103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2299

 

Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Julie A. Morrison

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/10-10  from Ch. 46, par. 10-10

    Amends the Election Code. Provides that election authorities may authorize service of objections to candidate nominations through electronic mail instead of personal service if the election authority responsible for convening the electoral board requires candidates to provide an electronic mail address where notices of objections and electoral board proceedings may be sent electronically instead of through personal service, requires objectors to provide an electronic mail address where notices and electoral board proceedings may be sent electronically instead of through personal service, and publishes notice of its decision to authorize service of objections to candidate nominations through electronic mail on its website within 5 business days after the effective date of the amendatory Act.


LRB103 28821 BMS 55206 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2299LRB103 28821 BMS 55206 b

1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
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, and to the objector who filed the objector's
14petition, and 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
17of public policy, as the case may be, whose petitions are
18objected to, and shall also cause the sheriff of the county or
19counties in which such officers and persons reside to serve a
20copy of such call upon each of such officers and persons, which
21call shall set out the fact that the electoral board is
22required to meet to hear and pass upon the objections to
23nominations made for the office, designating it, and shall

 

 

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1state the day, hour and place at which the electoral board
2shall meet for the purpose, which place shall be in the county
3court house in the county in the case of the County Officers
4Electoral Board, the Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the
5Township Officers Electoral Board or the Education Officers
6Electoral Board, except that the Municipal Officers Electoral
7Board, the Township Officers Electoral Board, and the
8Education Officers Electoral Board may meet at the location
9where the governing body of the municipality, township, or
10community college district, respectively, holds its regularly
11scheduled meetings, if that location is available; provided
12that voter records may be removed from the offices of an
13election authority only at the discretion and under the
14supervision of the election authority. In those cases where
15the State Board of Elections is the electoral board designated
16under Section 10-9, the chair of the State Board of Elections
17shall, within 24 hours after the receipt of the certificate of
18nomination or nomination papers or petitions for a proposed
19amendment to Article IV of the Constitution or proposed
20statewide question of public policy, send a call by registered
21or certified mail to the objector who files the objector's
22petition, and either to the candidate whose certificate of
23nomination or nomination papers are objected to or to the
24principal proponent or attorney for proponents of the proposed
25Constitutional amendment or statewide question of public
26policy and shall state the day, hour, and place at which the

 

 

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1electoral board shall meet for the purpose, which place may be
2in the Capitol Building or in the principal or permanent
3branch office of the State Board. The day of the meeting shall
4not be less than 3 nor more than 5 days after the receipt of
5the certificate of nomination or nomination papers and the
6objector's petition by the chair of the electoral board.
7    Election authorities may authorize service of objections
8to candidate nominations through electronic mail instead of
9personal service if the election authority responsible for
10convening the electoral board:
11        (1) requires candidates to provide an electronic mail
12    address where notices of objections and electoral board
13    proceedings may be sent electronically instead of through
14    personal service;
15        (2) requires objectors to provide an electronic mail
16    address where notices and electoral board proceedings may
17    be sent electronically instead of through personal
18    service; and
19        (3) publishes notice of its decision to authorize
20    service of objections to candidate nominations through
21    electronic mail on its website within 5 business days
22    after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
23    103rd General Assembly.
24    The electoral board shall have the power to administer
25oaths and to subpoena and examine witnesses and, at the
26request of either party and only upon a vote by a majority of

 

 

