, except that completed registration materials received by the deputy registrars during the period between the 35th and 28th day preceding an election shall be returned by the deputy registrars to the appointing election authority within 48 hours after receipt thereof. The completed registration materials received by the deputy registrars on the 28th day preceding an election shall be returned by the deputy registrars within 24 hours after receipt thereof. Unused materials shall be returned by deputy registrars appointed pursuant to paragraph 4 of subsection (a), not later than the next working day following the close of registration.

(d) The county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, must provide any additional forms requested by any deputy registrar regardless of the number of unaccounted registration forms the deputy registrar may have in his or her possession.

(e) No deputy registrar shall engage in any electioneering or the promotion of any cause during the performance of his or her duties.

(f) The county clerk shall not be criminally or civilly liable for the acts or omissions of any deputy registrar. Such deputy registers shall not be deemed to be employees of the county clerk.

(g) Completed registration materials returned by deputy registrars for persons residing outside the county shall be transmitted by the county clerk within 2 days after receipt to the election authority of the person's election jurisdiction of residence.

(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

(10 ILCS 5/5-50)

Sec. 5-50. Grace period. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary, each election authority shall establish procedures for the registration of voters and for change of address during the period from the close of registration for a primary or election and until the 3rd 7th day before the primary or election. During this grace period, an unregistered qualified elector may register to vote, and a registered voter may submit a change of address form, in person in the office of the election authority or at a voter registration location specifically designated for this purpose by the election authority. The election authority shall register that individual, or change a registered voter's address, in the same manner as otherwise provided by this Article for registration and change of address.

If a voter who registers or changes address during this grace period wishes to vote at the first election or primary occurring after the grace period, he or she must do so by grace period voting, either in person in the office of the election authority or at a location specifically designated for this purpose by the election authority, or by mail, at the discretion of the election authority. Grace period voting shall be in a manner substantially similar to voting under Article 19.

Within one day after a voter casts a grace period ballot, the election authority shall transmit the voter's name, street address, and precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, to the State Board of Elections, which shall maintain those names and that information in an electronic format on its website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local political committees. The name of each person issued a grace period ballot shall also be placed on the appropriate precinct list of persons to whom absentee and early ballots have been issued, for use as provided in Sections 17-9 and 18-5.

A person who casts a grace period ballot shall not be permitted to revoke that ballot and vote another ballot with respect to that primary or election. Ballots cast by persons who register or change address during the grace period must be transmitted to and counted at the election authority's central ballot counting location and shall not be transmitted to and counted at precinct polling places. The grace period ballots determined to be valid shall be added to the vote totals for the precincts for which they were cast in the order in which the ballots were opened.

(Source: P.A. 96-441, eff. 1-1-10.)

(10 ILCS 5/6-50.2) (from Ch. 46, par. 6-50.2)

Sec. 6-50.2. (a) The board of election commissioners shall appoint all precinct committeepersons in the election jurisdiction as deputy registrars who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the State, except during the 27 days preceding an election.

The election authority shall appoint as deputy registrars a reasonable number of employees of the Secretary of State located at driver's license examination stations and designated to the election authority by the Secretary of State who may accept the registration of any qualified residents of the State at any such driver's license examination stations. The appointment of employees of the Secretary of State as deputy registrars shall be made in the manner provided in Section 2-105 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.

The board of election commissioners shall appoint each of the following named persons as deputy registrars upon the written request of such persons:

1. The chief librarian, or a qualified person designated by the chief librarian, of any public library situated within the election jurisdiction, who may accept the registrations of any qualified resident of the State, at such library.

2. The principal, or a qualified person designated by the principal, of any high school, elementary school, or vocational school situated within the election jurisdiction, who may accept the registrations of any resident of the State, at such school. The board of election commissioners shall notify every principal and vice-principal of each high school, elementary school, and vocational school situated in the election jurisdiction of their eligibility to serve as deputy registrars and offer training courses for service as deputy registrars at conveniently located facilities at least 4 months prior to every election.

3. The president, or a qualified person designated by the president, of any university, college, community college, academy or other institution of learning situated within the State, who may accept the registrations of any resident of the election jurisdiction, at such university, college, community college, academy or institution.

4. A duly elected or appointed official of a bona fide labor organization, or a reasonable number of qualified members designated by such official, who may accept the registrations of any qualified resident of the State.

5. A duly elected or appointed official of a bona fide State civic organization, as defined and determined by rule of the State Board of Elections, or qualified members designated by such official, who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the State. In determining the number of deputy registrars that shall be appointed, the board of election commissioners shall consider the population of the jurisdiction, the size of the organization, the geographic size of the jurisdiction, convenience for the public, the existing number of deputy registrars in the jurisdiction and their location, the registration activities of the organization and the need to appoint deputy registrars to assist and facilitate the registration of non-English speaking individuals. In no event shall a board of election commissioners fix an arbitrary number applicable to every civic organization requesting appointment of its members as deputy registrars. The State Board of Elections shall by rule provide for certification of bona fide State civic organizations. Such appointments shall be made for a period not to exceed 2 years, terminating on the first business day of the month following the month of the general election, and shall be valid for all periods of voter registration as provided by this Code during the terms of such appointments.

6. The Director of Healthcare and Family Services, or a reasonable number of employees designated by the Director and located at public aid offices, who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the election jurisdiction at any such public aid office.

7. The Director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or a reasonable number of employees designated by the Director and located at unemployment offices, who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the election jurisdiction at any such unemployment office. If the request to be appointed as deputy registrar is denied, the board of election commissioners shall, within 10 days after the date the request is submitted, provide the affected individual or organization with written notice setting forth the specific reasons or criteria relied upon to deny the request to be appointed as deputy registrar.

8. The president of any corporation, as defined by the Business Corporation Act of 1983, or a reasonable number of employees designated by such president, who may accept the registrations of any qualified resident of the State.

The board of election commissioners may appoint as many additional deputy registrars as it considers necessary. The board of election commissioners shall appoint such additional deputy registrars in such manner that the convenience of the public is served, giving due consideration to both population concentration and area. Some of the additional deputy registrars shall be selected so that there are an equal number from each of the 2 major political parties in the election jurisdiction. The board of election commissioners, in appointing an additional deputy registrar, shall make the appointment from a list of applicants submitted by the Chairman of the County Central Committee of the applicant's political party. A Chairman of a County Central Committee shall submit a list of applicants to the board by November 30 of each year. The board may require a Chairman of a County Central Committee to furnish a supplemental list of applicants.

Deputy registrars may accept registrations at any time other than the 27 day period preceding an election. All persons appointed as deputy registrars shall be registered voters within the election jurisdiction and shall take and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of registration officer to the best of my ability and that I will register no person nor cause the registration of any person except upon his personal application before me.

....................................

(Signature of Registration Officer)"

This oath shall be administered and certified to by one of the commissioners or by the executive director or by some person designated by the board of election commissioners, and shall immediately thereafter be filed with the board of election commissioners. The members of the board of election commissioners and all persons authorized by them under the provisions of this Article to take registrations, after themselves taking and subscribing to the above oath, are authorized to take or administer such oaths and execute such affidavits as are required by this Article.

Appointments of deputy registrars under this Section, except precinct committeemen, shall be for 2-year terms, commencing on December 1 following the general election of each even-numbered year, except that the terms of the initial appointments shall be until December 1st following the next general election. Appointments of precinct committeemen shall be for 2-year terms commencing on the date of the county convention following the general primary at which they were elected. The county clerk shall issue a certificate of appointment to each deputy registrar, and shall maintain in his office for public inspection a list of the names of all appointees.

(b) The board of election commissioners shall be responsible for training all deputy registrars appointed pursuant to subsection (a), at times and locations reasonably convenient for both the board of election commissioners and such appointees. The board of election commissioners shall be responsible for certifying and supervising all deputy registrars appointed pursuant to subsection (a). Deputy registrars appointed under subsection (a) shall be subject to removal for cause.

(c) Completed registration materials under the control of deputy registrars appointed pursuant to subsection (a) shall be returned to the appointing election authority by first-class mail within 2 business days or personal delivery within 7 days, except that completed registration materials received by the deputy registrars during the period between the 35th and 28th day preceding an election shall be returned by the deputy registrars to the appointing election authority within 48 hours after receipt thereof. The completed registration materials received by the deputy registrars on the 28th day preceding an election shall be returned by the deputy registrars within 24 hours after receipt thereof. Unused materials shall be returned by deputy registrars appointed pursuant to paragraph 4 of subsection (a), not later than the next working day following the close of registration.

(d) The county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, must provide any additional forms requested by any deputy registrar regardless of the number of unaccounted registration forms the deputy registrar may have in his or her possession.

(e) No deputy registrar shall engage in any electioneering or the promotion of any cause during the performance of his or her duties.

(f) The board of election commissioners shall not be criminally or civilly liable for the acts or omissions of any deputy registrar. Such deputy registrars shall not be deemed to be employees of the board of election commissioners.

(g) Completed registration materials returned by deputy registrars for persons residing outside the election jurisdiction shall be transmitted by the board of election commissioners within 2 days after receipt to the election authority of the person's election jurisdiction of residence.

(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

(10 ILCS 5/6-100)

Sec. 6-100. Grace period. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary, each election authority shall establish procedures for the registration of voters and for change of address during the period from the close of registration for a primary or election and until the 3rd 7th day before the primary or election. During this grace period, an unregistered qualified elector may register to vote, and a registered voter may submit a change of address form, in person in the office of the election authority or at a voter registration location specifically designated for this purpose by the election authority. The election authority shall register that individual, or change a registered voter's address, in the same manner as otherwise provided by this Article for registration and change of address.

If a voter who registers or changes address during this grace period wishes to vote at the first election or primary occurring after the grace period, he or she must do so by grace period voting, either in person in the office of the election authority or at a location specifically designated for this purpose by the election authority, or by mail, at the discretion of the election authority. Grace period voting shall be in a manner substantially similar to voting under Article 19.

Within one day after a voter casts a grace period ballot, the election authority shall transmit the voter's name, street address, and precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, to the State Board of Elections, which shall maintain those names and that information in an electronic format on its website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local political committees. The name of each person issued a grace period ballot shall also be placed on the appropriate precinct list of persons to whom absentee and early ballots have been issued, for use as provided in Sections 17-9 and 18-5.

A person who casts a grace period ballot shall not be permitted to revoke that ballot and vote another ballot with respect to that primary or election. Ballots cast by persons who register or change address during the grace period must be transmitted to and counted at the election authority's central ballot counting location and shall not be transmitted to and counted at precinct polling places. The grace period ballots determined to be valid shall be added to the vote totals for the precincts for which they were cast in the order in which the ballots were opened.

(Source: P.A. 96-441, eff. 1-1-10.)

(10 ILCS 5/7-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 7-10)

Sec. 7-10. Form of petition for nomination. The name of no candidate for nomination, or State central committeeman, or township committeeman, or precinct committeeman, or ward committeeman or candidate for delegate or alternate delegate to national nominating conventions, shall be printed upon the primary ballot unless a petition for nomination has been filed in his behalf as provided in this Article in substantially the following form:

We, the undersigned, members of and affiliated with the .... party and qualified primary electors of the .... party, in the .... of ...., in the county of .... and State of Illinois, do hereby petition that the following named person or persons shall be a candidate or candidates of the .... party for the nomination for (or in case of committeemen for election to) the office or offices hereinafter specified, to be voted for at the primary election to be held on (insert date).

Name.................. Address.......................

State of Illinois) ) ss. County of........)

I, ...., do hereby certify that I reside at No. .... street, in the .... of ...., county of ...., and State of ....., that I am 18 years of age or older, that I am a citizen of the United States, and that the signatures on this sheet were signed in my presence, and are genuine, and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the persons so signing were at the time of signing the petitions qualified voters of the .... party, and that their respective residences are correctly stated, as above set forth.

.........................

Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).

.........................

Each sheet of the petition other than the statement of candidacy and candidate's statement shall be of uniform size and shall contain above the space for signatures an appropriate heading giving the information as to name of candidate or candidates, in whose behalf such petition is signed; the office, the political party represented and place of residence; and the heading of each sheet shall be the same.

