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94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006 HB2532
Introduced 2/18/2005, by Rep. Elizabeth Coulson SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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10 ILCS 5/7-34 |
from Ch. 46, par. 7-34 |
10 ILCS 5/17-23 |
from Ch. 46, par. 17-23 |
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Amends the Election Code. Permits precinct pollwatchers appointed by State civic organizations based upon guidelines set by rule of the State Board of Elections. Requires that the organizations must be certified bona fide by rule of the State Board of Elections. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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HB2532 |
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LRB094 09351 JAM 39593 b |
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1 |
| AN ACT concerning elections.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing |
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| Sections 7-34 and 17-23 as follows:
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| (10 ILCS 5/7-34) (from Ch. 46, par. 7-34)
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| Sec. 7-34. Pollwatchers in a primary election shall be |
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| authorized in
the following manner:
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| (1) Each established political party shall be entitled to |
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| appoint
one pollwatcher per precinct. Such pollwatchers must be |
11 |
| affiliated with
the political party for which they are |
12 |
| pollwatching and must be a registered
voter in Illinois.
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| (2) Each candidate shall be entitled to appoint two |
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| pollwatchers per
precinct. For Federal, State, and county |
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| primary elections, the
pollwatchers must be registered to vote |
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| in Illinois.
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| (3) Each organization of citizens within the county or |
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| political
subdivision, which has among its purposes or |
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| interests the investigation
or prosecution of election frauds, |
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| and which shall have registered its
name and address and the |
21 |
| names and addresses of its principal officers
with the proper |
22 |
| election authority at least 40 days before the primary
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| election, shall be entitled to appoint one pollwatcher per |
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| precinct.
For all primary elections, the pollwatcher must be |
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| registered to vote in
Illinois.
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| (3.5) Each State civic organization, certified as bona fide |
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| by the State Board, is entitled to appoint precinct |
28 |
| pollwatchers based upon guidelines set by the State Board by |
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| rule. The State Board shall define and determine bona fide |
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| State civic organizations by rule.
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| (4) Each organized group of proponents or opponents of a |
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| ballot
proposition, which shall have registered the name and |
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HB2532 |
- 2 - |
LRB094 09351 JAM 39593 b |
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1 |
| address of its
organization or committee and the name and |
2 |
| address of its chairman with
the proper election authority at |
3 |
| least 40 days before the primary
election, shall be entitled to |
4 |
| appoint one pollwatcher per precinct. The
pollwatcher must be |
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| registered to vote in Illinois.
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| (5) In any primary election held to nominate candidates for |
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| the offices
of a municipality of less than 3,000,000 population |
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| that is situated in
2 or more counties, a pollwatcher who is a |
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| resident of a county in which
any part of the municipality is
|
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| situated shall be eligible to serve as a pollwatcher in any |
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| polling place
located within such municipality, provided that |
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| such pollwatcher otherwise
complies with the respective |
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| requirements of subsections (1) through (4)
of this Section and |
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| is a registered voter whose residence is within
Illinois.
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| All pollwatchers shall be required to have proper |
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| credentials. Such
credentials shall be printed in sufficient |
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| quantities, shall be issued
by and under the facsimile |
18 |
| signature(s) of the election authority and
shall be available |
19 |
| for distribution at least 2 weeks prior to the
election. Such |
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| credentials shall be authorized by the real or facsimile
|
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| signature of the State or local party official or the candidate |
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| or the
presiding officer of the civic organization or the |
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| chairman of the
proponent or opponent group, as the case may |
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| be.
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| Pollwatcher credentials shall be in substantially the |
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| following form:
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| POLLWATCHER CREDENTIALS
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| TO THE JUDGES OF ELECTION:
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| In accordance with the provisions of the Election Code,
the |
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| undersigned hereby appoints ........... (name of pollwatcher)
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| at .......... (address) in the county of ...........,
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| .......... (township or municipality) of ........... (name), |
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| State of Illinois
and who is duly registered to vote from this |
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| address,
to act as a pollwatcher in the ........... precinct of |
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| the
.......... ward (if applicable) of the ...........
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HB2532 |
- 3 - |
LRB094 09351 JAM 39593 b |
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| (township or municipality) of ........... at the
........... |
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| election to be held on (insert date).
