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 5/7-59

(10 ILCS 5/7-59) (from Ch. 46, par. 7-59)

Sec. 7-59.

(a) The person receiving the highest number of votes at a
primary as a candidate of a party for the nomination for an office shall
be the candidate of that party for such office, and his name as such
candidate shall be placed on the official ballot at the election then
next ensuing; provided that where there are 2 or more persons to be
nominated for the same office or board, the requisite number of persons
receiving the highest number of votes shall be nominated, and their names
shall be placed on the official ballot at the following election.

Except as otherwise provided by Section 7-8 of this Code, the
person receiving the highest number of votes of his party for
State central committeeperson of his congressional district shall be
declared elected State central committeeperson from said congressional
district.

Unless a national political party specifies that delegates and
alternate delegates to a National nominating convention be allocated by
proportional selection representation according to the results of a
Presidential preference primary, the requisite number of persons
receiving the highest number of votes of their party for delegates and
alternate delegates to National nominating conventions from the State at
large, and the requisite number of persons receiving the highest number of
votes of their party for delegates and alternate delegates to National
nominating conventions in their respective congressional districts shall be
declared elected delegates and alternate delegates to the National
nominating conventions of their party.

A political party which elects the members to its State Central Committee
by Alternative B under paragraph (a) of Section 7-8 shall select its
congressional district delegates and alternate delegates to its national
nominating convention by proportional selection representation according to
the results of a Presidential preference primary in each congressional
district in the manner provided by the rules of the national political
party and the State Central Committee, when the rules and policies of the
national political party so require.

A political party which elects the members to its State Central Committee
by Alternative B under paragraph (a) of Section 7-8 shall select its
at large delegates and alternate delegates to its national
nominating convention by proportional selection representation according to
the results of a Presidential preference primary in the whole State in the
manner provided by the rules of the national political party and the State
Central Committee, when the rules and policies of the national political
party so require.

The person receiving the highest number of votes of his party for
precinct committeeperson of his precinct shall be declared elected precinct committeeperson
 from said precinct.

The person receiving the highest number of votes of his party for
township committeeperson of his township or part of a township as the case
may be, shall be declared elected township committeeperson from said
township or part of a township as the case may be. In cities where ward committeepersons
 are elected, the person receiving the highest number of
votes of his party for ward committeeperson of his ward shall be declared
elected ward committeeperson from said ward.

When 2 or more persons receive an equal and the highest number of
votes for the nomination for the same office or for committeeperson of the
same political party, or where more than one person of the same
political party is to be nominated as a candidate for office or committeeperson, if it appears that more than the number of persons to be
nominated for an office or elected committeeperson have the highest and an
equal number of votes for the nomination for the same office or for
election as committeeperson, the election authority by which the returns of the primary
are canvassed shall decide by lot which of said persons shall be
nominated or elected, as the case may be. In such case the election authority shall issue notice in writing to such persons of such tie vote
stating therein the place, the day (which shall not be more than 5 days thereafter) and the hour when such nomination or election shall
be so determined.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Code, write-in votes shall be counted only for persons who have filed
notarized declarations of intent to be write-in candidates with the proper
election authority or authorities not later than 61 days prior to
 the primary. However, whenever an objection to a candidate's nominating papers or petitions for any office is sustained under Section 10-10 after the 61st day before the election, then write-in votes shall be counted for that candidate if he or she has filed a notarized declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate for that office with the proper election authority or authorities not later than 7 days prior to the election.

Forms for the declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate shall be
supplied by the election authorities.  Such declaration shall specify the
office for which the person seeks nomination or election as a write-in
candidate.

The election authority or authorities shall deliver a list of all persons
who have filed such declarations to the election judges in the appropriate
precincts prior to the primary.

(c) (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section, where
the number of candidates whose names have been printed on a party's
ballot for nomination for or election to an office at a primary is less
than the number of persons the party is entitled to nominate for or elect
to the office at the primary, a person whose name was not printed on the
party's primary ballot as a candidate for nomination for or election to the
office, is not nominated for or elected to that office as a result of a
write-in vote at the primary unless the number of votes he received equals
or exceeds the number of signatures required on a petition for nomination
for that office; or unless the number of votes he receives exceeds the
number of votes received by at least one of the candidates whose names were
printed on the primary ballot for nomination for or election to the same
office.

(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not apply where the number
of candidates whose names have been printed on the party's  ballot for
nomination for or election to the office at the primary equals or exceeds
the number of persons the party is entitled to nominate for or elect to the
office at the primary.

(Source: P.A. 102-15, eff. 6-17-21; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)