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91_HB2376
LRB9103390MWgc
1 AN ACT to amend the Election Code by adding Article 12A.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Election Code is amended by adding
5 Article 12A as follows:
6 (10 ILCS 5/Art.12A heading new)
7 ARTICLE 12A. COUNTY VOTERS' PAMPHLET
8 (10 ILCS 5/12A-1 new)
9 Sec. 12A-1. Definitions. As used in this Article,
10 unless the context otherwise requires:
11 "Board" means the State Board of Elections.
12 "Election authority" means a county clerk or a Board of
13 Election Commissioners.
14 (10 ILCS 5/12A-5 new)
15 Sec. 12A-5. County voters' pamphlet. When directed by
16 resolution of the county board, the election authority of any
17 county shall prepare, print, and distribute a county voters'
18 pamphlet for an election of judicial candidates.
19 (10 ILCS 5/12A-10 new)
20 Sec. 12A-10. Information required to be included in
21 voters' pamphlet; deadline for distribution.
22 (a) If a county produces a county voters' pamphlet, the
23 county voters' pamphlet shall include, when applicable, at
24 least the following information:
25 (1) A sample ballot containing the names of
26 candidates for the office of judge of the Supreme,
27 Appellate, or Circuit Courts in the county.
28 (2) Requirements for a citizen to qualify as an
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1 elector.
2 (3) Requirements for registration, transfer of
3 registration, and re-registration.
4 (4) Instructions as to how an elector may obtain and
5 use an absentee ballot.
6 (5) A statement that the voters' pamphlet may be
7 used to assist electors at the polls.
8 (6) Elector instructions, including the right of an
9 elector to request a second ballot if the first ballot is
10 spoiled, the right of an elector to take into the voting
11 booth a sample ballot marked in advance, and the right of
12 an elector to seek assistance of the judges of election
13 or someone of the elector's own choosing, other than the
14 elector's employer or agent of that employer or officer
15 or agent of the elector's union, in marking the ballot.
16 (7) The hours that the polling places are open.
17 (8) Any portraits and statements relating to
18 candidates submitted under the provisions of this
19 Article.
20 (9) A listing of the polling places.
21 (10) Any other information that the election
22 authority considers to be appropriate or necessary to
23 inform the voters.
24 (b) The election authority shall mail or otherwise
25 distribute the county voters' pamphlet not later than the 7th
26 day before the election.
27 (10 ILCS 5/12A-15 new)
28 Sec. 12A-15. Schedule and procedures for producing and
29 distributing pamphlet; fees.
30 (a) The State Board of Elections shall by rule adopt a
31 schedule and procedures for preparing, printing, and
32 distributing county voters' pamphlets. The schedule and
33 procedures shall include, but not be limited to, deadlines
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1 for filing material for the voters' pamphlet and except as
2 otherwise provided by law, the format of material to be
3 submitted and the size and other requirements applicable to
4 candidate portraits.
5 (b) The Board shall by rule adopt a schedule of fees to
6 be charged by the election authority for including portraits
7 of candidates and statements in the voters' pamphlet. The
8 fees need not reflect the actual cost of producing the
9 voters' pamphlet. The election authority shall refund the
10 filing fee to any person who applies for the refund not later
11 than the last day for filing material for inclusion in the
12 voters' pamphlet. When a refund is made, the material for
13 which the fee was paid shall not be included in the pamphlet.
14
15 (10 ILCS 5/12A-20 new)
16 Sec. 12A-20. Filing portrait and statement by or for
17 candidate. Not later than the date specified by the Board,
18 any candidate for election for the office of judge of the
19 Supreme, Appellate, or Circuit Courts within the county, or
20 an agent of the candidate, may file with the election
21 authority of a county that prepares a county voters' pamphlet
22 a portrait of the candidate and a typewritten statement of
23 the reasons the candidate should be elected. The portrait and
24 statement must comply with the applicable rules of the Board.