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| ........................ (Signature of Appointing Authority)
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| ........................ TITLE (party official, candidate,
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| civic organization president,
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| proponent or opponent group chairman)
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| Under penalties provided by law pursuant to Section 29-10 |
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| of the
Election Code, the undersigned pollwatcher certifies |
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| that he or she resides
at .............. (address) in the |
10 |
| county of ........., ......... (township
or municipality) of |
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| .......... (name), State of Illinois, and is duly
registered to |
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| vote in Illinois.
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| ........................... ..........................
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| (Precinct and/or Ward in (Signature of Pollwatcher)
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| Which Pollwatcher Resides)
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| Pollwatchers must present their credentials to the Judges |
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| of Election
upon entering the polling place. Pollwatcher |
18 |
| credentials properly
executed and signed shall be proof of the |
19 |
| qualifications of the
pollwatcher authorized thereby. Such |
20 |
| credentials are retained by the
Judges and returned to the |
21 |
| Election Authority at the end of the day of election
with the |
22 |
| other election materials. Once a pollwatcher has surrendered a
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| valid credential, he may leave and reenter the polling place |
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| provided
that such continuing action does not disrupt the |
25 |
| conduct of the election.
Pollwatchers may be substituted during |
26 |
| the course of the day, but established
political parties, |
27 |
| candidates, qualified civic organizations and proponents
and |
28 |
| opponents of a ballot proposition can have only as many |
29 |
| pollwatchers
at any given time as are authorized in this |
30 |
| Article. A substitute must
present his signed credential to the |
31 |
| judges of election upon entering the
polling place. Election |
32 |
| authorities must provide a sufficient number of
credentials to |
33 |
| allow for substitution of pollwatchers.
After the polls have |
34 |
| closed, pollwatchers shall be allowed to
remain until the |
35 |
| canvass of votes is completed; but may leave and
reenter only |
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HB2532 |
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LRB094 09351 JAM 39593 b |
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1 |
| in cases of necessity, provided that such action is not so
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| continuous as to disrupt the canvass of votes.
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3 |
| Candidates seeking office in a district or municipality |
4 |
| encompassing 2
or more counties shall be admitted to any and |
5 |
| all polling places throughout
such district or municipality |
6 |
| without regard to the counties in which such
candidates are |
7 |
| registered to vote. Actions of such candidates shall be
|
8 |
| governed in each polling place by the same privileges and |
9 |
| limitations that
apply to pollwatchers as provided in this |
10 |
| Section. Any such candidate who
engages in an activity in a |
11 |
| polling place which could reasonably be
construed by a majority |
12 |
| of the judges of election as campaign activity
shall be removed |
13 |
| forthwith from such polling place.
|
14 |
| Candidates seeking office in a district or municipality |
15 |
| encompassing 2 or
more counties who desire to be admitted to |
16 |
| polling places on election day
in such district or municipality |
17 |
| shall be required to have proper
credentials. Such credentials |
18 |
| shall be printed in sufficient quantities,
shall be issued by |
19 |
| and under the facsimile signature of the
election authority of |
20 |
| the election jurisdiction where the polling place in
which the |
21 |
| candidate seeks admittance is located, and shall be available |
22 |
| for
distribution at least 2 weeks prior to the election. Such |
23 |
| credentials shall
be signed by the candidate.
|
24 |
| Candidate credentials shall be in substantially the |
25 |
| following form:
|
26 |
| CANDIDATE CREDENTIALS
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27 |
| TO THE JUDGES OF ELECTION:
|
28 |
| In accordance with the provisions of the Election Code, I |
29 |
| ...... (name of
candidate) hereby certify that I am a candidate |
30 |
| for ....... (name of
office) and seek admittance to ....... |
31 |
| precinct of the ....... ward (if
applicable) of the ....... |
32 |
| (township or municipality) of ....... at the
....... election |
33 |
| to be held on (insert date).
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| ......................... .......................