Such petition shall be signed by qualified primary electors residing in the political division for which the nomination is sought in their own proper persons only and opposite the signature of each signer, his residence address shall be written or printed. The residence address required to be written or printed opposite each qualified primary elector's name shall include the street address or rural route number of the signer, as the case may be, as well as the signer's county, and city, village or town, and state. However the county or city, village or town, and state of residence of the electors may be printed on the petition forms where all of the electors signing the petition reside in the same county or city, village or town, and state. Standard abbreviations may be used in writing the residence address, including street number, if any. At the bottom of each sheet of such petition shall be added a circulator statement signed by a person 18 years of age or older who is a citizen of the United States, stating the street address or rural route number, as the case may be, as well as the county, city, village or town, and state; and certifying that the signatures on that sheet of the petition were signed in his or her presence and certifying that the signatures are genuine; and either (1) indicating the dates on which that sheet was circulated, or (2) indicating the first and last dates on which the sheet was circulated, or (3) certifying that none of the signatures on the sheet were signed more than 90 days preceding the last day for the filing of the petition and certifying that to the best of his or her knowledge and belief the persons so signing were at the time of signing the petitions qualified voters of the political party for which a nomination is sought. Such statement shall be sworn to before some officer authorized to administer oaths in this State.

No petition sheet shall be circulated more than 90 days preceding the last day provided in Section 7-12 for the filing of such petition.

The person circulating the petition, or the candidate on whose behalf the petition is circulated, may strike any signature from the petition, provided that:

(1) the person striking the signature shall initial the petition at the place where the signature is struck; and

(2) the person striking the signature shall sign a certification listing the page number and line number of each signature struck from the petition. Such certification shall be filed as a part of the petition.

Such sheets before being filed shall be neatly fastened together in book form, by placing the sheets in a pile and fastening them together at one edge in a secure and suitable manner, and the sheets shall then be numbered consecutively. The sheets shall not be fastened by pasting them together end to end, so as to form a continuous strip or roll. All petition sheets which are filed with the proper local election officials, election authorities or the State Board of Elections shall be the original sheets which have been signed by the voters and by the circulator thereof, and not photocopies or duplicates of such sheets. Each petition must include as a part thereof, a statement of candidacy for each of the candidates filing, or in whose behalf the petition is filed. This statement shall set out the address of such candidate, the office for which he is a candidate, shall state that the candidate is a qualified primary voter of the party to which the petition relates and is qualified for the office specified (in the case of a candidate for State's Attorney it shall state that the candidate is at the time of filing such statement a licensed attorney-at-law of this State), shall state that he has filed (or will file before the close of the petition filing period) a statement of economic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act, shall request that the candidate's name be placed upon the official ballot, and shall be subscribed and sworn to by such candidate before some officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds in the State and shall be in substantially the following form:

Statement of Candidacy

State of Illinois) ) ss. County of .......)

I, ...., being first duly sworn, say that I reside at .... Street in the city (or village) of ...., in the county of ...., State of Illinois; that I am a qualified voter therein and am a qualified primary voter of the .... party; that I am a candidate for nomination (for election in the case of committeeman and delegates and alternate delegates) to the office of .... to be voted upon at the primary election to be held on (insert date); that I am legally qualified (including being the holder of any license that may be an eligibility requirement for the office I seek the nomination for) to hold such office and that I have filed (or I will file before the close of the petition filing period) a statement of economic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act and I hereby request that my name be printed upon the official primary ballot for nomination for (or election to in the case of committeemen and delegates and alternate delegates) such office.

Signed ......................

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me by ...., who is to me personally known, on (insert date).

Signed ....................

(Official Character)

(Seal, if officer has one.)

The petitions, when filed, shall not be withdrawn or added to, and no signatures shall be revoked except by revocation filed in writing with the State Board of Elections, election authority or local election official with whom the petition is required to be filed, and before the filing of such petition. Whoever forges the name of a signer upon any petition required by this Article is deemed guilty of a forgery and on conviction thereof shall be punished accordingly.

A candidate for the offices listed in this Section must obtain the number of signatures specified in this Section on his or her petition for nomination.

(a) Statewide office or delegate to a national nominating convention. If a candidate seeks to run for statewide office or as a delegate or alternate delegate to a national nominating convention elected from the State at-large, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least 5,000 but not more than 10,000 signatures.

(b) Congressional office or congressional delegate to a national nominating convention. If a candidate seeks to run for United States Congress or as a congressional delegate or alternate congressional delegate to a national nominating convention elected from a congressional district, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the qualified primary electors of his or her party in his or her congressional district. In the first primary election following a redistricting of congressional districts, a candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least 600 signatures of qualified primary electors of the candidate's political party in his or her congressional district.

(c) County office. If a candidate seeks to run for any countywide office, including but not limited to county board chairperson or county board member, elected on an at-large basis, in a county other than Cook County, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the qualified electors of his or her party who cast votes at the last preceding general election in his or her county. If a candidate seeks to run for county board member elected from a county board district, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the qualified primary electors of his or her party in the county board district. In the first primary election following a redistricting of county board districts or the initial establishment of county board districts, a candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the qualified electors of his or her party in the entire county who cast votes at the last preceding general election divided by the total number of county board districts comprising the county board; provided that in no event shall the number of signatures be less than 25.

(d) County office; Cook County only.

(1) If a candidate seeks to run for countywide office in Cook County, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the qualified electors of his or her party who cast votes at the last preceding general election in Cook County.

(2) If a candidate seeks to run for Cook County Board Commissioner, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the qualified primary electors of his or her party in his or her county board district. In the first primary election following a redistricting of Cook County Board of Commissioners districts, a candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the qualified electors of his or her party in the entire county who cast votes at the last preceding general election divided by the total number of county board districts comprising the county board; provided that in no event shall the number of signatures be less than 25.

(3) If a candidate seeks to run for Cook County Board of Review Commissioner, which is elected from a district pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 5-5 of the Property Tax Code, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the total number of registered voters in his or her board of review district in the last general election at which a commissioner was regularly scheduled to be elected from that board of review district. In no event shall the number of signatures required be greater than the requisite number for a candidate who seeks countywide office in Cook County under subsection (d)(1) of this Section. In the first primary election following a redistricting of Cook County Board of Review districts, a candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least 4,000 signatures or at least the number of signatures required for a countywide candidate in Cook County, whichever is less, of the qualified electors of his or her party in the district.

(e) Municipal or township office. If a candidate seeks to run for municipal or township office, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the qualified primary electors of his or her party in the municipality or township. If a candidate seeks to run for alderman of a municipality, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the qualified primary electors of his or her party of the ward. In the first primary election following redistricting of aldermanic wards or trustee districts of a municipality or the initial establishment of wards or districts, a candidate's petition for nomination must contain the number of signatures equal to at least 0.5% of the total number of votes cast for the candidate of that political party who received the highest number of votes in the entire municipality at the last regular election at which an officer was regularly scheduled to be elected from the entire municipality, divided by the number of wards or districts. In no event shall the number of signatures be less than 25.

(f) State central committeeperson. If a candidate seeks to run for State central committeeperson, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least 100 signatures of the primary electors of his or her party of his or her congressional district.

(g) Sanitary district trustee. If a candidate seeks to run for trustee of a sanitary district in which trustees are not elected from wards, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the primary electors of his or her party from the sanitary district. If a candidate seeks to run for trustee of a sanitary district in which trustees are elected from wards, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the primary electors of his or her party in the ward of that sanitary district. In the first primary election following redistricting of sanitary districts elected from wards, a candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the signatures of 150 qualified primary electors of his or her ward of that sanitary district.

(h) Judicial office. If a candidate seeks to run for judicial office in a district, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain the number of signatures equal to 0.4% of the number of votes cast in that district for the candidate for his or her political party for the office of Governor at the last general election at which a Governor was elected, but in no event less than 500 signatures. If a candidate seeks to run for judicial office in a circuit or subcircuit, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain the number of signatures equal to 0.25% of the number of votes cast for the judicial candidate of his or her political party who received the highest number of votes at the last general election at which a judicial officer from the same circuit or subcircuit was regularly scheduled to be elected, but in no event less than 1,000 signatures in circuits and subcircuits located in the First Judicial District or 500 signatures in every other Judicial District 500 signatures.

(i) Precinct, ward, and township committeeperson. If a candidate seeks to run for precinct committeeperson, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least 10 signatures of the primary electors of his or her party for the precinct. If a candidate seeks to run for ward committeeperson, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain no less than the number of signatures equal to 10% of the primary electors of his or her party of the ward, but no more than 16% of those same electors; provided that the maximum number of signatures may be 50 more than the minimum number, whichever is greater. If a candidate seeks to run for township committeeperson, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain no less than the number of signatures equal to 5% of the primary electors of his or her party of the township, but no more than 8% of those same electors; provided that the maximum number of signatures may be 50 more than the minimum number, whichever is greater.

(j) State's attorney or regional superintendent of schools for multiple counties. If a candidate seeks to run for State's attorney or regional Superintendent of Schools who serves more than one county, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the primary electors of his or her party in the territory comprising the counties.

(k) Any other office. If a candidate seeks any other office, then the candidate's petition for nomination must contain at least the number of signatures equal to 0.5% of the registered voters of the political subdivision, district, or division for which the nomination is made or 25 signatures, whichever is greater.

For purposes of this Section the number of primary electors shall be determined by taking the total vote cast, in the applicable district, for the candidate for that political party who received the highest number of votes, statewide, at the last general election in the State at which electors for President of the United States were elected. For political subdivisions, the number of primary electors shall be determined by taking the total vote cast for the candidate for that political party who received the highest number of votes in the political subdivision at the last regular election at which an officer was regularly scheduled to be elected from that subdivision. For wards or districts of political subdivisions, the number of primary electors shall be determined by taking the total vote cast for the candidate for that political party who received the highest number of votes in the ward or district at the last regular election at which an officer was regularly scheduled to be elected from that ward or district.

A "qualified primary elector" of a party may not sign petitions for or be a candidate in the primary of more than one party.

The changes made to this Section of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly are declarative of existing law, except for item (3) of subsection (d).

Petitions of candidates for nomination for offices herein specified, to be filed with the same officer, may contain the names of 2 or more candidates of the same political party for the same or different offices. In the case of the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor, a joint petition including one candidate for each of those offices must be filed.

(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07; 95-916, eff. 8-26-08; 96-1018, eff. 1-1-11.)

(10 ILCS 5/7-11) (from Ch. 46, par. 7-11)

Sec. 7-11. Any candidate for President of the United States may have his name printed upon the primary ballot of his political party by filing in the office of the State Board of Elections not more than 113 and not less than 106 days prior to the date of the general primary, in any year in which a Presidential election is to be held, a petition signed by not less than 3000 or more than 5000 primary electors, members of and affiliated with the party of which he is a candidate, and no candidate for President of the United States, who fails to comply with the provisions of this Article shall have his name printed upon any primary ballot: Provided, however, that if the rules or policies of a national political party conflict with such requirements for filing petitions for President of the United States in a presidential preference primary, the Chairman of the State central committee of such national political party shall notify the State Board of Elections in writing, citing by reference the rules or policies of the national political party in conflict, and in such case the Board shall direct such petitions to be filed in accordance with the delegate selection plan adopted by the state central committee of such national political party not more than 69 and not less than 62 days prior to the date of the general primary, in any year in which a Presidential election is to be held. Provided, further, unless rules or policies of a national political party otherwise provide, the vote for President of the United States, as herein provided for, shall be for the sole purpose of securing an expression of the sentiment and will of the party voters with respect to candidates for nomination for said office, and the vote of the state at large shall be taken and considered as advisory to the delegates and alternates at large to the national conventions of respective political parties; and the vote of the respective congressional districts shall be taken and considered as advisory to the delegates and alternates of said congressional districts to the national conventions of the respective political parties.

(Source: P.A. 96-1008, eff. 7-6-10.)

(10 ILCS 5/7-12) (from Ch. 46, par. 7-12)

Sec. 7-12. All petitions for nomination shall be filed by mail or in person as follows:

(1) Where the nomination is to be made for a State, congressional, or judicial office, or for any office a nomination for which is made for a territorial division or district which comprises more than one county or is partly in one county and partly in another county or counties, then, except as otherwise provided in this Section, such petition for nomination shall be filed in the principal office of the State Board of Elections not more than 113 and not less than 106 days prior to the date of the primary, but, in the case of petitions for nomination to fill a vacancy by special election in the office of representative in Congress from this State, such petition for nomination shall be filed in the principal office of the State Board of Elections not more than 57 days and not less than 50 days prior to the date of the primary.

Where a vacancy occurs in the office of Supreme, Appellate or Circuit Court Judge within the 3-week period preceding the 106th day before a general primary election, petitions for nomination for the office in which the vacancy has occurred shall be filed in the principal office of the State Board of Elections not more than 92 nor less than 85 days prior to the date of the general primary election.