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1its members, may authorize the chair to issue subpoenas
2requiring the attendance of witnesses and subpoenas duces
3tecum requiring the production of such books, papers, records
4and documents as may be evidence of any matter under inquiry
5before the electoral board, in the same manner as witnesses
6are subpoenaed in the Circuit Court.
7    Service of such subpoenas shall be made by any sheriff or
8other person in the same manner as in cases in such court and
9the fees of such sheriff shall be the same as is provided by
10law, and shall be paid by the objector or candidate who causes
11the issuance of the subpoena. In case any person so served
12shall knowingly neglect or refuse to obey any such subpoena,
13or to testify, the electoral board shall at once file a
14petition in the circuit court of the county in which such
15hearing is to be heard, or has been attempted to be heard,
16setting forth the facts, of such knowing refusal or neglect,
17and accompanying the petition with a copy of the citation and
18the answer, if one has been filed, together with a copy of the
19subpoena and the return of service thereon, and shall apply
20for an order of court requiring such person to attend and
21testify, and forthwith produce books and papers, before the
22electoral board. Any circuit court of the state, excluding the
23judge who is sitting on the electoral board, upon such showing
24shall order such person to appear and testify, and to
25forthwith produce such books and papers, before the electoral
26board at a place to be fixed by the court. If such person shall

 

 

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1knowingly fail or refuse to obey such order of the court
2without lawful excuse, the court shall punish him or her by
3fine and imprisonment, as the nature of the case may require
4and may be lawful in cases of contempt of court.
5    The electoral board on the first day of its meeting shall
6adopt rules of procedure for the introduction of evidence and
7the presentation of arguments and may, in its discretion,
8provide for the filing of briefs by the parties to the
9objection or by other interested persons.
10    In the event of a State Electoral Board hearing on
11objections to a petition for an amendment to Article IV of the
12Constitution pursuant to Section 3 of Article XIV of the
13Constitution, or to a petition for a question of public policy
14to be submitted to the voters of the entire State, the
15certificates of the county clerks and boards of election
16commissioners showing the results of the random sample of
17signatures on the petition shall be prima facie valid and
18accurate, and shall be presumed to establish the number of
19valid and invalid signatures on the petition sheets reviewed
20in the random sample, as prescribed in Section 28-11 and 28-12
21of this Code. Either party, however, may introduce evidence at
22such hearing to dispute the findings as to particular
23signatures. In addition to the foregoing, in the absence of
24competent evidence presented at such hearing by a party
25substantially challenging the results of a random sample, or
26showing a different result obtained by an additional sample,

 

 

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1this certificate of a county clerk or board of election
2commissioners shall be presumed to establish the ratio of
3valid to invalid signatures within the particular election
4jurisdiction.
5    The electoral board shall take up the question as to
6whether or not the certificate of nomination or nomination
7papers or petitions are in proper form, and whether or not they
8were filed within the time and under the conditions required
9by law, and whether or not they are the genuine certificate of
10nomination or nomination papers or petitions which they
11purport to be, and whether or not in the case of the
12certificate of nomination in question it represents accurately
13the decision of the caucus or convention issuing it, and in
14general shall decide whether or not the certificate of
15nomination or nominating papers or petitions on file are valid
16or whether the objections thereto should be sustained and the
17decision of a majority of the electoral board shall be final
18subject to judicial review as provided in Section 10-10.1. The
19electoral board must state its findings in writing and must
20state in writing which objections, if any, it has sustained. A
21copy of the decision shall be served upon the parties to the
22proceedings in open proceedings before the electoral board. If
23a party does not appear for receipt of the decision, the
24decision shall be deemed to have been served on the absent
25party on the date when a copy of the decision is personally
26delivered or on the date when a copy of the decision is

 

 

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1deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or
2package, with postage prepaid, addressed to each party
3affected by the decision or to such party's attorney of
4record, if any, at the address on record for such person in the
5files of the electoral board.
6    Upon the expiration of the period within which a
7proceeding for judicial review must be commenced under Section
810-10.1, the electoral board shall, unless a proceeding for
9judicial review has been commenced within such period,
10transmit, by registered or certified mail, a certified copy of
11its ruling, together with the original certificate of
12nomination or nomination papers or petitions and the original
13objector's petition, to the officer or board with whom the
14certificate of nomination or nomination papers or petitions,
15as objected to, were on file, and such officer or board shall
16abide by and comply with the ruling so made to all intents and
17purposes.
18(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16;
19100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)