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| (Signature of Candidate) OFFICE FOR WHICH
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HB2532 |
- 5 - |
LRB094 09351 JAM 39593 b |
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1 |
| CANDIDATE SEEKS
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| NOMINATION OR
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| ELECTION
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| Pollwatchers shall be permitted to observe all proceedings |
5 |
| relating
to the conduct of the election and to station |
6 |
| themselves in a position
in the voting room as will enable them |
7 |
| to observe the judges making the
signature comparison between |
8 |
| the voter application and the voter
registration record card; |
9 |
| provided, however, that such pollwatchers
shall not be |
10 |
| permitted to station themselves in such close proximity to
the |
11 |
| judges of election so as to interfere with the orderly conduct |
12 |
| of
the election and shall not, in any event, be permitted to |
13 |
| handle
election materials. Pollwatchers may challenge for |
14 |
| cause the voting
qualifications of a person offering to vote |
15 |
| and may call to the
attention of the judges of election any |
16 |
| incorrect procedure or apparent
violations of this Code.
|
17 |
| If a majority of the judges of election determine that the |
18 |
| polling
place has become too overcrowded with pollwatchers so |
19 |
| as to interfere
with the orderly conduct of the election, the |
20 |
| judges shall, by lot,
limit such pollwatchers to a reasonable |
21 |
| number, except that each
candidate and each established or new |
22 |
| political party shall be permitted
to have at least one |
23 |
| pollwatcher present.
|
24 |
| Representatives of an election authority, with regard to an |
25 |
| election
under its jurisdiction, the State Board of Elections, |
26 |
| and law
enforcement agencies, including but not limited to a |
27 |
| United States
Attorney, a State's attorney, the Attorney |
28 |
| General, and a State, county,
or local police department, in |
29 |
| the performance of their official
election duties, shall be |
30 |
| permitted at all times to enter and remain in
the polling |
31 |
| place. Upon entering the polling place, such
representatives |
32 |
| shall display their official credentials or other
|
33 |
| identification to the judges of election.
|
34 |
| Uniformed police officers assigned to polling place duty |
35 |
| shall follow
all lawful instructions of the judges of election.
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HB2532 |
- 6 - |
LRB094 09351 JAM 39593 b |
|
|
1 |
| The provisions of this Section shall also apply to |
2 |
| supervised casting of
absentee ballots as provided in Section |
3 |
| 19-12.2 of this Act.
|
4 |
| (Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03.)
|
5 |
| (10 ILCS 5/17-23) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-23)
|
6 |
| Sec. 17-23. Pollwatchers in a general election shall be |
7 |
| authorized in
the following manner:
|
8 |
| (1) Each established political party shall be entitled to |
9 |
| appoint
two pollwatchers per precinct. Such pollwatchers must |
10 |
| be affiliated
with the political party for which they are |
11 |
| pollwatching. For all
elections, the pollwatchers must be
|
12 |
| registered to vote in Illinois.
|
13 |
| (2) Each candidate shall be entitled to appoint two |
14 |
| pollwatchers per
precinct. For all elections, the pollwatchers |
15 |
| must be
registered to vote
in Illinois.
|
16 |
| (3) Each organization of citizens within the county or |
17 |
| political
subdivision, which has among its purposes or |
18 |
| interests the investigation
or prosecution of election frauds, |
19 |
| and which shall have registered its
name and address and the |
20 |
| name and addresses of its principal officers
with the proper |
21 |
| election authority at least 40 days before the election,
shall |
22 |
| be entitled to appoint one pollwatcher per precinct. For all
|
23 |
| elections, the pollwatcher must be registered to vote in
|
24 |
| Illinois.
|
25 |
| (3.5) Each State civic organization, certified as bona fide |
26 |
| by the State Board, is entitled to appoint precinct |
27 |
| pollwatchers based upon guidelines set by the State Board by |
28 |
| rule. The State Board shall define and determine bona fide |
29 |
| State civic organizations by rule.
|
30 |
| (4) In any general election held to elect candidates for |
31 |
| the offices of
a municipality of less than 3,000,000 population |
32 |
| that is situated in 2 or
more counties, a pollwatcher who is a |
33 |
| resident of Illinois shall be eligible to serve as a
|
34 |
| pollwatcher in any poll located within such
municipality, |
35 |
| provided that such pollwatcher otherwise complies with the
|
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|
HB2532 |
- 7 - |
LRB094 09351 JAM 39593 b |
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|
1 |
| respective requirements of subsections (1) through (3) of this |
2 |
| Section and
is a registered voter in Illinois.