25 The election authority shall not accept the filing of a
26 statement or portrait of any candidate unless the filing is
27 accompanied by the appropriate fee as prescribed by the
28 Board.
29 (10 ILCS 5/12A-25 new)
30 Sec. 5/12A-25. Cost of pamphlet preparation. All fees
31 collected by an election authority under this Act shall be
32 transmitted to the State Board of Elections, as provided by
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1 rule of the Board, and deposited by the Board into the
2 General Revenue Fund. The State Board of Elections shall
3 reimburse the election authority for the actual costs of
4 preparing, printing, and distributing the county voters'
5 pamphlet from an appropriation made by the General Assembly.
6 (10 ILCS 5/12A-30 new)
7 Sec. 12A-30. Content of statements; notice of material
8 that may be excluded.
9 (a) Statements submitted for inclusion in a county
10 voters' pamphlet by a candidate, political party, political
11 committee, or other person shall consist only of words or
12 numbers.
13 (b) The election authority shall specify on any
14 instructions for filing a statement in the voters' pamphlet
15 that the statement may be excluded under Section 12A-40.
16 (10 ILCS 5/12A-35 new)
17 Sec. 12A-35. Names of persons or organizations excluded
18 from statements; exceptions.
19 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this
20 Section, the election authority shall not print the name of
21 any person or organization in any statement of any candidate,
22 filed for inclusion in a county voters' pamphlet, if the name
23 of the person or organization is cited as supporting or
24 endorsing the statement.
25 (b) The election authority may print the name of a
26 person or organization in a statement submitted for inclusion
27 in a county voters' pamphlet as supporting or endorsing the
28 statement if:
29 (1) not later than the deadline for filing a
30 statement with the election authority, the election
31 authority receives a statement signed by the person, or
32 by an authorized person on behalf of an organization,
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1 stating that the person consents to the use of the name
2 of the person or organization; or
3 (2) the name of a person or organization is used
4 with a quotation made by the person on behalf of the
5 person or by an authorized person on behalf of an
6 organization, the quotation was disseminated to the
7 public prior to its inclusion in the argument or
8 statement, and the quotation is identified by its source
9 and date.
10 (c) A person shall not submit a false signature under
11 subsection (b) of this Section.
12 (10 ILCS 5/12A-40 new)
13 Sec. 12A-40. Type of material to be excluded from
14 pamphlet; liability for libel; procedure if material
15 excluded.
16 (a) The election authority shall reject any statement
17 offered for filing and printing in a county voters' pamphlet
18 that:
19 (1) contains any obscene, profane, or defamatory
20 language;
21 (2) incites or advocates hatred, abuse, or violence
22 toward any person or group; or
23 (3) contains any language that may not legally be
24 circulated through the mails.
25 (b) Nothing in this Article shall make the author of any
26 statement exempt from any civil or criminal action because of
27 any defamatory statements offered for printing or contained
28 in the voters' pamphlet. The persons writing, signing, or
29 offering a statement for filing shall be deemed its authors
30 and publishers.
31 (c) The Board shall by rule establish a procedure to
32 notify a person who offered a statement that was rejected
33 under this Section. Subject to voters' pamphlet deadlines,
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1 the procedure shall require the election authority to:
2 (1) make reasonable attempts to notify the person of
3 the rejection; and
4 (2) allow the person, if notified under paragraph
5 (1) of this subsection, to revise the statement so that
6 it does not violate the provisions of this Section.
7 (10 ILCS 5/12A-45 new)
8 Sec. 12A-45. Format of candidate's statement. The
9 candidate's statement in a county voters' pamphlet shall
10 begin with a summary of the following: occupation,
11 educational and occupational background, and prior
12 governmental experience.
13 (10 ILCS 5/12A-50 new)
14 Sec. 12A-50. Exemption from public records law.
15 Notwithstanding any other provisions of law relating to
16 public records, materials filed by a candidate for inclusion
17 in a county voters' pamphlet are exempt from public
18 inspection until the 4th business day after the final date
19 for filing the materials.
20 (10 ILCS 5/12A-55 new)
21 Sec. 12A-55. Statements inadmissible in action to enjoin
22 publication of pamphlet. Material submitted for inclusion in
23 any county voters' pamphlet shall not be admitted as evidence
24 in any suit or action against the election authority to
25 restrain or enjoin the publication of the voters' pamphlet.