Where the nomination is to be made for delegates or alternate delegates to a national nominating convention, then such petition for nomination shall be filed in the principal office of the State Board of Elections not more than 113 and not less than 106 days prior to the date of the primary; provided, however, that if the rules or policies of a national political party conflict with such requirements for filing petitions for nomination for delegates or alternate delegates to a national nominating convention, the chairman of the State central committee of such national political party shall notify the Board in writing, citing by reference the rules or policies of the national political party in conflict, and in such case the Board shall direct such petitions to be filed in accordance with the delegate selection plan adopted by the state central committee of such national political party not more than 83 and not less than 76 days prior to the date of the primary.

(2) Where the nomination is to be made for a county office or trustee of a sanitary district then such petition shall be filed in the office of the county clerk not more than 113 nor less than 106 days prior to the date of the primary.

(3) Where the nomination is to be made for a municipal or township office, such petitions for nomination shall be filed in the office of the local election official, not more than 99 nor less than 92 days prior to the date of the primary; provided, where a municipality's or township's boundaries are coextensive with or are entirely within the jurisdiction of a municipal board of election commissioners, the petitions shall be filed in the office of such board; and provided, that petitions for the office of multi-township assessor shall be filed with the election authority.

(4) The petitions of candidates for State central committeeman shall be filed in the principal office of the State Board of Elections not more than 113 nor less than 106 days prior to the date of the primary.

(5) Petitions of candidates for precinct, township or ward committeemen shall be filed in the office of the county clerk not more than 113 nor less than 106 days prior to the date of the primary.

(6) The State Board of Elections and the various election authorities and local election officials with whom such petitions for nominations are filed shall specify the place where filings shall be made and upon receipt shall endorse thereon the day and hour on which each petition was filed. All petitions filed by persons waiting in line as of 8:00 a.m. on the first day for filing, or as of the normal opening hour of the office involved on such day, shall be deemed filed as of 8:00 a.m. or the normal opening hour, as the case may be. Petitions filed by mail and received after midnight of the first day for filing and in the first mail delivery or pickup of that day shall be deemed as filed as of 8:00 a.m. of that day or as of the normal opening hour of such day, as the case may be. All petitions received thereafter shall be deemed as filed in the order of actual receipt. Where 2 or more petitions are received simultaneously, the State Board of Elections or the various election authorities or local election officials with whom such petitions are filed shall break ties and determine the order of filing, by means of a lottery or other fair and impartial method of random selection approved by the State Board of Elections. Such lottery shall be conducted within 9 days following the last day for petition filing and shall be open to the public. Seven days written notice of the time and place of conducting such random selection shall be given by the State Board of Elections to the chairman of the State central committee of each established political party, and by each election authority or local election official, to the County Chairman of each established political party, and to each organization of citizens within the election jurisdiction which was entitled, under this Article, at the next preceding election, to have pollwatchers present on the day of election. The State Board of Elections, election authority or local election official shall post in a conspicuous, open and public place, at the entrance of the office, notice of the time and place of such lottery. The State Board of Elections shall adopt rules and regulations governing the procedures for the conduct of such lottery. All candidates shall be certified in the order in which their petitions have been filed. Where candidates have filed simultaneously, they shall be certified in the order determined by lot and prior to candidates who filed for the same office at a later time.

(7) The State Board of Elections or the appropriate election authority or local election official with whom such a petition for nomination is filed shall notify the person for whom a petition for nomination has been filed of the obligation to file statements of organization, reports of campaign contributions, and annual reports of campaign contributions and expenditures under Article 9 of this Act. Such notice shall be given in the manner prescribed by paragraph (7) of Section 9-16 of this Code.

(8) Nomination papers filed under this Section are not valid if the candidate named therein fails to file a statement of economic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act in relation to his candidacy with the appropriate officer by the end of the period for the filing of nomination papers unless he has filed a statement of economic interests in relation to the same governmental unit with that officer within a year preceding the date on which such nomination papers were filed. If the nomination papers of any candidate and the statement of economic interest of that candidate are not required to be filed with the same officer, the candidate must file with the officer with whom the nomination papers are filed a receipt from the officer with whom the statement of economic interests is filed showing the date on which such statement was filed. Such receipt shall be so filed not later than the last day on which nomination papers may be filed.

(9) Any person for whom a petition for nomination, or for committeeman or for delegate or alternate delegate to a national nominating convention has been filed may cause his name to be withdrawn by request in writing, signed by him and duly acknowledged before an officer qualified to take acknowledgments of deeds, and filed in the principal or permanent branch office of the State Board of Elections or with the appropriate election authority or local election official, not later than the date of certification of candidates for the consolidated primary or general primary ballot. No names so withdrawn shall be certified or printed on the primary ballot. If petitions for nomination have been filed for the same person with respect to more than one political party, his name shall not be certified nor printed on the primary ballot of any party. If petitions for nomination have been filed for the same person for 2 or more offices which are incompatible so that the same person could not serve in more than one of such offices if elected, that person must withdraw as a candidate for all but one of such offices within the 5 business days following the last day for petition filing. A candidate in a judicial election may file petitions for nomination for only one vacancy in a subcircuit and only one vacancy in a circuit in any one filing period, and if petitions for nomination have been filed for the same person for 2 or more vacancies in the same circuit or subcircuit in the same filing period, his or her name shall be certified only for the first vacancy for which the petitions for nomination were filed. If he fails to withdraw as a candidate for all but one of such offices within such time his name shall not be certified, nor printed on the primary ballot, for any office. For the purpose of the foregoing provisions, an office in a political party is not incompatible with any other office.

(10)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute, no primary shall be held for an established political party in any township, municipality, or ward thereof, where the nomination of such party for every office to be voted upon by the electors of such township, municipality, or ward thereof, is uncontested. Whenever a political party's nomination of candidates is uncontested as to one or more, but not all, of the offices to be voted upon by the electors of a township, municipality, or ward thereof, then a primary shall be held for that party in such township, municipality, or ward thereof; provided that the primary ballot shall not include those offices within such township, municipality, or ward thereof, for which the nomination is uncontested. For purposes of this Article, the nomination of an established political party of a candidate for election to an office shall be deemed to be uncontested where not more than the number of persons to be nominated have timely filed valid nomination papers seeking the nomination of such party for election to such office.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute, no primary election shall be held for an established political party for any special primary election called for the purpose of filling a vacancy in the office of representative in the United States Congress where the nomination of such political party for said office is uncontested. For the purposes of this Article, the nomination of an established political party of a candidate for election to said office shall be deemed to be uncontested where not more than the number of persons to be nominated have timely filed valid nomination papers seeking the nomination of such established party for election to said office. This subsection (b) shall not apply if such primary election is conducted on a regularly scheduled election day.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions in subparagraph (a) and (b) of this paragraph (10), whenever a person who has not timely filed valid nomination papers and who intends to become a write-in candidate for a political party's nomination for any office for which the nomination is uncontested files a written statement or notice of that intent with the State Board of Elections or the local election official with whom nomination papers for such office are filed, a primary ballot shall be prepared and a primary shall be held for that office. Such statement or notice shall be filed on or before the date established in this Article for certifying candidates for the primary ballot. Such statement or notice shall contain (i) the name and address of the person intending to become a write-in candidate, (ii) a statement that the person is a qualified primary elector of the political party from whom the nomination is sought, (iii) a statement that the person intends to become a write-in candidate for the party's nomination, and (iv) the office the person is seeking as a write-in candidate. An election authority shall have no duty to conduct a primary and prepare a primary ballot for any office for which the nomination is uncontested unless a statement or notice meeting the requirements of this Section is filed in a timely manner.

(11) If multiple sets of nomination papers are filed for a candidate to the same office, the State Board of Elections, appropriate election authority or local election official where the petitions are filed shall within 2 business days notify the candidate of his or her multiple petition filings and that the candidate has 3 business days after receipt of the notice to notify the State Board of Elections, appropriate election authority or local election official that he or she may cancel prior sets of petitions. If the candidate notifies the State Board of Elections, appropriate election authority or local election official, the last set of petitions filed shall be the only petitions to be considered valid by the State Board of Elections, election authority or local election official. If the candidate fails to notify the State Board of Elections, election authority or local election official then only the first set of petitions filed shall be valid and all subsequent petitions shall be void.

(12) All nominating petitions shall be available for public inspection and shall be preserved for a period of not less than 6 months.

(Source: P.A. 96-1008, eff. 7-6-10.)

(10 ILCS 5/7-61) (from Ch. 46, par. 7-61)

Sec. 7-61. Whenever a special election is necessary the provisions of this Article are applicable to the nomination of candidates to be voted for at such special election.

In cases where a primary election is required the officer or board or commission whose duty it is under the provisions of this Act relating to general elections to call an election, shall fix a date for the primary for the nomination of candidates to be voted for at such special election. Notice of such primary shall be given at least 15 days prior to the maximum time provided for the filing of petitions for such a primary as provided in Section 7-12.

Any vacancy in nomination under the provisions of this Article 7 occurring on or after the primary and prior to certification of candidates by the certifying board or officer, must be filled prior to the date of certification. Any vacancy in nomination occurring after certification but prior to 15 days before the general election shall be filled within 8 days after the event creating the vacancy. The resolution filling the vacancy shall be sent by U. S. mail or personal delivery to the certifying officer or board within 3 days of the action by which the vacancy was filled; provided, if such resolution is sent by mail and the U. S. postmark on the envelope containing such resolution is dated prior to the expiration of such 3 day limit, the resolution shall be deemed filed within such 3 day limit. Failure to so transmit the resolution within the time specified in this Section shall authorize the certifying officer or board to certify the original candidate. Vacancies shall be filled by the officers of a local municipal or township political party as specified in subsection (h) of Section 7-8, other than a statewide political party, that is established only within a municipality or township and the managing committee (or legislative committee in case of a candidate for State Senator or representative committee in the case of a candidate for State Representative in the General Assembly or State central committee in the case of a candidate for statewide office, including but not limited to the office of United States Senator) of the respective political party for the territorial area in which such vacancy occurs.

The resolution to fill a vacancy in nomination shall be duly acknowledged before an officer qualified to take acknowledgements of deeds and shall include, upon its face, the following information:

(a) the name of the original nominee and the office vacated;

(b) the date on which the vacancy occurred;

(c) the name and address of the nominee selected to fill the vacancy and the date of selection.

The resolution to fill a vacancy in nomination shall be accompanied by a Statement of Candidacy, as prescribed in Section 7-10, completed by the selected nominee and a receipt indicating that such nominee has filed a statement of economic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act.

The provisions of Section 10-8 through 10-10.1 relating to objections to certificates of nomination and nomination papers, hearings on objections, and judicial review, shall apply to and govern objections to resolutions for filling a vacancy in nomination.

Any vacancy in nomination occurring 15 days or less before the consolidated election or the general election shall not be filled. In this event, the certification of the original candidate shall stand and his name shall appear on the official ballot to be voted at the general election.

A vacancy in nomination occurs when a candidate who has been nominated under the provisions of this Article 7 dies before the election (whether death occurs prior to, on or after the day of the primary), or declines the nomination; provided that nominations may become vacant for other reasons.

If the name of no established political party candidate was printed on the consolidated primary ballot for a particular office and if no person was nominated as a write-in candidate for such office, a vacancy in nomination shall be created which may be filled by resolution in accordance with the above requirements of this Section. If the name of no established political party candidate was printed on the general primary ballot for a particular office and if no person was nominated as a write-in candidate for such office, a vacancy in nomination shall be filled only by a person designated by the appropriate committee of the political party and only if that designated person files nominating petitions with the number of signatures required for an established party candidate for that office within 75 days after the day of the general primary; provided that a resolution designating such a person must be filed in accordance with the above requirements of this Section. The circulation period for those petitions begins on the day the appropriate committee designates that person by resolution. In addition to the initial filing of a resolution, the designated . The person shall thereafter file his or her nominating petitions, statements of candidacy, notice of appointment by the appropriate committee, and receipt of filing his or her statement of economic interests together. These documents shall be filed at the same location as provided in Section 7-12. The electoral boards having jurisdiction under Section 10-9 to hear and pass upon objections to nominating petitions also shall hear and pass upon objections to resolutions and nomination petitions filed by candidates under this paragraph.

A candidate for whom a nomination paper has been filed as a partisan candidate at a primary election, and who is defeated for his or her nomination at such primary election, is ineligible to be listed on the ballot at that general or consolidated election as a candidate of another political party.

A candidate seeking election to an office for which candidates of political parties are nominated by caucus who is a participant in the caucus and who is defeated for his or her nomination at such caucus, is ineligible to be listed on the ballot at that general or consolidated election as a candidate of another political party.

