SB1456 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 25883 BMS 52234 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB1456

Introduced 2/7/2023, by Sen. Laura M. Murphy

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Presidential Primary Ranked Choice Voting Act. Provides that any State-administered primary election for the President of the United States shall be conducted using ranked choice voting. Sets forth provisions concerning form of ballot, tabulation, inactive ballots and undervotes, and ties for ranked choice voting. Provides that at least 150 days before the date of the presidential primary election, the State committee of each political party that intends to use the State-administered presidential primary in its nomination process shall inform the State Board of Elections in writing of its intention. Provides that the State committee's written notice shall indicate whether the party prefers tabulation to occur on a winner-take-all basis or on a proportional basis. Provides that if a party's notice fails to specify how to tabulate ballots, the State-administered presidential primary election for that party shall be tabulated on a statewide winner-take-all basis. Provides that the State Board of Elections shall adopt rules or guidance to facilitate the release of unofficial preliminary round-by-round results and unofficial preliminary cast vote records as soon as feasible after the polls close and at regular intervals thereafter until the counting of ballots is complete. Sets forth information that the State Board of Elections shall make public. Provides that the State Board of Elections shall have the authority to adopt any rules necessary to implement the provisions. Defines terms.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning elections.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Presidential Primary Ranked Choice Voting Act.

Section 5. Definitions.

As used in this Act:

"Active candidate" means any candidate who has not been eliminated during tabulation or is not a withdrawn candidate.

"Highest-ranked active candidate" means the active candidate assigned to a higher ranking than any other active candidates on a ballot.

"Inactive ballot" means a ballot that does not count for any candidate for any of the reasons set forth in subsection (a) of Section 25.

"Overvote" means an instance in which a voter has ranked more than one candidate at the same ranking order.

"Ranking order" means the number available to be assigned by a voter to a candidate to express the voter's choice for that candidate; the number "1" is the highest ranking order, followed by "2", and then "3" and so on in ascending numerical order.

"Round" means an instance of the sequence of voting tabulation conducted in accordance with subsection (b) of Section 20 for winner-take-all selection of delegates or subsection (c) of Section 20 for proportional selection of delegates.

"Skipped ranking" means a voter has left a ranking order unassigned but ranks a candidate at a subsequent ranking order.

"Threshold for receiving delegates" means the amount of votes necessary for a candidate to receive delegates in primary elections conducted in accordance with subsection (c) of Section 20.

"Undervote" means a ballot that does not contain any candidates at any ranking in a particular contest.

"Withdrawn candidate" means any candidate who:

(1) has filed a signed letter of withdrawal with the national and State party chairs in compliance with any applicable party rules that may exist governing the timing, procedures, or substance of candidate withdrawals or suspensions; and

(2) has filed a signed letter of withdrawal before election day with the State election official designated to receive the letter.

Section 10. Ranked choice voting for presidential primary elections. Any State-administered primary election for the President of the United States shall be conducted using ranked choice voting as set forth in this Act.

Section 15. Ranked choice voting; form of ballot.

(a) Any ballot used to conduct ranked choice voting shall allow voters to rank candidates in order of choice.

(b) Any ballot used to conduct ranked choice voting shall allow voters to rank up to 5 qualified candidates. If voting equipment cannot accommodate 5 rankings, the State Board of Elections may limit the number of choices a voter may rank on the ballot to the maximum number allowed by the equipment, however, the number of rankings allowed shall be no fewer than 3 and shall be uniform across the State.

(c) Nothing in subsection (b) shall be construed to allow a voter to vote for candidates of any party in a primary in which the voter is not eligible to vote.

Section 20. Ranked choice voting; tabulation.

(a) In any State-administered primary election for President of the United States conducted using ranked choice voting, each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked active candidate on that ballot. Ranking orders containing withdrawn candidates shall be treated the same as ranking orders containing candidates who have been eliminated from tabulation. Otherwise, each round proceeds sequentially as described in subsection (b) or (c), as applicable.

(b) If a party awards delegates to a single candidate on a winner-take-all basis, tabulation shall proceed as follows:

(1) If 2 or fewer active candidates remain, then tabulation is complete; otherwise, tabulation proceeds pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(2) If tabulation is not complete, then the active candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, votes for the eliminated candidate are transferred to each ballot's next-ranked active candidate, and a new round begins pursuant to paragraph (1).

