10 ILCS 5/ Election Code.

(10 ILCS 5/24C-9)

Sec. 24C-9. Testing of Direct Recording Electronic Voting System Equipment and Programs; Custody of Programs, Test Materials and Ballots. Prior to the public test, the election authority shall conduct an errorless pre-test of the Direct Recording Electronic Voting System equipment and programs to determine that they will correctly detect voting defects and count the votes cast for all offices and all public questions. On any day not less than 5 days prior to the election day, the election authority shall publicly test the Direct Recording Electronic Voting System equipment and programs to determine that they will correctly detect voting errors and accurately count the votes legally cast for all offices and on all public questions. Public notice of the time and place of the test shall be given at least 48 hours before the test by publishing the notice in one or more newspapers within the election jurisdiction of the election authority, if a newspaper is published in that jurisdiction. If a newspaper is not published in that jurisdiction, notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in that jurisdiction. Timely written notice stating the date, time, and location of the public test shall also be provided to the State Board of Elections. The test shall be open to representatives of the political parties, the press, representatives of the State Board of Elections, and the public. The test shall be conducted by entering a pre- audited group of votes designed to record a predetermined number of valid votes for each candidate and on each public question, and shall include for each office one or more ballots having votes exceeding the number allowed by law to test the ability of the automatic tabulating equipment to reject the votes. The test shall also include producing an edit listing. In those election jurisdictions where in-precinct counting equipment is used, a public test of both the equipment and program shall be conducted as nearly as possible in the manner prescribed above. The State Board of Elections may select as many election jurisdictions as the Board deems advisable in the interests of the election process of this State, to order a special test of the automatic tabulating equipment and program before any regular election. The Board may order a special test in any election jurisdiction where, during the preceding 12 months, computer programming errors or other errors in the use of System resulted in vote tabulation errors. Not less than 30 days before any election, the State Board of Elections shall provide written notice to those selected jurisdictions of their intent to conduct a test. Within 5 days of receipt of the State Board of Elections' written notice of intent to conduct a test, the selected jurisdictions shall forward to the principal office of the State Board of Elections a copy of all specimen ballots. The State Board of Elections' tests shall be conducted and completed not less than 2 days before the public test and under the supervision of the Board. The vendor, person, or other private entity shall be solely responsible for the production and cost of: all ballots; additional temporary workers; and other equipment or facilities needed and used in the testing of the vendor's, person's, or other private entity's respective equipment and software. After an errorless test, materials used in the public test, including the program, if appropriate, shall be sealed and remain sealed until the test is run again on election day. If any error is detected, the cause of the error shall be determined and corrected, and an errorless public test shall be made before the automatic tabulating equipment is approved. Each election authority shall file a sealed copy of each tested program to be used within its jurisdiction at an election with the State Board of Elections before the election. The Board shall secure the program or programs of each election jurisdiction so filed in its office until the next election of the same type (general primary, general election, consolidated primary, or consolidated election) for which the program or programs were filed. At the expiration of that time, if no election contest or appeal is pending in an election jurisdiction, the Board shall destroy the sealed program or programs. Except where in-precinct counting equipment is used, the test shall be repeated immediately before the start of the official counting of the ballots, in the same manner as set forth above. After the completion of the count, the test shall be re-run using the same program. Immediately after the re-run, all material used in testing the program and the programs shall be sealed and retained under the custody of the election authority for a period of 60 days. At the expiration of that time the election authority shall destroy the voted ballots, together with all unused ballots returned from the precincts. Provided, if any contest of election is pending at the time in which the ballots may be required as evidence and the election authority has notice of the contest, the same shall not be destroyed until after the contest is finally determined. If the use of back-up equipment becomes necessary, the same testing required for the original equipment shall be conducted.

(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)

(10 ILCS 5/24C-10)

Sec. 24C-10. Recording of votes by Direct Recording Electronic Voting Systems.

Whenever a Direct Recording Electronic Voting System is used to automatically record and count the votes on ballots, the provisions of this Section shall apply. A voter shall cast a proper vote on a ballot by marking the designated area for the casting of a vote for any party or candidate or for or against any public question. For this purpose, a mark is an intentional selection of the designated area on the ballot by appropriate means and which is not otherwise an identifying mark.

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

(10 ILCS 5/24C-11)

Sec. 24C-11. Functional requirements. A Direct Recording Electronic Voting System shall, in addition to satisfying the other requirements of this Article, fulfill the following functional requirements:

(a) Provide a voter in a primary election with the means of casting a ballot containing votes for any and all candidates of the party or parties of his or her choice, and for any and all non-partisan candidates and public questions and preclude the voter from voting for any candidate of any other political party except when legally permitted. In a general election, the system shall provide the voter with means of selecting the appropriate number of candidates for any office, and of voting on any public question on the ballot to which he or she is entitled to vote.