In the proceedings to nominate a candidate to fill a vacancy or to fill a vacancy in the nomination, each precinct, township, ward, county or congressional district, as the case may be, shall through its representative on such central or managing committee, be entitled to one vote for each ballot voted in such precinct, township, ward, county or congressional district, as the case may be, by the primary electors of its party at the primary election immediately preceding the meeting at which such vacancy is to be filled.

For purposes of this Section, the words "certify" and "certification" shall refer to the act of officially declaring the names of candidates entitled to be printed upon the official ballot at an election and directing election authorities to place the names of such candidates upon the official ballot. "Certifying officers or board" shall refer to the local election official, election authority or the State Board of Elections, as the case may be, with whom nomination papers, including certificates of nomination and resolutions to fill vacancies in nomination, are filed and whose duty it is to "certify" candidates.

(Source: P.A. 96-809, eff. 1-1-10; 96-848, eff. 1-1-10.)

(10 ILCS 5/8-8) (from Ch. 46, par. 8-8)

Sec. 8-8. Form of petition for nomination. The name of no candidate for nomination shall be printed upon the primary ballot unless a petition for nomination shall have been filed in his behalf as provided for in this Section. Each such petition shall include as a part thereof the oath required by Section 7-10.1 of this Act and a statement of candidacy by the candidate filing or in whose behalf the petition is filed. This statement shall set out the address of such candidate, the office for which he is a candidate, shall state that the candidate is a qualified primary voter of the party to which the petition relates, is qualified for the office specified and has filed a statement of economic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act, shall request that the candidate's name be placed upon the official ballot and shall be subscribed and sworn by such candidate before some officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds in this State and may be in substantially the following form:

State of Illinois) ) ss. County ..........)

I, ...., being first duly sworn, say that I reside at .... street in the city (or village of) .... in the county of .... State of Illinois; that I am a qualified voter therein and am a qualified primary voter of .... party; that I am a candidate for nomination to the office of .... to be voted upon at the primary election to be held on (insert date); that I am legally qualified to hold such office and that I have filed a statement of economic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act and I hereby request that my name be printed upon the official primary ballot for nomination for such office.

Signed ....................

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me by ...., who is to me personally known, on (insert date).

Signed .... (Official Character)

(Seal if officer has one.)

The receipt issued by the Secretary of State indicating that the candidate has filed the statement of economic interests required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act must be filed with the petitions for nomination as provided in subsection (8) of Section 7-12 of this Code.

All petitions for nomination for the office of State Senator shall be signed by at least 1,000 but not more than 3,000 1% or 1,000 , whichever is greater, of the qualified primary electors of the candidate's party in his legislative district, except that for the first primary following a redistricting of legislative districts, such petitions shall be signed by at least 1,000 qualified primary electors of the candidate's party in his legislative district.

All petitions for nomination for the office of Representative in the General Assembly shall be signed by at least 500 but not more than 1,500 1% or 500 , whichever is greater, of the qualified primary electors of the candidate's party in his or her representative district, except that for the first primary following a redistricting of representative districts such petitions shall be signed by at least 500 qualified primary electors of the candidate's party in his or her representative district.

Opposite the signature of each qualified primary elector who signs a petition for nomination for the office of State Representative or State Senator such elector's residence address shall be written or printed. The residence address required to be written or printed opposite each qualified primary elector's name shall include the street address or rural route number of the signer, as the case may be, as well as the signer's county and city, village or town.

For the purposes of this Section, the number of primary electors shall be determined by taking the total vote cast, in the applicable district, for the candidate for such political party who received the highest number of votes, state-wide, at the last general election in the State at which electors for President of the United States were elected.

A "qualified primary elector" of a party may not sign petitions for or be a candidate in the primary of more than one party.

In the affidavit at the bottom of each sheet, the petition circulator, who shall be a person 18 years of age or older who is a citizen of the United States, shall state his or her street address or rural route number, as the case may be, as well as his or her county, city, village or town, and state; and shall certify that the signatures on that sheet of the petition were signed in his or her presence; and shall certify that the signatures are genuine; and shall certify that to the best of his or her knowledge and belief the persons so signing were at the time of signing the petition qualified primary voters for which the nomination is sought.

In the affidavit at the bottom of each petition sheet, the petition circulator shall either (1) indicate the dates on which he or she circulated that sheet, or (2) indicate the first and last dates on which the sheet was circulated, or (3) certify that none of the signatures on the sheet were signed more than 90 days preceding the last day for the filing of the petition. No petition sheet shall be circulated more than 90 days preceding the last day provided in Section 8-9 for the filing of such petition.

All petition sheets which are filed with the State Board of Elections shall be the original sheets which have been signed by the voters and by the circulator, and not photocopies or duplicates of such sheets.

The person circulating the petition, or the candidate on whose behalf the petition is circulated, may strike any signature from the petition, provided that:

(1) the person striking the signature shall initial the petition at the place where the signature is struck; and

(2) the person striking the signature shall sign a certification listing the page number and line number of each signature struck from the petition. Such certification shall be filed as a part of the petition.

(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)

(10 ILCS 5/8-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 8-10)

Sec. 8-10. Not less than 68 61 days prior to the date of the primary, the State Board of Elections shall certify to the county clerk for each county, the names of all candidates for legislative offices, as specified in the petitions for nominations on file in its office, which are to be voted for in such county, stating in such certificates the political affiliation of each candidate for nomination, as specified in the petitions. The State Board of Elections shall, in its certificate to the county clerk, certify to the county clerk the names of the candidates in the order in which the names shall appear upon the primary ballot, the names to appear in the order in which petitions have been filed.

Not less than 62 55 days prior to the date of the primary, the county clerk shall certify to the board of election commissioners if there be any such board in his county, the names of all candidates so certified to him by the State Board of Elections in the districts wholly or partly within the jurisdiction of said board and in the order in which such names are certified to him.

(Source: P.A. 82-750.)

(10 ILCS 5/10-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 10-1)

Sec. 10-1. Application of Article to minor political parties.

(a) Political parties as defined in this Article and individual voters to the number and in the manner specified in this Article may nominate candidates for public offices whose names shall be placed on the ballot to be furnished, as provided in this Article. No nominations may be made under this Article 10, however, by any established political party which, at the general election next preceding, polled more than 5% of the entire vote cast in the State, district, or unit of local government for which the nomination is made. Those nominations provided for in Section 45-5 of the Township Code shall be made as prescribed in Sections 45-10 through 45-45 of that Code for nominations by established political parties, but minor political parties and individual voters are governed by this Article. Any convention, caucus, or meeting of qualified voters of any established political party as defined in this Article may, however, make one nomination for each office therein to be filled at any election for officers of a municipality with a population of less than 5,000 by causing a certificate of nomination to be filed with the municipal clerk no earlier than 113 78 and no later than 106 71 days before the election at which the nominated candidates are to be on the ballot. The municipal caucuses shall be conducted on the first Monday in December of even-numbered years immediately preceding the first day for filing caucus certificates of nomination in each year in which municipal officers are to be elected, except that, when that Monday is a holiday or the eve of a holiday, the caucuses shall be held on the next business day following the holiday. Every certificate of nomination shall state the facts required in Section 10-5 of this Article and shall be signed by the presiding officer and by the secretary of the convention, caucus, or meeting, who shall add to their signatures their places of residence. The certificates shall be sworn to by them to be true to the best of their knowledge and belief, and a certificate of the oath shall be annexed to the certificate of nomination.

(b) Publication of the time and place of holding the caucus shall be given by the municipal clerk. For municipalities of over 500 population, notice of the caucus shall be published in a newspaper published in the municipality. If there is no such newspaper, then the notice shall be published in a newspaper published in the county and having general circulation in the municipality. For municipalities of 500 population or less, notice of the caucus shall be given by the municipal clerk by posting the notice in 3 of the most public places in the municipality. The publication or posting shall be given at least 10 days before the caucus.

(c) As provided in Sections 3.1-25-20 through 3.1-25-60 of the Illinois Municipal Code, a village may adopt a system of nonpartisan primary and general elections for the election of village officers.

(d) Any city, village, or incorporated town with a population of 5,000 or less may, by ordinance, determine that established political parties shall nominate candidates for municipal office in the city, village, or incorporated town by primary in accordance with Article 7.

(e) Only those voters who reside within the territory for which the nomination is made shall be permitted to vote or take part in the proceedings of any convention, caucus, or meeting of individual voters or of any political party held under this Section. No voter shall vote or take part in the proceedings of more than one convention, caucus, or meeting to make a nomination for the same office.

(Source: P.A. 87-1119; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94.)

(10 ILCS 5/16-5.01) (from Ch. 46, par. 16-5.01)

Sec. 16-5.01. (a) The election authority shall, at least 46 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 45 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 election at which federal offices are elected or nominated 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 at all elections at which federal officers are elected or nominated 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. 95-889, eff. 1-1-09; 96-1004, eff. 1-1-11.)

(10 ILCS 5/17-9) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-9)

Sec. 17-9. Any person desiring to vote shall give his name and, if required to do so, his residence to the judges of election, one of whom shall thereupon announce the same in a loud and distinct tone of voice, clear, and audible; the judges of elections shall check each application for ballot against the list of voters registered in that precinct to whom grace period, absentee, or early ballots have been issued for that election, which shall be provided by the election authority and which list shall be available for inspection by pollwatchers. A voter applying to vote in the precinct on election day whose name appears on the list as having been issued a grace period, absentee, or early ballot shall not be permitted to vote in the precinct, except that a voter to whom an absentee ballot was issued may vote in the precinct if the voter submits to the election judges that absentee ballot for cancellation. If the voter is unable to submit the absentee ballot, it shall be sufficient for the voter to submit to the election judges (i) a portion of the absentee ballot if the absentee ballot was torn or mutilated or (ii) an affidavit executed before the election judges specifying that (A) the voter never received an absentee ballot, or (B) the voter completed and returned an absentee ballot and was informed that the election authority did not receive that absentee ballot, or (C) the voter received the absentee ballot but did not return the absentee ballot to the election authority. All applicable provisions of Articles 4, 5 or 6 shall be complied with and if such name is found on the register of voters by the officer having charge thereof, he shall likewise repeat said name, and the voter shall be allowed to enter within the proximity of the voting booths, as above provided. One of the judges shall give the voter one, and only one of each ballot to be voted at the election, on the back of which ballots such judge shall indorse his initials in such manner that they may be seen when each such ballot is properly folded, and the voter's name shall be immediately checked on the register list. In those election jurisdictions where perforated ballot cards are utilized of the type on which write-in votes can be cast above the perforation, the election authority shall provide a space both above and below the perforation for the judge's initials, and the judge shall endorse his or her initials in both spaces. Whenever a proposal for a constitutional amendment or for the calling of a constitutional convention is to be voted upon at the election, the separate blue ballot or ballots pertaining thereto shall, when being handed to the voter, be placed on top of the other ballots to be voted at the election in such manner that the legend appearing on the back thereof, as prescribed in Section 16-6 of this Act, shall be plainly visible to the voter. At all elections, when a registry may be required, if the name of any person so desiring to vote at such election is not found on the register of voters, he or she shall not receive a ballot until he or she shall have complied with the law prescribing the manner and conditions of voting by unregistered voters. If any person desiring to vote at any election shall be challenged, he or she shall not receive a ballot until he or she shall have established his right to vote in the manner provided hereinafter; and if he or she shall be challenged after he has received his ballot, he shall not be permitted to vote until he or she has fully complied with such requirements of the law upon being challenged. Besides the election officer, not more than 2 voters in excess of the whole number of voting booths provided shall be allowed within the proximity of the voting booths at one time. The provisions of this Act, so far as they require the registration of voters as a condition to their being allowed to vote shall not apply to persons otherwise entitled to vote, who are, at the time of the election, or at any time within 60 days prior to such election have been engaged in the military or naval service of the United States, and who appear personally at the polling place on election day and produce to the judges of election satisfactory evidence thereof, but such persons, if otherwise qualified to vote, shall be permitted to vote at such election without previous registration.

All such persons shall also make an affidavit which shall be in substantially the following form:

State of Illinois,) ) ss. County of ........) ............... Precinct .......... Ward

I, ...., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States, of the age of 18 years or over, and that within the past 60 days prior to the date of this election at which I am applying to vote, I have been engaged in the .... (military or naval) service of the United States; and I am qualified to vote under and by virtue of the Constitution and laws of the State of Illinois, and that I am a legally qualified voter of this precinct and ward except that I have, because of such service, been unable to register as a voter; that I now reside at .... (insert street and number, if any) in this precinct and ward; that I have maintained a legal residence in this precinct and ward for 30 days and in this State 30 days next preceding this election.

