Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Compiled Statutes

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10 ILCS 5/24B-15

(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 chair 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 chair 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. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)