Sen. Rachel Ventura

Filed: 5/21/2024

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 497

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 497 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
5Section 10-10 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/10-10)  (from Ch. 46, par. 10-10)
7    Sec. 10-10. Within 24 hours after the receipt of the
8certificate of nomination or nomination papers or proposed
9question of public policy, as the case may be, and the
10objector's petition, the chair of the electoral board other
11than the State Board of Elections shall send a call by
12registered or certified mail: to each of the members of the
13electoral board; to the objector who filed the objector's
14petition; either to the candidate whose certificate of
15nomination or nomination papers are objected to or to the
16principal proponent or attorney for proponents of a question

 

 

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1of public policy, as the case may be, whose petitions are
2objected to; to the election authority to whom the ballot is
3certified; and to the appropriate county clerk. The chair of
4the electoral board other than the State Board of Elections
5shall also cause the sheriff of the county or counties in which
6such officers and persons reside to serve a copy of such call
7upon each of such officers and persons, which call shall set
8out the fact that the electoral board is required to meet to
9hear and pass upon the objections to nominations made for the
10office, designating it, and shall state the day, hour and
11place at which the electoral board shall meet for the purpose,
12which place shall be in the county court house in the county in
13the case of the County Officers Electoral Board, the Municipal
14Officers Electoral Board, the Township Officers Electoral
15Board or the Education Officers Electoral Board, except that
16the Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the Township Officers
17Electoral Board, and the Education Officers Electoral Board
18may meet at the location where the governing body of the
19municipality, township, or community college district,
20respectively, holds its regularly scheduled meetings, if that
21location is available; provided that voter records may be
22removed from the offices of an election authority only at the
23discretion and under the supervision of the election
24authority. In those cases where the State Board of Elections
25is the electoral board designated under Section 10-9, the
26chair of the State Board of Elections shall, within 24 hours

 

 

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1after the receipt of the certificate of nomination or
2nomination papers or petitions for a proposed amendment to
3Article IV of the Constitution or proposed statewide question
4of public policy, send a call by registered or certified mail
5to the objector who files the objector's petition, and either
6to the candidate whose certificate of nomination or nomination
7papers are objected to or to the principal proponent or
8attorney for proponents of the proposed Constitutional
9amendment or statewide question of public policy and shall
10state the day, hour, and place at which the electoral board
11shall meet for the purpose, which place may be in the Capitol
12Building or in the principal or permanent branch office of the
13State Board. The day of the meeting shall not be less than 3
14nor more than 5 days after the receipt of the certificate of
15nomination or nomination papers and the objector's petition by
16the chair of the electoral board.
17    The electoral board shall have the power to administer
18oaths and to subpoena and examine witnesses and, at the
19request of either party and only upon a vote by a majority of
20its members, may authorize the chair to issue subpoenas
21requiring the attendance of witnesses and subpoenas duces
22tecum requiring the production of such books, papers, records
23and documents as may be evidence of any matter under inquiry
24before the electoral board, in the same manner as witnesses
25are subpoenaed in the Circuit Court.
26    Service of such subpoenas shall be made by any sheriff or

 

 

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1other person in the same manner as in cases in such court and
2the fees of such sheriff shall be the same as is provided by
3law, and shall be paid by the objector or candidate who causes
4the issuance of the subpoena. In case any person so served
5shall knowingly neglect or refuse to obey any such subpoena,
6or to testify, the electoral board shall at once file a
7petition in the circuit court of the county in which such
8hearing is to be heard, or has been attempted to be heard,
9setting forth the facts, of such knowing refusal or neglect,
10and accompanying the petition with a copy of the citation and
11the answer, if one has been filed, together with a copy of the
12subpoena and the return of service thereon, and shall apply
13for an order of court requiring such person to attend and
14testify, and forthwith produce books and papers, before the
15electoral board. Any circuit court of the state, excluding the
16judge who is sitting on the electoral board, upon such showing
17shall order such person to appear and testify, and to
18forthwith produce such books and papers, before the electoral
19board at a place to be fixed by the court. If such person shall
20knowingly fail or refuse to obey such order of the court
21without lawful excuse, the court shall punish him or her by
22fine and imprisonment, as the nature of the case may require
23and may be lawful in cases of contempt of court.
24    The electoral board on the first day of its meeting shall
25adopt rules of procedure for the introduction of evidence and
26the presentation of arguments and may, in its discretion,

 

 

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1provide for the filing of briefs by the parties to the
2objection or by other interested persons.
3    In the event of a State Electoral Board hearing on
4objections to a petition for an amendment to Article IV of the
5Constitution pursuant to Section 3 of Article XIV of the
6Constitution, or to a petition for a question of public policy
7to be submitted to the voters of the entire State, the
8certificates of the county clerks and boards of election
9commissioners showing the results of the random sample of
10signatures on the petition shall be prima facie valid and
11accurate, and shall be presumed to establish the number of
12valid and invalid signatures on the petition sheets reviewed
13in the random sample, as prescribed in Section 28-11 and 28-12
14of this Code. Either party, however, may introduce evidence at
15such hearing to dispute the findings as to particular
16signatures. In addition to the foregoing, in the absence of
17competent evidence presented at such hearing by a party
18substantially challenging the results of a random sample, or
19showing a different result obtained by an additional sample,
20this certificate of a county clerk or board of election
21commissioners shall be presumed to establish the ratio of
22valid to invalid signatures within the particular election
23jurisdiction.
24    The electoral board shall take up the question as to
25whether or not the certificate of nomination or nomination
26papers or petitions are in proper form, and whether or not they

 

 

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1were filed within the time and under the conditions required
2by law, and whether or not they are the genuine certificate of
3nomination or nomination papers or petitions which they
4purport to be, and whether or not in the case of the
5certificate of nomination in question it represents accurately
6the decision of the caucus or convention issuing it, and in
7general shall decide whether or not the certificate of
8nomination or nominating papers or petitions on file are valid
9or whether the objections thereto should be sustained and the
10decision of a majority of the electoral board shall be final
11subject to judicial review as provided in Section 10-10.1. The
12nomination papers of a candidate shall be deemed invalid and a
13candidate's name shall not appear on the ballot if the
14candidate is found to have personally engaged in material
15fraud or a pattern of fraud in connection with the signatures
16on the nominating papers or false swearing with respect to the
17nominating papers. The electoral board must state its findings
18in writing and must state in writing which objections, if any,
19it has sustained. A copy of the decision shall be served upon
20the parties to the proceedings in open proceedings before the
21electoral board. If a party does not appear for receipt of the
22decision, the decision shall be deemed to have been served on
23the absent party on the date when a copy of the decision is
24personally delivered or on the date when a copy of the decision
25is deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or
26package, with postage prepaid, addressed to each party

 

 

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1affected by the decision or to such party's attorney of
2record, if any, at the address on record for such person in the
3files of the electoral board.
4    Upon the expiration of the period within which a
5proceeding for judicial review must be commenced under Section
610-10.1, the electoral board shall, unless a proceeding for
7judicial review has been commenced within such period,
8transmit, by registered or certified mail, a certified copy of
9its ruling, together with the original certificate of
10nomination or nomination papers or petitions and the original
11objector's petition, to the officer or board with whom the
12certificate of nomination or nomination papers or petitions,
13as objected to, were on file and to the election authority to
14whom the ballot is certified and the appropriate county clerk,
15and such officer or board shall abide by and comply with the
16ruling so made to all intents and purposes.
17(Source: P.A. 103-467, eff. 8-4-23.)".