.........................

Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).

.........................

Judge of Election.

The affidavit of any such person shall be supported by the affidavit of a resident and qualified voter of any such precinct and ward, which affidavit shall be in substantially the following form:

State of Illinois,) ) ss. County of ........) ........... Precinct ........... Ward

I, ...., do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I am a resident of this precinct and ward and entitled to vote at this election; that I am acquainted with .... (name of the applicant); that I verily believe him to be an actual bona fide resident of this precinct and ward and that I verily believe that he or she has maintained a legal residence therein 30 days and in this State 30 days next preceding this election.

.........................

Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).

.........................

Judge of Election.

All affidavits made under the provisions of this Section shall be enclosed in a separate envelope securely sealed, and shall be transmitted with the returns of the elections to the county clerk or to the board of election commissioners, who shall preserve the said affidavits for the period of 6 months, during which period such affidavits shall be deemed public records and shall be freely open to examination as such.

(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)

(10 ILCS 5/18A-5)

Sec. 18A-5. Provisional voting; general provisions.

(a) A person who claims to be a registered voter is entitled to cast a provisional ballot under the following circumstances:

(1) The person's name does not appear on the official list of eligible voters for the precinct in which the person seeks to vote. The official list is the centralized statewide voter registration list established and maintained in accordance with Section 1A-25;

(2) The person's voting status has been challenged by an election judge, a pollwatcher, or any legal voter and that challenge has been sustained by a majority of the election judges;

(3) A federal or State court order extends the time for closing the polls beyond the time period established by State law and the person votes during the extended time period; or

(4) The voter registered to vote by mail and is required by law to present identification when voting either in person or by absentee ballot, but fails to do so; or .

(5) The voter's name appears on the list of voters who voted during the early voting period, but the voter claims not to have voted during the early voting period.

(b) The procedure for obtaining and casting a provisional ballot at the polling place shall be as follows:

(1) After first verifying through an examination of the precinct register that the person's address is within the precinct boundaries, an election judge at the polling place shall notify a person who is entitled to cast a provisional ballot pursuant to subsection (a) that he or she may cast a provisional ballot in that election. An election judge must accept any information provided by a person who casts a provisional ballot that the person believes supports his or her claim that he or she is a duly registered voter and qualified to vote in the election. However, if the person's residence address is outside the precinct boundaries, the election judge shall inform the person of that fact, give the person the appropriate telephone number of the election authority in order to locate the polling place assigned to serve that address, and instruct the person to go to the proper polling place to vote.

(2) The person shall execute a written form provided by the election judge that shall state or contain all of the following that is available:

(i) an affidavit stating the following:

State of Illinois, County of ................, Township ............., Precinct ........, Ward ........, I, ......................., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that: I am a citizen of the United States; I am 18 years of age or older; I have resided in this State and in this precinct for 30 days preceding this election; I have not voted in this election; I am a duly registered voter in every respect; and I am eligible to vote in this election. Signature ...... Printed Name of Voter ....... Printed Residence Address of Voter ...... City ...... State .... Zip Code ..... Telephone Number ...... Date of Birth ....... and Illinois Driver's License Number ....... or Last 4 digits of Social Security Number ...... or State Identification Card Number issued to you by the Illinois Secretary of State........

(ii) A box for the election judge to check one of the 3 reasons why the person was given a provisional ballot under subsection (a) of Section 18A-5.

(iii) An area for the election judge to affix his or her signature and to set forth any facts that support or oppose the allegation that the person is not qualified to vote in the precinct in which the person is seeking to vote.

The written affidavit form described in this subsection (b)(2) must be printed on a multi-part form prescribed by the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be.

(3) After the person executes the portion of the written affidavit described in subsection (b)(2)(i) of this Section, the election judge shall complete the portion of the written affidavit described in subsection (b)(2)(iii) and (b)(2)(iv).

(4) The election judge shall give a copy of the completed written affidavit to the person. The election judge shall place the original written affidavit in a self-adhesive clear plastic packing list envelope that must be attached to a separate envelope marked as a "provisional ballot envelope". The election judge shall also place any information provided by the person who casts a provisional ballot in the clear plastic packing list envelope. Each county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, must design, obtain or procure self-adhesive clear plastic packing list envelopes and provisional ballot envelopes that are suitable for implementing this subsection (b)(4) of this Section.

(5) The election judge shall provide the person with a provisional ballot, written instructions for casting a provisional ballot, and the provisional ballot envelope with the clear plastic packing list envelope affixed to it, which contains the person's original written affidavit and, if any, information provided by the provisional voter to support his or her claim that he or she is a duly registered voter. An election judge must also give the person written information that states that any person who casts a provisional ballot shall be able to ascertain, pursuant to guidelines established by the State Board of Elections, whether the provisional vote was counted in the official canvass of votes for that election and, if the provisional vote was not counted, the reason that the vote was not counted.

(6) After the person has completed marking his or her provisional ballot, he or she shall place the marked ballot inside of the provisional ballot envelope, close and seal the envelope, and return the envelope to an election judge, who shall then deposit the sealed provisional ballot envelope into a securable container separately identified and utilized for containing sealed provisional ballot envelopes. Ballots that are provisional because they are cast after 7:00 p.m. by court order shall be kept separate from other provisional ballots. Upon the closing of the polls, the securable container shall be sealed with filament tape provided for that purpose, which shall be wrapped around the box lengthwise and crosswise, at least twice each way, and each of the election judges shall sign the seal.

(c) Instead of the affidavit form described in subsection (b), the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, may design and use a multi-part affidavit form that is imprinted upon or attached to the provisional ballot envelope described in subsection (b). If a county clerk or board of election commissioners elects to design and use its own multi-part affidavit form, then the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall establish a mechanism for accepting any information the provisional voter has supplied to the election judge to support his or her claim that he or she is a duly registered voter. In all other respects, a county clerk or board of election commissioners shall establish procedures consistent with subsection (b).

(d) The county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, shall use the completed affidavit form described in subsection (b) to update the person's voter registration information in the State voter registration database and voter registration database of the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be. If a person is later determined not to be a registered voter based on Section 18A-15 of this Code, then the affidavit shall be processed by the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, as a voter registration application.

(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 93-1071, eff. 1-18-05; 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)

(10 ILCS 5/19-2) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-2)

Sec. 19-2. Any elector as defined in Section 19-1 may by mail, not more than 40 nor less than 5 days prior to the date of such election, or by personal delivery not more than 40 nor less than one day prior to the date of such election, make application to the county clerk or to the Board of Election Commissioners for an official ballot for the voter's precinct to be voted at such election. Such a ballot shall be delivered to the elector only upon separate application by the elector for each election.

(Source: P.A. 95-440, eff. 8-27-07; 96-553, eff. 8-17-09.)

(10 ILCS 5/19-2.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-2.1)

Sec. 19-2.1. At the consolidated primary, general primary, consolidated, and general elections, electors entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the provisions of Section 19-1 may vote in person at the office of the municipal clerk, if the elector is a resident of a municipality not having a board of election commissioners, or at the office of the township clerk or, in counties not under township organization, at the office of the road district clerk if the elector is not a resident of a municipality; provided, in each case that the municipal, township or road district clerk, as the case may be, is authorized to conduct in-person absentee voting pursuant to this Section. Absentee voting in such municipal and township clerk's offices under this Section shall be conducted from the 22nd day through the day before the election.

Municipal and township clerks (or road district clerks) who have regularly scheduled working hours at regularly designated offices other than a place of residence and whose offices are open for business during the same hours as the office of the election authority shall conduct in-person absentee voting for said elections. Municipal and township clerks (or road district clerks) who have no regularly scheduled working hours but who have regularly designated offices other than a place of residence shall conduct in-person absentee voting for said elections during the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., weekdays, and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Saturdays, but not during such hours as the office of the election authority is closed, unless the clerk files a written waiver with the election authority not later than July 1 of each year stating that he or she is unable to conduct such voting and the reasons therefor. Such clerks who conduct in-person absentee voting may extend their hours for that purpose to include any hours in which the election authority's office is open. Municipal and township clerks (or road district clerks) who have no regularly scheduled office hours and no regularly designated offices other than a place of residence may not conduct in-person absentee voting for said elections. The election authority may devise alternative methods for in-person absentee voting before said elections for those precincts located within the territorial area of a municipality or township (or road district) wherein the clerk of such municipality or township (or road district) has waived or is not entitled to conduct such voting. In addition, electors may vote by absentee ballot under the provisions of Section 19-1 at the office of the election authority having jurisdiction over their residence. Unless specifically authorized by the election authority, municipal, township, and road district clerks shall not conduct in-person absentee voting. No less than 45 days before the date of an election, the election authority shall notify the municipal, township, and road district clerks within its jurisdiction if they are to conduct in-person absentee voting. Election authorities, however, may conduct in-person absentee voting in one or more designated appropriate public buildings from the fourth day before the election through the day before the election.

In conducting in-person absentee voting under this Section, the respective clerks shall be required to verify the signature of the absentee voter by comparison with the signature on the official registration record card. The clerk also shall reasonably ascertain the identity of such applicant, shall verify that each such applicant is a registered voter, and shall verify the precinct in which he or she is registered and the proper ballots of the political subdivisions in which the applicant resides and is entitled to vote, prior to providing any absentee ballot to such applicant. The clerk shall verify the applicant's registration and from the most recent poll list provided by the county clerk, and if the applicant is not listed on that poll list then by telephoning the office of the county clerk.

Absentee voting procedures in the office of the municipal, township and road district clerks shall be subject to all of the applicable provisions of this Article 19. Pollwatchers may be appointed to observe in-person absentee voting procedures and view all reasonably requested records relating to the conduct of the election, provided the secrecy of the ballot is not impinged, at the office of the municipal, township or road district clerks' offices where such absentee voting is conducted. Such pollwatchers shall qualify and be appointed in the same manner as provided in Sections 7-34 and 17-23, except each candidate, political party or organization of citizens may appoint only one pollwatcher for each location where in-person absentee voting is conducted. Pollwatchers must be registered to vote in Illinois and possess valid pollwatcher credentials. All requirements in this Article applicable to election authorities shall apply to the respective local clerks, except where inconsistent with this Section.

The sealed absentee ballots in their carrier envelope shall be delivered by the respective clerks, or by the election authority on behalf of a clerk if the clerk and the election authority agree, to the election authority's central ballot counting location before the close of the polls on the day of the general primary, consolidated primary, consolidated, or general election.

Not more than 23 days before the general and consolidated elections, the county clerk shall make available to those municipal, township and road district clerks conducting in-person absentee voting within such county, a sufficient number of applications, absentee ballots, envelopes, and printed voting instruction slips for use by absentee voters in the offices of such clerks. The respective clerks shall receipt for all ballots received, shall return all unused or spoiled ballots to the county clerk on the day of the election and shall strictly account for all ballots received.

The ballots delivered to the respective clerks shall include absentee ballots for each precinct in the municipality, township or road district, or shall include such separate ballots for each political subdivision conducting an election of officers or a referendum on that election day as will permit any resident of the municipality, township or road district to vote absentee in the office of the proper clerk.

The clerks of all municipalities, townships and road districts may distribute applications for absentee ballot for the use of voters who wish to mail such applications to the appropriate election authority. Any person may produce reproduce, distribute, or return to an election authority the application for absentee ballot. Upon receipt, the appropriate election authority shall accept and promptly process any application for absentee ballot.

(Source: P.A. 96-1008, eff. 7-6-10.)

(10 ILCS 5/19-3) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-3)

Sec. 19-3. The application for absentee ballot shall be substantially in the following form:

APPLICATION FOR ABSENTEE BALLOT

To be voted at the .... election in the County of .... and State of Illinois, in the .... precinct of the (1) *township of .... (2) *City of .... or (3) *.... ward in the City of ....

I state that I am a resident of the .... precinct of the (1) *township of .... (2) *City of .... or (3) *.... ward in the city of .... residing at .... in such city or town in the county of .... and State of Illinois; that I have lived at such address for .... month(s) last past; that I am lawfully entitled to vote in such precinct at the .... election to be held therein on ....; and that I wish to vote by absentee ballot.

I hereby make application for an official ballot or ballots to be voted by me at such election, and I agree that I shall return such ballot or ballots to the official issuing the same prior to the closing of the polls on the date of the election or, if returned by mail, postmarked no later than midnight preceding election day, for counting no later than during the period for counting provisional ballots, the last day of which is the 14th day following election day.

Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Section 29-10 of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the statements set forth in this application are true and correct.

....

*fill in either (1), (2) or (3).

Post office address to which ballot is mailed: ...............