|
3 |
| (5) Each organized group of proponents or opponents of a |
4 |
| ballot
proposition, which shall have registered the name and |
5 |
| address of its
organization or committee and the name and |
6 |
| address of its chairman with the
proper election authority at |
7 |
| least 40 days before the election, shall be
entitled to appoint |
8 |
| one pollwatcher per precinct. The pollwatcher
must be
|
9 |
| registered to vote in Illinois.
|
10 |
| All pollwatchers shall be required to have proper |
11 |
| credentials. Such
credentials shall be printed in sufficient |
12 |
| quantities, shall be issued
by and under the facsimile |
13 |
| signature(s) of the election authority and
shall be available |
14 |
| for distribution at least 2 weeks prior to the
election. Such |
15 |
| credentials shall be authorized by the real or facsimile
|
16 |
| signature of the State or local party official or the candidate |
17 |
| or the
presiding officer of the civic organization or the |
18 |
| chairman of the
proponent or opponent group, as the case may |
19 |
| be.
|
20 |
| Pollwatcher credentials shall be in substantially the |
21 |
| following form:
|
22 |
| POLLWATCHER CREDENTIALS
|
23 |
| TO THE JUDGES OF ELECTION:
|
24 |
| In accordance with the provisions of the Election
Code, the |
25 |
| undersigned hereby appoints .......... (name of pollwatcher)
|
26 |
| who resides at ........... (address) in the county
of |
27 |
| ..........., .......... (township or municipality)
of |
28 |
| ........... (name), State of Illinois and who is duly |
29 |
| registered
to vote from this address, to act as a pollwatcher |
30 |
| in the
........... precinct of the ........... ward (if |
31 |
| applicable)
of the ........... (township or municipality) of |
32 |
| ........... at the
........... election to be held on (insert |
33 |
| date).
|
34 |
| ........................ (Signature of Appointing Authority)
|
35 |
| ......................... TITLE (party official, candidate,
|
|
|
|
HB2532 |
- 8 - |
LRB094 09351 JAM 39593 b |
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|
1 |
| civic organization president,
|
2 |
| proponent or opponent group chairman)
|
3 |
| Under penalties provided by law pursuant to Section 29-10 |
4 |
| of the
Election Code, the undersigned pollwatcher certifies |
5 |
| that he or she resides
at ................ (address) in the |
6 |
| county of ............, .........
(township or municipality) |
7 |
| of ........... (name), State of Illinois, and is
duly |
8 |
| registered to vote in Illinois.
|
9 |
| .......................... .......................
|
10 |
| (Precinct and/or Ward in (Signature of Pollwatcher)
|
11 |
| Which Pollwatcher Resides)
|
12 |
| Pollwatchers must present their credentials to the Judges |
13 |
| of Election
upon entering the polling place. Pollwatcher |
14 |
| credentials properly
executed and signed shall be proof of the |
15 |
| qualifications of the
pollwatcher authorized thereby. Such |
16 |
| credentials are retained by the
Judges and returned to the |
17 |
| Election Authority at the end of the day of
election with the |
18 |
| other election materials. Once a pollwatcher has
surrendered a |
19 |
| valid credential, he may leave and reenter the polling place
|
20 |
| provided that such continuing action does not disrupt the |
21 |
| conduct of the
election. Pollwatchers may be substituted during |
22 |
| the course of the day, but
established political parties, |
23 |
| candidates and qualified civic organizations
can have only as |
24 |
| many pollwatchers at any given time as are authorized in
this |
25 |
| Article. A substitute must present his signed credential to the
|
26 |
| judges of election upon entering the polling place. Election |
27 |
| authorities
must provide a sufficient number of credentials to |
28 |
| allow for substitution
of pollwatchers. After the polls have |
29 |
| closed pollwatchers shall be allowed
to remain until the |
30 |
| canvass of votes is completed; but may leave and
reenter only |
31 |
| in cases of necessity, provided that such action is not so
|
32 |
| continuous as to disrupt the canvass of votes.