(c) If a party awards delegates to multiple candidates on a proportional basis, tabulation shall proceed as follows:

(1) If the vote total of every active candidate is above the party's threshold for receiving delegates, then tabulation is complete; otherwise, tabulation proceeds pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(2) If tabulation is not complete, then the active candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, votes for the eliminated candidate are transferred to each ballot's next-ranked active candidate, and a new round begins pursuant to paragraph (1).

(d) When the State Board of Elections certifies the results of the election, the official shall certify the results of each round tabulated pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) and any other information required under Section 40 to the State chairperson and the national committee of each political party that had at least one candidate on the State-administered presidential primary election ballot to allocate national delegate votes in accordance with the party's State and national rules.

(e) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude a political party from allocating delegates according to its own rules for allocating such delegates.

Section 25. Ranked choice voting; inactive ballots and undervotes.

(a) An inactive ballot does not count for any candidate. A ballot is inactive if any of the following is true:

(1) The ballot does not contain any active candidates and is not an undervote.

(2) The ballot has reached an overvote.

(3) The ballot has reached 2 consecutive skipped rankings.

(b) An undervote does not count as an active or inactive ballot in any round of tabulation.

Section 30. Ranked choice voting; ties. If 2 or more candidates are tied with the fewest votes and tabulation cannot continue until the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, then the candidate to be eliminated shall be determined by lot. Election officials may resolve prospective ties between candidates before tabulation after all votes are cast. The result of any tie resolution must be recorded and reused in the event of a recount.

Section 35. Political party notice regarding participation in primary, type of primary, and threshold for receiving delegates.

(a) At least 150 days before the date of the presidential primary election, the State committee of each political party that intends to use the State-administered presidential primary in its nomination process shall inform the State Board of Elections in writing of its intention. The State committee's written notice shall indicate whether the party prefers tabulation to occur on a winner-take-all basis in accordance with subsection (b) of Section 20 or on a proportional basis in accordance with subsection (c) of Section 20. If the party requests that tabulation occur on a proportional basis, the party shall indicate what the applicable threshold for receiving delegates will be. If a party allocates any delegates by congressional district or other geographical unit, then the party shall indicate the geographical basis for its allocation. If a party's notice fails to specify how to tabulate ballots, the State-administered presidential primary election for that party shall be tabulated on a statewide winner-take-all basis in accordance with subsection (b) of Section 20.

(b) At least 120 days before the date of the presidential primary election, the State Board of Elections shall confirm with the State committee of each political party that the State is capable of implementing the party's preferences as declared under subsection (a) or shall notify the State committee of any feasibility constraints that could prevent the State from implementing the party's preferences.

Section 40. Results reporting.

(a) The State Board of Elections shall adopt rules or guidance to facilitate the release of unofficial preliminary round-by-round results and unofficial preliminary cast vote records as soon as feasible after the polls close and at regular intervals thereafter until the counting of ballots is complete.

(1) Unofficial preliminary round-by-round results shall be clearly labeled as preliminary and, to the extent feasible, shall include the percentage of ballots counted to date.

(2) Unofficial preliminary cast vote records shall be:

(A) clearly labeled as preliminary and, to the extent feasible, shall include the percentage of ballots counted to date;

(B) published online in a publicly accessible, electronic format; and

(C) published in a manner consistent with the need to maintain voter privacy.

(3) In adopting rules or guidance under this subsection, the State Board of Elections shall consult with and allow for input from county clerks, local election officials, and national and State party representatives.

(b) In addition to any other information required by law to be reported with final results, the State Board of Elections shall make public:

(1) the total number of votes each candidate received in each round of the official tabulation, including votes for withdrawn candidates;

(2) the total number of ballots that became inactive in each round because they did not contain any active candidates, reached an overvote, or reached 2 consecutive skipped rankings, reported as separate figures; and

(3) the cast vote records in a publicly accessible, electronic format and by precinct, published in a manner consistent with the need to maintain voter privacy.

(c) If a party allocates delegates by congressional district or other geographical unit, the State Board of Elections shall provide round-by-round results by congressional district or other geographical unit in addition to providing statewide results.

Section 45. Rulemaking. The State Board of Elections shall have the authority to adopt any rules necessary to implement this Act.

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.