However, if application is made for a primary election ballot, such application shall require the applicant to designate the name of the political party with which the applicant is affiliated.

Any person may produce reproduce, distribute, or return to an election authority the application for absentee ballot. Upon receipt, the appropriate election authority shall accept and promptly process any application for absentee ballot.

(Source: P.A. 95-440, eff. 8-27-07; 96-312, eff. 1-1-10; 96-553, eff. 8-17-09; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1008, eff. 7-6-10.)

(10 ILCS 5/19A-15)

Sec. 19A-15. Period for early voting; hours.

(a) The period for early voting by personal appearance begins the 20th 22nd day preceding a general primary, consolidated primary, consolidated, or general election and extends through the 3rd 5th day before election day.

(b) A permanent polling place for early voting must remain open during the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays; except that, in addition to the hours required by this subsection, a permanent early voting polling place designated by an election authority under subsection (c) of Section 19A-10 must remain open for a total of at least 8 hours on any holiday during the early voting period and a total of at least 14 hours on the final weekend during the early voting period.

(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), an election authority may close an early voting polling place if the building in which the polling place is located has been closed by the State or unit of local government in response to a severe weather emergency. In the event of a closure, the election authority shall conduct early voting on the 2nd day before election day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The election authority shall notify the State Board of Elections of any closure and shall make reasonable efforts to provide notice to the public of the extended early voting period.

(Source: P.A. 96-637, eff. 1-1-10.)

(10 ILCS 5/20-1b new)

Sec. 20-1b. Voter electronic-mail addresses. The election authority shall give each voter who requests a ballot under the provisions of Article 20 the opportunity to provide an electronic-mail address beginning January 1, 2012, provided that the voter may opt out of providing an electronic-mail address. An electronic-mail address provided shall not be publicly available and is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Neither an election authority nor the State Board of Elections may release a voter's electronic-mail address to any third party. An election authority may use the address only to communicate with the voter about the voting process, including transmitting military-overseas ballots and election materials if the voter has requested electronic transmission, and verifying the voter's mailing address and physical location as needed. Any other use or disclosure is prohibited, and each request for an electronic-mail address shall so state.

(10 ILCS 5/24A-15) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-15)

Sec. 24A-15. The precinct return printed by the automatic 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 with respect to the total number of votes cast in any precinct, shall have the ballots for such 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 utilize 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 such certificate of results, the ballots for such 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 utilized, 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 chairman of each established political party shall be given prior written notice of the time and place of such random selection procedure and may be represented at such procedure. Such retabulation shall consist of counting the ballot cards which were originally counted and shall not involve any determination as to which ballot cards were, in fact, properly counted. The ballots from the precincts selected for such 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 such retabulation, the election authority shall test the computer program in the selected precincts and on the selected early voting devices. Such test shall be conducted by processing a preaudited group of ballots so punched so as 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 in order to test the ability of the equipment to reject such votes. If any error is detected, the cause therefor shall be ascertained 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 chairman of each established political party and qualified civic organizations shall be given prior written notice of the time and place of such retabulation and may be represented at such 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 Act. 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. Such 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.

(Source: P.A. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06; 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)

(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 chairman 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 chairman 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. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06; 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)

(10 ILCS 5/24C-15)

Sec. 24C-15. Official Return of Precinct; Check of Totals; Audit. The precinct return printed by the Direct Recording Electronic Voting System tabulating equipment shall include the number of ballots cast and votes cast for each candidate and public question 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 total number of ballots and absentee 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 audited to correct the return. The procedures for this audit 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 or voting devices except for election contests and discovery recounts. The certificate of results, which has been prepared and signed 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 reflected on the certificate of results, the ballots for that precinct shall be audited to correct the return.

Prior to the proclamation, the election authority shall test the voting devices and equipment 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 tested shall be selected after election day on a random basis by the State Board of Elections, so that every precinct and every device used in early voting in the election jurisdiction 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 that are to be tested. The State central committee chairman 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 test shall be conducted by counting the votes marked on the permanent paper record of each ballot cast in the tested precinct printed by the voting system at the time that each ballot was cast and comparing the results of this count with the results shown by the certificate of results prepared by the Direct Recording Electronic Voting System in the test precinct. The election authority shall test count these votes either by hand or by using an automatic tabulating device other than a Direct Recording Electronic voting device that has been approved by the State Board of Elections for that purpose and tested before use to ensure accuracy. The election authority shall print the results of each test count. 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. If an errorless count cannot be conducted and there continues to be difference in vote results between the certificate of results produced by the Direct Recording Electronic Voting System and the count of the permanent paper records or if an error was detected and corrected, the election authority shall immediately prepare and forward to the appropriate canvassing board a written report explaining the results of the test and any errors encountered and the report shall be made available for public inspection.

The State Board of Elections, the State's Attorney and other appropriate law enforcement agencies, the county chairman of each established political party and qualified civic organizations shall be given prior written notice of the time and place of the test and may be represented at the test.

The results of this post-election test 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.

(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06; 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)

(10 ILCS 5/25-6) (from Ch. 46, par. 25-6)

Sec. 25-6. (a) When a vacancy occurs in the office of State Senator or Representative in the General Assembly, the vacancy shall be filled within 30 days by appointment of the legislative or representative committee of that legislative or representative district of the political party of which the incumbent was a candidate at the time of his election. The appointee shall be a member of the same political party as the person he succeeds was at the time of his election, and shall be otherwise eligible to serve as a member of the General Assembly. The appropriate legislative or representative committee shall declare that a vacancy exists and notification thereof shall be given to the State Board of Elections, the Secretary of State, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate, whichever is appropriate, within 3 days of the occurrence of the vacancy.

(b) When a vacancy occurs in the office of a legislator elected other than as a candidate of a political party, the vacancy shall be filled within 30 days of such occurrence by appointment of the Governor. The appointee shall not be a member of a political party, and shall be otherwise eligible to serve as a member of the General Assembly. Provided, however, the appropriate body of the General Assembly may, by resolution, allow a legislator elected other than as a candidate of a political party to affiliate with a political party for his term of office in the General Assembly. A vacancy occurring in the office of any such legislator who affiliates with a political party pursuant to resolution shall be filled within 30 days of such occurrence by appointment of the appropriate legislative or representative committee of that legislative or representative district of the political party with which the legislator so affiliates. The appointee shall be a member of the political party with which the incumbent affiliated.

(c) For purposes of this Section, a person is a member of a political party for 23 months after (i) signing a candidate petition, as to the political party whose nomination is sought; (ii) signing a statement of candidacy, as to the political party where nomination or election is sought; (iii) signing a Petition of Political Party Formation, as to the proposed political party; (iv) applying for and receiving a primary ballot, as to the political party whose ballot is received; or (v) becoming a candidate for election to or accepting appointment to the office of ward, township, precinct or state central committeeman.

(d) In making appointments under this Section, each committeeman of the appropriate legislative or representative committee shall be entitled to one vote for each vote that was received, in that portion of the legislative or representative district which he represents on the committee, by the Senator or Representative whose seat is vacant at the general election at which that legislator was elected to the seat which has been vacated and a majority of the total number of votes received in such election by the Senator or Representative whose seat is vacant is required for the appointment of his successor; provided, however, that in making appointments in legislative or representative districts comprising only one county or part of a county other than a county containing 2,000,000 or more inhabitants, each committeeman shall be entitled to cast only one vote.

(e) Appointments made under this Section shall be in writing and shall be signed by members of the legislative or representative committee whose total votes are sufficient to make the appointments or by the Governor, as the case may be. Such appointments shall be filed with the Secretary of State and with the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate, whichever is appropriate.

(f) An appointment made under this Section shall be for the remainder of the term, except that, if the appointment is to fill a vacancy in the office of State Senator and the vacancy occurs with more than 28 months remaining in the term, the term of the appointment shall expire at the time of the next general election at which time a Senator shall be elected for a new term commencing on the determination of the results of the election and ending on the second Wednesday of January in the second odd-numbered year next occurring. Whenever a Senator has been appointed to fill a vacancy and was thereafter elected to that office, the term of service under the authority of the election shall be considered a new term of service, separate from the term of service rendered under the authority of the appointment.

(Source: P.A. 85-958.)

(10 ILCS 5/28-5) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-5)

Sec. 28-5. Not less than 68 61 days before a regularly scheduled election, each local election official shall certify the public questions to be submitted to the voters of or within his political subdivision at that election which have been initiated by petitions filed in his office or by action of the governing board of his political subdivision.

Not less than 68 61 days before a regularly scheduled election, each circuit court clerk shall certify the public questions to be submitted to the voters of a political subdivision at that election which have been ordered to be so submitted by the circuit court pursuant to law. Not less than 30 days before the date set by the circuit court for the conduct of an emergency referendum pursuant to Section 2A-1.4, the circuit court clerk shall certify the public question as herein required.

Local election officials and circuit court clerks shall make their certifications, as required by this Section, to each election authority having jurisdiction over any of the territory of the respective political subdivision in which the public question is to be submitted to referendum.

Not less than 68 61 days before the next regular election, the county clerk shall certify the public questions to be submitted to the voters of the entire county at that election, which have been initiated by petitions filed in his office or by action of the county board, to the board of election commissioners, if any, in his county.

Not less than 74 67 days before the general election, the State Board of Elections shall certify any questions proposing an amendment to Article IV of the Constitution pursuant to Section 3, Article XIV of the Constitution and any advisory public questions to be submitted to the voters of the entire State, which have been initiated by petitions received or filed at its office, to the respective county clerks. Not less than 62 61 days before the general election, the county clerk shall certify such questions to the board of election commissioners, if any, in his county.

The certifications shall include the form of the public question to be placed on the ballot, the date on which the public question was initiated by either the filing of a petition or the adoption of a resolution or ordinance by a governing body, as the case may be, and a certified copy of any court order or political subdivision resolution or ordinance requiring the submission of the public question. Certifications of propositions for annexation to, disconnection from, or formation of political subdivisions or for other purposes shall include a description of the territory in which the proposition is required to be submitted, whenever such territory is not coterminous with an existing political subdivision.

The certification of a public question described in subsection (b) of Section 28-6 shall include the precincts included in the territory concerning which the public question is to be submitted, as well as a common description of such territory, in plain and nonlegal language, and specify the election at which the question is to be submitted. The description of the territory shall be prepared by the local election official as set forth in the resolution or ordinance initiating the public question.

Whenever a local election official, an election authority, or the State Board of Elections is in receipt of an initiating petition, or a certification for the submission of a public question at an election at which the public question may not be placed on the ballot or submitted because of the limitations of Section 28-1, such officer or board shall give notice of such prohibition, by registered mail, as follows:

(a) in the case of a petition, to any person designated on a certificate attached thereto as the proponent or as the proponents' attorney for purposes of notice of objections;

(b) in the case of a certificate from a local election authority, to such local election authority, who shall thereupon give notice as provided in subparagraph (a), or notify the governing board which adopted the initiating resolution or ordinance;

(c) in the case of a certification from a circuit court clerk of a court order, to such court, which shall thereupon give notice as provided in subparagraph (a) and shall modify its order in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

If the petition, resolution or ordinance initiating such prohibited public question did not specify a particular election for its submission, the officer or board responsible for certifying the question to the election authorities shall certify or recertify the question, in the manner required herein, for submission on the ballot at the next regular election no more than one year, or 15 months in the case of a back door referendum as defined in subsection (f) of Section 28-2, subsequent to the filing of the initiating petition or the adoption of the initiating resolution or ordinance and at which the public question may be submitted, and the appropriate election authorities shall submit the question at such election, unless the public question is ordered submitted as an emergency referendum pursuant to Section 2A-1.4 or is withdrawn as may be provided by law.

(Source: P.A. 94-578, eff. 8-12-05.)

(10 ILCS 5/28-6) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-6)

Sec. 28-6. Petitions; filing.

(a) On a written petition signed by a number of voters equal to (i) through the general election in 2008, at least 8% of the total votes cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election by the registered voters of the municipality, township, county or school district and (ii) beginning with elections in 2009 and thereafter, at least 11% of the total ballots cast by the registered voters of the municipality, township, county, or school district in the last regular election conducted in the municipality, township, county, or school district, it shall be the duty of the proper election officers to submit any question of public policy so petitioned for, to the electors of such political subdivision at any regular election named in the petition at which an election is scheduled to be held throughout such political subdivision under Article 2A. Such petitions shall be filed with the local election official of the political subdivision or election authority, as the case may be. Where such a question is to be submitted to the voters of a municipality which has adopted Article 6, or a township or school district located entirely within the jurisdiction of a municipal board of election commissioners, such petitions shall be filed with the board of election commissioners having jurisdiction over the political subdivision.

