Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Compiled Statutes

Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

10 ILCS 5/24B-2

(10 ILCS 5/24B-2)

Sec. 24B-2.

Definitions.

As used in this Article:

"Computer", "automatic tabulating equipment" or "equipment"
includes apparatus necessary to automatically examine and count
votes as designated on ballots, and data processing machines
which can be used for counting ballots and tabulating results.

"Ballot" means paper ballot sheets.

"Ballot configuration" means the particular combination of
political subdivision ballots including, for each political
subdivision, the particular combination of offices, candidate
names and questions as it appears for each group of voters who
may cast the same ballot.

"Ballot sheet" means a paper ballot printed on one or both
sides which is (1) designed and prepared so that the voter may
indicate his or her votes in designated areas, which must be
areas clearly printed or otherwise delineated for such purpose,
and (2) capable of having votes marked in the designated areas
automatically examined, counted, and tabulated by an electronic
scanning process.

"Central counting" means the counting of ballots in one or
more locations selected by the election authority for the
processing or counting, or both, of ballots.  A location for
central counting shall be within the territorial jurisdiction of
the election authority unless there is no suitable tabulating
equipment available within his territorial jurisdiction.
However, in any event a counting location shall be within this
State.

"Computer operator" means any person or persons designated
by the election authority to operate the automatic tabulating
equipment during any portion of the vote tallying process in an
election, but shall not include judges of election operating vote
tabulating equipment in the precinct.

"Computer program" or "program" means the set of operating
instructions for the automatic tabulating equipment that
examines, counts, tabulates, canvasses and prints votes recorded
by a voter on a ballot.

"Edit listing" means a computer generated listing of the
names of each candidate and proposition as they appear in the
program for each precinct.

"Header sheet" means a data processing document which is
coded to indicate to the computer the precinct identity of the
ballots that will follow immediately and may indicate to the
computer how such ballots are to be tabulated.

"In-precinct counting" means the counting of ballots on
automatic tabulating equipment provided by the election authority
in the same precinct polling place in which those ballots have
been cast.

"Marking device" means a pen, computer, or other device approved by
the State Board of Elections for marking, or causing to be marked, a paper
ballot with ink
or other substance which will enable the ballot to be tabulated
by automatic tabulating equipment or by an electronic
scanning process.

"Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology" means the
capability to examine a ballot through electronic means and
tabulate the votes at one or more counting places.

"Redundant count" means a verification of the original
computer count by another count using compatible equipment or by
hand as part of a discovery recount.

"Security designation" means a printed designation placed on
a ballot to identify to the computer program the offices and
propositions for which votes may be cast and to indicate the
manner in which votes cast should be tabulated while negating any
inadmissible votes.

"Separate ballot", with respect to ballot sheets, means a
separate portion of the ballot sheet which is clearly defined by
a border or borders or shading.

"Specimen ballot" means a representation of names of offices and candidates
and statements of measures to be voted on which will appear on the official
ballot or marking device on election day. The specimen ballot also contains the
party and position number where applicable.

"Voting defect identification" means the capability to
detect overvoted ballots or ballots which cannot be read by the automatic
tabulating equipment.

"Voting defects" means an overvoted ballot, or a ballot
which cannot be read by the automatic tabulating equipment.

"Voting system" or "electronic voting system" means that
combination of equipment and programs used in the casting,
examination and tabulation of ballots and the cumulation and
reporting of results by electronic means.

(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03.)