|
33 |
| Candidates seeking office in a district or municipality |
34 |
| encompassing 2
or more counties shall be admitted to any and |
|
|
|
HB2532 |
- 9 - |
LRB094 09351 JAM 39593 b |
|
|
1 |
| all polling places throughout
such district or municipality |
2 |
| without regard to the counties in which such
candidates are |
3 |
| registered to vote. Actions of such candidates shall be
|
4 |
| governed in each polling place by the same privileges and |
5 |
| limitations that
apply to pollwatchers as provided in this |
6 |
| Section. Any such candidate who
engages in an activity in a |
7 |
| polling place which could reasonably be
construed by a majority |
8 |
| of the judges of election as campaign activity
shall be removed |
9 |
| forthwith from such polling place.
|
10 |
| Candidates seeking office in a district or municipality |
11 |
| encompassing 2 or
more counties who desire to be admitted to |
12 |
| polling places on election day
in such district or municipality |
13 |
| shall be required to have proper
credentials. Such credentials |
14 |
| shall be printed in sufficient quantities,
shall be issued by |
15 |
| and under the facsimile signature of the
election authority of |
16 |
| the election jurisdiction where the polling place in
which the |
17 |
| candidate seeks admittance is located, and shall be available |
18 |
| for
distribution at least 2 weeks prior to the election. Such |
19 |
| credentials shall
be signed by the candidate.
|
20 |
| Candidate credentials shall be in substantially the |
21 |
| following form:
|
22 |
| CANDIDATE CREDENTIALS
|
23 |
| TO THE JUDGES OF ELECTION:
|
24 |
| In accordance with the provisions of the Election Code, I |
25 |
| ...... (name of
candidate) hereby certify that I am a candidate |
26 |
| for ....... (name of
office) and seek admittance to ....... |
27 |
| precinct of the ....... ward (if
applicable) of the ....... |
28 |
| (township or municipality) of ....... at the
....... election |
29 |
| to be held on (insert date).
|
30 |
| ......................... .......................
|
31 |
| (Signature of Candidate) OFFICE FOR WHICH
|
32 |
| CANDIDATE SEEKS
|
33 |
| NOMINATION OR
|
34 |
| ELECTION
|
|
|
|
HB2532 |
- 10 - |
LRB094 09351 JAM 39593 b |
|
|
1 |
| Pollwatchers shall be permitted to observe all proceedings |
2 |
| relating
to the conduct of the election and to station |
3 |
| themselves in a position
in the voting room as will enable them |
4 |
| to observe the judges making the
signature comparison between |
5 |
| the voter application and the voter
registration record card; |
6 |
| provided, however, that such pollwatchers
shall not be |
7 |
| permitted to station themselves in such close proximity to
the |
8 |
| judges of election so as to interfere with the orderly conduct |
9 |
| of
the election and shall not, in any event, be permitted to |
10 |
| handle
election materials. Pollwatchers may challenge for |
11 |
| cause the voting
qualifications of a person offering to vote |
12 |
| and may call to the
attention of the judges of election any |
13 |
| incorrect procedure or apparent
violations of this Code.
|
14 |
| If a majority of the judges of election determine that the |
15 |
| polling
place has become too overcrowded with pollwatchers so |
16 |
| as to interfere
with the orderly conduct of the election, the |
17 |
| judges shall, by lot,
limit such pollwatchers to a reasonable |
18 |
| number, except that each
established or new political party |
19 |
| shall be permitted to have at least
one pollwatcher present.
|
20 |
| Representatives of an election authority, with regard to an |
21 |
| election
under its jurisdiction, the State Board of Elections, |
22 |
| and law
enforcement agencies, including but not limited to a |
23 |
| United States
Attorney, a State's attorney, the Attorney |
24 |
| General, and a State, county,
or local police department, in |
25 |
| the performance of their official
election duties, shall be |
26 |
| permitted at all times to enter and remain in
the polling |
27 |
| place. Upon entering the polling place, such
representatives |
28 |
| shall display their official credentials or other
|
29 |
| identification to the judges of election.
|
30 |
| Uniformed police officers assigned to polling place duty |
31 |
| shall follow
all lawful instructions of the judges of election.
|
32 |
| The provisions of this Section shall also apply to |
33 |
| supervised casting of
absentee ballots as provided in Section |
34 |
| 19-12.2 of this Act.
|
35 |
| (Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03.)
|