(b) In a municipality with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants, when a question of public policy exclusively concerning a contiguous territory included entirely within but not coextensive with the municipality is initiated by resolution or ordinance of the corporate authorities of the municipality, or by a petition which may be signed by registered voters who reside in any part of any precinct all or part of which includes all or part of the territory and who equal in number to (i) through the general election in 2008 at least 8% of the total votes cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election by the voters of the precinct or precincts in the territory where the question is to be submitted to the voters and (ii) beginning with elections in 2009 and thereafter, at least 11% of the total ballots cast at the last regular election conducted in the precinct or precincts in the territory where the question is to be submitted to the voters, it shall be the duty of the election authority having jurisdiction over such municipality to submit such question to the electors throughout each precinct all or part of which includes all or part of the territory at the regular election specified in the resolution, ordinance or petition initiating the public question. A petition initiating a public question described in this subsection shall be filed with the election authority having jurisdiction over the municipality. A resolution, ordinance or petition initiating a public question described in this subsection shall specify the election at which the question is to be submitted.

(c) Local questions of public policy authorized by this Section and statewide questions of public policy authorized by Section 28-9 shall be advisory public questions, and no legal effects shall result from the adoption or rejection of such propositions.

(d) This Section does not apply to a petition filed pursuant to Article IX of the Liquor Control Act of 1934.

(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)

(10 ILCS 5/28-7) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-7)

Sec. 28-7. In any case in which Article VII or paragraph (a) of Section 5 of the Transition Schedule of the Constitution authorizes any action to be taken by or with respect to any unit of local government, as defined in Section 1 of Article VII of the Constitution, by or subject to approval by referendum, any such public question shall be initiated in accordance with this Section.

Any such public question may be initiated by the governing body of the unit of local government by resolution or by the filing with the clerk or secretary of the governmental unit of a petition signed by a number of qualified electors equal to or greater than at least 8% of the total votes cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election 10% of the number of registered voters in the governmental unit, requesting the submission of the proposal for such action to the voters of the governmental unit at a regular election.

If the action to be taken requires a referendum involving 2 or more units of local government, the proposal shall be submitted to the voters of such governmental units by the election authorities with jurisdiction over the territory of the governmental units. Such multi-unit proposals may be initiated by appropriate resolutions by the respective governing bodies or by petitions of the voters of the several governmental units filed with the respective clerks or secretaries.

This Section is intended to provide a method of submission to referendum in all cases of proposals for actions which are authorized by Article VII of the Constitution by or subject to approval by referendum and supersedes any conflicting statutory provisions except those contained in the "County Executive Act".

Referenda provided for in this Section may not be held more than once in any 23-month period on the same proposition, provided that in any municipality a referendum to elect not to be a home rule unit may be held only once within any 47-month period.

(Source: P.A. 82-750.)

(10 ILCS 5/28-9) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-9)

Sec. 28-9. Petitions for proposed amendments to Article IV of the Constitution pursuant to Section 3, Article XIV of the Constitution shall be signed by a number of electors equal in number to at least 8% of the total votes cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election. Such petition shall have been signed by the petitioning electors not more than 24 months preceding the general election at which the proposed amendment is to be submitted and shall be filed with the Secretary of State at least 6 months before that general election.

Upon receipt of a petition for a proposed Constitutional amendment, the Secretary of State shall, as soon as is practicable, but no later than the close of the next business day, deliver such petition to the State Board of Elections.

Petitions for advisory questions of public policy to be submitted to the voters of the entire State shall be signed by a number of voters equal in number to 8% of the total votes cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election. Such petition shall have been signed by said petitioners not more than 24 months preceding the date of the general election at which the question is to be submitted and shall be filed with the State Board of Elections at least 6 months before that general election.

The proponents of the proposed Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question shall file the original petition in bound election jurisdiction sections. Each section shall be composed of consecutively numbered petition sheets containing only the signatures of registered voters of a single election jurisdiction and, at the top of each petition sheet, the name of the election jurisdiction shall be typed or printed in block letters; provided that, if the name of the election jurisdiction is not so printed, the election jurisdiction of the circulator of that petition sheet shall be controlling with respect to the signatures on that sheet. Any petition sheets not consecutively numbered or which contain duplicate page numbers already used on other sheets, or are photocopies or duplicates of the original sheets, shall not be considered part of the petition for the purpose of the random sampling verification and shall not be counted toward the minimum number of signatures required to qualify the proposed constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question for the ballot.

Within 7 business days following the last day for filing the original petition, the proponents shall also file copies of the sectioned election jurisdiction petition sheets with each proper election authority and obtain a receipt therefor.

For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be defined and construed as follows:

1. "Board" means the State Board of Elections.

2. "Election Authority" means a county clerk or city or county board of election commissioners.

3. "Election Jurisdiction" means (a) an entire county, in the case of a county in which no city board of election commissioners is located or which is under the jurisdiction of a county board of election commissioners; (b) the territorial jurisdiction of a city board of election commissioners; and (c) the territory in a county outside of the jurisdiction of a city board of election commissioners. In each instance election jurisdiction shall be determined according to which election authority maintains the permanent registration records of qualified electors.

4. "Proponents" means any person, association, committee, organization or other group, or their designated representatives, who advocate and cause the circulation and filing of petitions for a statewide advisory question of public policy or a proposed constitutional amendment for submission at a general election and who has registered with the Board as provided in this Act.

5. "Opponents" means any person, association, committee, organization or other group, or their designated representatives, who oppose a statewide advisory question of public policy or a proposed constitutional amendment for submission at a general election and who have registered with the Board as provided in this Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03.)

(10 ILCS 5/28-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-10)

Sec. 28-10. Upon receipt of an original petition for a proposed Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question, the designated Board staff shall examine the petition sheets in each election jurisdiction section for conformity with the single jurisdiction signature requirement prescribed in Section 28-9. The Board staff shall determine from the name of the election jurisdiction printed at the top of the petition sheet or from the election jurisdiction of the circulator of that petition sheet, as the case may be, whether any signatures on that sheet are not in conformity. If any signatures are determined to be nonconforming, the Board staff shall prepare, for each election jurisdiction section, a list by page and line number of purported nonconforming signatures and shall immediately transmit such lists to the Board Chairman and copies of such lists to the principal proponent of the proposed Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question, or the proponent's attorney, whichever is designated on the certificate attached to the petition, as provided in Section 10-8 of this Code.

On the 10th business day following the last day for petition filing, the Board shall conduct a hearing at which the proponents may present arguments and evidence as to the conformity of any purported nonconforming signatures. At the conclusion of the hearing the Board shall make a final determination with respect to each purported nonconforming signature. Any signatures on petition sheets in an election jurisdiction section finally determined to be nonconforming shall not be considered part of the petition for the purpose of the random sample verification and shall not be counted toward the minimum number of signatures required to qualify the proposed Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question for the ballot.

(Source: P.A. 83-999.)

(10 ILCS 5/28-11) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-11)

Sec. 28-11. The Board shall design a standard and scientific random sampling method for the verification of petition signatures for statewide advisory referenda and shall conduct a public test to prove the validity of its sampling method. Notice of the time and place for such test shall be given at least 10 days before the date on which such test is to be conducted and in the manner prescribed for notice of regular Board meetings. Signatures on petitions for constitutional amendments initiated pursuant to Article XIV, Section 3 of the Illinois Constitution need not be segregated by election jurisdiction. The Board shall design an alternative signature verification method for referenda initiated pursuant to Article XIV, Section 3 of the Illinois Constitution.

Within 14 business days following the last day for the filing of the original petition as prescribed in Section 28-9, the Board shall apply its proven random sampling method to the petition sheets in each election jurisdiction section for the purpose of selecting and identifying the petition signatures to be included in the sample signature verification for the respective jurisdictions and shall prepare and transmit to each proper election authority a list by page and line number of the signatures from its election jurisdiction selected for verification.

For each election jurisdiction, the sample verification shall include an examination of either (a) 10% of the signatures if 5,010 or more signatures are involved; or (b) 500 signatures if more than 500 but less than 5,010 signatures are involved; or (c) all signatures if 500 or less signatures are involved.

Each election authority with whom jurisdictional copies of petition sheets were filed shall use the proven random sampling method designed and furnished by the Board for the verification of signatures shown on the list supplied by the Board and in accordance with the following criteria for determination of petition signature validity:

1. Determine if the person who signed the petition is a registered voter in that election jurisdiction or was a registered voter therein on the date the petition was signed;

2. Determine if the signature of the person who signed the petition reasonably compares with the signature shown on that person's registration record card.

Within 14 business days following receipt from the Board of the list of signatures for verification, each election authority shall transmit a properly dated certificate to the Board which shall indicate; (a) the page and line number of petition signatures examined, (b) the validity or invalidity of such signatures, and (c) the reasons for invalidity, based on the criteria heretofore prescribed. The Board shall prepare and adopt a standard form of certificate for use by the election authorities which shall be transmitted with the list of signatures for verification.

Upon written request of the election authority that, due to the volume of signatures in the sample for its jurisdiction, additional time is needed to properly perform the signature verification, the Board may grant the election authority additional days to complete the verification and transmit the certificate of results. These certificates of random sample verification results shall be available for public inspection within 24 hours after receipt by the State Board of Elections.

(Source: P.A. 83-999.)

(10 ILCS 5/28-12) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-12)

Sec. 28-12. Upon receipt of the certificates of the election authorities showing the results of the sample signature verification, the Board shall:

1. Based on the sample, calculate the ratio of invalid or valid signatures in each election jurisdiction.

2. Apply the ratio of invalid to valid signatures in an election jurisdiction sample to the total number of petition signatures submitted from that election jurisdiction.

3. Compute the degree of multiple signature contamination in each election jurisdiction sample.

4. Adjust for multiple signature contamination and the invalid signatures, project the total number of valid petition signatures submitted from each election jurisdiction.

5. Aggregate the total number of projected valid signatures from each election jurisdiction and project the total number of valid signatures on the petition statewide.

If such statewide projection establishes a total number of valid petition signatures not greater than 95.0% of the minimum number of signatures required to qualify the proposed Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question for the ballot, the petition shall be presumed invalid; provided that, prior to the last day for ballot certification for the general election, the Board shall conduct a hearing for the purpose of allowing the proponents to present competent evidence or an additional sample to rebut the presumption of invalidity. At the conclusion of such hearing, and after the resolution of any specific objection filed pursuant to Section 10-8 of this Code, the Board shall issue a final order declaring the petition to be valid or invalid and shall, in accordance with its order, certify or not certify the proposition for the ballot.

If such statewide projection establishes a total number of valid petition signatures greater than 95.0% of the minimum number of signatures required to qualify the proposed Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question for the ballot, the results of the sample shall be considered inconclusive and, if no specific objections to the petition are filed pursuant to Section 10-8 of this Code, the Board shall issue a final order declaring the petition to be valid and shall certify the proposition for the ballot.

In either event, the Board shall append to its final order the detailed results of the sample from each election jurisdiction which shall include: (a) specific page and line numbers of signatures actually verified or determined to be invalid by the respective election authorities, and (b) the calculations and projections performed by the Board for each election jurisdiction.

(Source: P.A. 82-750.)

(10 ILCS 5/28-13) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-13)

Sec. 28-13. Each political party and civic organization as well as the registered proponents and opponents of a proposed Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question shall be entitled to one watcher in the office of the election authority to observe the conduct of the sample signature verification. However, in those election jurisdictions where a 10% sample is required, the proponents and opponents may appoint no more than 5 assistant watchers in addition to the 1 principal watcher permitted herein.

Within 7 days following the last day for filing of the original petition, the proponents and opponents shall certify in writing to the Board that they publicly support or oppose the proposed Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question. The proponents and opponents of such questions shall register the name and address of its group and the name and address of its chairman and designated agent for acceptance of service of notices with the Board. Thereupon, the Board shall prepare a list of the registered proponents and opponents and shall adopt a standard proponents' and opponents' watcher credential form. A copy of such list and sufficient copies of such credentials shall be transmitted with the list for the sample signature verification to the appropriate election authorities. Those election authorities shall issue credentials to the permissible number of watchers for each proponent and opponent group; provided, however, that a prospective watcher shall first present to the election authority a letter of authorization signed by the chairman of the proponent or opponent group he or she represents.

Political party and qualified civic organization watcher credentials shall be substantially in the form and shall be authorized in the manner prescribed in Section 7-34 of this Code.

The rights and limitations of pollwatchers as prescribed by Section 7-34 of this Code, insofar as they may be made applicable, shall be applicable to watchers at the conduct of the sample signature verification.

The principal watcher for the proponents and opponents may make signed written objections to the Board relating to procedures observed during the conduct of the sample signature verification which could materially affect the results of the sample. Such written objections shall be presented to the election authority and a copy mailed to the Board and shall be attached to the certificate of sample results transmitted by the election authority to the Board.

(Source: P.A. 82-750.)

(10 ILCS 5/28-14 new)

Sec. 28-14. Local government initiative petition and referendum for helping veterans.

(a) To promote the welfare of veterans of our nation's armed forces, the electors of any unit of local government may pass, by initiative petition and referendum in the manner prescribed by this Article, a binding ordinance relating to the subjects set forth in subsection (b) that the corporate authorities of their unit of local government are empowered to pass.

(b) A binding ordinance relating to helping veterans of any branch of service in the armed forces of the United States may be proposed by petition. The petition shall contain the text of the proposed ordinance, the form of the question to be presented to the electors, the date of the general or consolidated election at which the proposed ordinance is to be submitted, and the signatures of electors equal to at least 8% of the total votes cast for Governor at the last general election in the unit of local government. The petition shall have been signed not more than 12 months preceding the general or consolidated election at which the proposed ordinance is to be submitted. The petition shall include a statement providing an estimate of annual expenditures necessary to fund the ordinance and whether the ordinance requires the imposition of a tax or fee of any kind. The petition shall be filed with the clerk of the unit of local government at least 108 days before that general or consolidated election. Ordinances that may be proposed pursuant to this subsection (b) include, but are not limited to, measures that provide job training opportunities for veterans, opportunities for employment for veterans, or that enable veterans to access health, psychiatric, or other services.

(c) If the corporate authorities of the unit of local government, without amendment, pass the binding ordinance proposed by such a petition filed with the unit of local government's clerk not less than 78 days prior to the election at which the petition specifies the proposed binding ordinance is to be submitted, then the proposed binding ordinance shall not be submitted to the electors of the unit of local government.

(d) If no objection to a petition filed under subsection (b) is filed within 5 business days after such petition is filed or if an objection is filed and the appropriate electoral official or board rules the petition sufficient, then the clerk of the unit of local government shall submit the petition to the appropriate election authority, and the election authority shall order the proposed ordinance submitted to the electors of the unit of local government at the election specified in the petition.

(e) If, after ordering the proposed ordinance to be submitted to the electors of the unit of local government, the election official or board of the unit of local government determines that the proposed ordinance is too long to be printed in its entirety on the ballot, then the official or board shall ask the clerk of the unit of local government to provide a concise description of the ordinance. The election official or board shall then cause either the entire proposed ordinance or the concise description to be printed on the ballot together with a question permitting the elector to indicate approval or disapproval of adoption of the proposed ordinance.

(f) If a majority of those voting on the proposed ordinance indicate approval of its adoption, then the ordinance shall be passed and have the same effect as if it had been passed by the corporate authorities of the unit of local government, except as provided in subsection (g).

(g) Ordinances adopted under this Section, either by approval of electors at an election or by passage by the corporate authorities under subsection (c), shall not be repealed or amended within 4 years after adoption except by vote of the electors. The corporate authorities of a unit of local government may submit to the electorate a proposition to repeal or amend an ordinance adopted under this Section at any election in conformance with this Article.

Section 15. The Township Code is amended by changing Sections 45-10, 45-20, and 45-25 as follows:

(60 ILCS 1/45-10)

Sec. 45-10. Political party caucus in township; notice.

(a) On the first second Tuesday in December January preceding the date of the regular township election, a caucus shall be held by the voters of each established political party in a township to nominate its candidates for the various offices to be filled at the election. Notice of the caucus shall be given at least 10 days before it is held by publication in some newspaper having a general circulation in the township. Not less than 30 days before the caucus, the township clerk shall notify the chairman or membership of each township central committee by first-class mail of the chairman's or membership's obligation to report the time and location of the political party's caucus. Not less than 20 days before the caucus, each chairman of the township central committee shall notify the township clerk by first-class mail of the time and location of the political party's caucus. If the time and location of 2 or more political party caucuses conflict, the township clerk shall establish, by a fair and impartial public lottery, the time and location for each caucus.

(b) Except as provided in this Section, the township board shall cause notices of the caucuses to be published. The notice shall state the time and place where the caucus for each political party will be held. The board shall fix a place within the township for holding the caucus for each established political party. When a new township has been established under Section 10-25, the county board shall cause notice of the caucuses to be published as required by this Section and shall fix the place within the new township for holding the caucuses.

(Source: P.A. 85-694; 88-62)

(60 ILCS 1/45-20)

Sec. 45-20. Caucus result; filing nomination papers; certifying candidates.

(a) The township central committee shall canvass and declare the result of the caucus.

(b) The chairman of the township central committee shall, not more than 113 78 nor less than 106 71 days before the township election, file nomination papers as provided in this Section. The nomination papers shall consist of (i) a certification by the chairman of the names of all candidates for office in the township nominated at the caucus and (ii) a statement of candidacy by each candidate in the form prescribed in the general election law. The nomination papers shall be filed in the office of the township clerk, except that if the township is entirely within the corporate limits of a city, village, or incorporated town under the jurisdiction of a board of election commissioners, the nomination papers shall be filed in the office of the board of election commissioners instead of the township clerk.

(c) The township clerk shall certify the candidates so nominated to the proper election authorities not less than 61 days before the township election. The election shall be conducted in accordance with the general election law.

(Source: P.A. 85-694; 88-62.)

(60 ILCS 1/45-25)

Sec. 45-25. Caucus in multi-township district.

(a) On the first second Wednesday in December January preceding the date of any election at which township officers are to be elected, a caucus shall be held by the voters of each established political party in a multi-township district to nominate its candidates for township assessor.

(b) For purposes of this Code, the multi-township central committee of each established political party shall consist of the elected or appointed precinct committeemen of each established political party within the multi-township district and shall promulgate rules of procedure under Section 45-50.

(c) The multi-township central committee of each established political party shall cause notices of the caucuses to be published. The notices shall state the time and place where the caucus for each established political party will be held within the multi-township district and shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the district 10 days before the caucuses are held. Not less than 30 days before the caucus, the multi-township clerk shall notify the chairman or membership of each multi-township central committee by first-class mail of the chairman's or membership's obligation to report the time and location of the political party's caucus. Not less than 20 days before the caucus, each chairman of the multi-township central committee shall notify the multi-township clerk by first-class mail of the time and location of the political party's caucus. If the time and location of 2 or more political party caucuses conflict, the multi-township clerk shall establish, by a fair and impartial public lottery, the time and location for each caucus.

(d) The result of the election shall be canvassed in the manner provided by the general election law.

(e) The chairman of the multi-township central committee shall, not more than 113 78 nor less than 106 71 days before the multi-township election, file nomination papers as provided in this Section. The nomination papers shall consist of (i) a certification by the chairman of the names of all candidates for office in the township nominated at the caucus and (ii) a statement of candidacy by each candidate in the form prescribed in the general election law. The nomination papers shall be filed in the office of the election authority. The election shall be conducted in accordance with the general election law.

(Source: P.A. 85-694; 88-62.)

Section 20. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by changing Section 3.1-20-45 as follows:

(65 ILCS 5/3.1-20-45)

Sec. 3.1-20-45. Nonpartisan primary elections; uncontested office. A city incorporated under this Code that elects municipal officers at nonpartisan primary and general elections shall conduct the elections as provided in the Election Code, except that no office for which nomination is uncontested shall be included on the primary ballot and no primary shall be held for that office. For the purposes of this Section, an office is uncontested when not more than 4 persons to be nominated for each office have timely filed valid nominating papers seeking nomination for the election to that office.

Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, when a person (i) who has not timely filed valid nomination papers and (ii) who intends to become a write-in candidate for nomination for any office for which nomination is uncontested files a written statement or notice of that intent with the proper election official with whom the nomination papers for that office are filed, if the write-in candidate becomes the fifth candidate filed, a primary ballot must be prepared and a primary must be held for the office. The statement or notice must be filed on or before the 61st day before the consolidated primary election. The statement must contain (i) the name and address of the person intending to become a write-in candidate, (ii) a statement that the person intends to become a write-in candidate, and (iii) the office the person is seeking as a write-in candidate. An election authority has no duty to conduct a primary election or prepare a primary ballot unless a statement meeting the requirements of this paragraph is filed in a timely manner.

If there is a primary election, then candidates shall be placed on the ballot for the next succeeding general municipal election in the following manner:

(1) If one officer is to be elected, then the 2 candidates who receive the highest number of votes shall be placed on the ballot for the next succeeding general municipal election.

(2) If 2 aldermen are to be elected at large, then the 4 candidates who receive the highest number of votes shall be placed on the ballot for the next succeeding general municipal election.

(3) If 3 aldermen are to be elected at large, then the 6 candidates who receive the highest number of votes shall be placed on the ballot for the next succeeding general municipal election.

The name of a write-in candidate may not be placed on the ballot for the next succeeding general municipal election unless he or she receives a number of votes in the primary election that equals or exceeds the number of signatures required on a petition for nomination for that office or that exceeds the number of votes received by at least one of the candidates whose names were printed on the primary ballot for nomination for or election to the same office.

(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)

Section 25. The School Code is amended by adding Section 9-1.5 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/9-1.5 new)

Sec. 9-1.5. Advisory referenda. By a vote of the majority of the members of the school board, the board may authorize an advisory question of public policy to be placed on the ballot at the next regularly scheduled election in the school district. The school board shall certify the question to the proper election authority, which must submit the question at an election in accordance with the Election Code, provided, however, that no such question may be submitted at a consolidated primary election.

Section 30. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing Section 2-105 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/2-105) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 2-105)

Sec. 2-105. Offices of Secretary of State.

(a) The Secretary of State shall maintain offices in the State capital and in such other places in the State as he may deem necessary to properly carry out the powers and duties vested in him.

(b) The Secretary of State may construct and equip one or more buildings in the State of Illinois outside of the County of Sangamon as he deems necessary to properly carry out the powers and duties vested in him. The Secretary of State may, on behalf of the State of Illinois, acquire public or private property needed therefor by lease, purchase or eminent domain. The care, custody and control of such sites and buildings constructed thereon shall be vested in the Secretary of State. Expenditures for the construction and equipping of any of such buildings upon premises owned by another public entity shall not be subject to the provisions of any State law requiring that the State be vested with absolute fee title to the premises. The exercise of the authority vested in the Secretary of State by this Section is subject to the appropriation of the necessary funds.

(c) Pursuant to Section 1A-25 Sections 4-6.2, 5-16.2, and 6-50.2 of the Election Code, the Secretary of State shall make driver services facilities available for use as temporary places of accepting applications for voter registration. Registration within the offices shall be in the most public, orderly and convenient portions thereof, and Section 4-3, 5-3, and 11-4 of the Election Code relative to the attendance of police officers during the conduct of registration shall apply. Registration under this Section shall be made in the manner provided by Sections 4-8, 4-10, 5-7, 5-9, 6-34, 6-35, and 6-37 of the Election Code.

(d) (Blank). Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1990, and no later than November 1 of each even-numbered year thereafter, the Secretary of State, to the extent practicable, shall designate to each election authority in the State a reasonable number of employees at each driver services facility registered to vote within the jurisdiction of such election authority and within adjacent election jurisdictions for appointment as deputy registrars by the election authority located within the election jurisdiction where the employees maintain their residences. Such designation shall be in writing and certified by the Secretary of State.

(e) Each person applying at a driver services facility for a driver's license or permit, a corrected driver's license or permit, an Illinois identification card or a corrected Illinois identification card shall be notified that the person may apply to register to vote at such station to vote in the State and may also apply to transfer his or her voter registration at such station to a different address in the State. Such notification may be made in writing or verbally issued by an employee or the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State shall promulgate such rules as may be necessary for the efficient execution of his duties and the duties of his employees under this Section amendatory Act of 1990.

(f) Any person applying at a driver services facility for issuance or renewal of a driver's license or Illinois Identification Card shall be provided, without charge, with a brochure warning the person of the dangers of financial identity theft. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall prepare these brochures and provide them to the Secretary of State for distribution. The brochures shall (i) identify signs warning the reader that he or she might be an intended victim of the crime of financial identity theft, (ii) instruct the reader in how to proceed if the reader believes that he or she is the victim of the crime of identity theft, and (iii) provide the reader with names and telephone numbers of law enforcement and other governmental agencies that provide assistance to victims of financial identity theft.

(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 94-1001, eff. 1-1-07.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".