(b) If a voter is not entitled to vote for particular candidates or public questions appearing on the ballot, the system shall prevent the selection of the prohibited votes.

(c) Once the proper ballot has been selected, the system devices shall provide a means of enabling the recording of votes and the casting of said ballot.

(d) System voting devices shall provide voting choices that are clear to the voter and labels indicating the names of every candidate and the text of every public question on the voter's ballot. Each label shall identify the selection button or switch, or the active area of the ballot associated with it. The system shall be able to incorporate minimal, easy-to-follow on-screen instruction for the voter on how to cast a ballot.

(e) Voting devices shall (i) enable the voter to vote for any and all candidates and public questions appearing on the ballot for which the voter is lawfully entitled to vote, in any legal number and combination; (ii) detect and reject all votes for an office or upon a public question when the voter has cast more votes for the office or upon the public question than the voter is entitled to cast; (iii) notify the voter if the voter's choices as recorded on the ballot for an office or public question are fewer than or exceed the number that the voter is entitled to vote for on that office or public question and the effect of casting more or fewer votes than legally permitted; (iv) notify the voter if the voter has failed to completely cast a vote for an office or public question appearing on the ballot; and (v) permit the voter, in a private and independent manner, to verify the votes selected by the voter, to change the ballot or to correct any error on the ballot before the ballot is completely cast and counted. A means shall be provided to indicate each selection after it has been made or canceled.

(f) System voting devices shall provide a means for the voter to signify that the selection of candidates and public questions has been completed. Upon activation, the system shall record an image of the completed ballot, increment the proper ballot position registers, and shall signify to the voter that the ballot has been cast. The system shall then prevent any further attempt to vote until it has been reset or re-enabled by a judge of election.

(g) Each system voting device shall be equipped with a public counter that can be set to zero prior to the opening of the polling place, and that records the number of ballots cast at a particular election. The counter shall be incremented only by the casting of a ballot. The counter shall be designed to prevent disabling or resetting by other than authorized persons after the polls close. The counter shall be visible to all judges of election so long as the device is installed at the polling place.

(h) Each system voting device shall be equipped with a protective counter that records all of the testing and election ballots cast since the unit was built. This counter shall be designed so that its reading cannot be changed by any cause other than the casting of a ballot. The protective counter shall be incapable of ever being reset and it shall be visible at all times when the device is configured for testing, maintenance, or election use.

(i) All system devices shall provide a means of preventing further voting once the polling place has closed and after all eligible voters have voted. Such means of control shall incorporate a visible indication of system status. Each device shall prevent any unauthorized use, prevent tampering with ballot labels and preclude its re-opening once the poll closing has been completed for that election.

(j) The system shall produce a printed summary report of the votes cast upon each voting device. Until the proper sequence of events associated with closing the polling place has been completed, the system shall not allow the printing of a report or the extraction of data. The printed report shall also contain all system audit information to be required by the election authority. Data shall not be altered or otherwise destroyed by report generation and the system shall ensure the integrity and security of data for a period of at least 6 months after the polls close.

(k) If more than one voting device is used in a polling place, the system shall provide a means to manually or electronically consolidate the data from all such units into a single report even if different voting systems are used to record ballots. The system shall also be capable of merging the vote tabulation results produced by other vote tabulation systems, if necessary.

(l) System functions shall be implemented such that unauthorized access to them is prevented and the execution of authorized functions in an improper sequence is precluded. System functions shall be executable only in the intended manner and order, and only under the intended conditions. If the preconditions to a system function have not been met, the function shall be precluded from executing by the system's control logic.

(m) All system voting devices shall incorporate at least 3 memories in the machine itself and in its programmable memory devices.

(n) The system shall include capabilities of recording and reporting the date and time of normal and abnormal events and of maintaining a permanent record of audit information that cannot be turned off. Provisions shall be made to detect and record significant events (e.g., casting a ballot, error conditions that cannot be disposed of by the system itself, time-dependent or programmed events that occur without the intervention of the voter or a judge of election).

(o) The system and each system voting device must be capable of creating, printing and maintaining a permanent paper record and an electronic image of each ballot that is cast such that records of individual ballots are maintained by a subsystem independent and distinct from the main vote detection, interpretation, processing and reporting path. The electronic images of each ballot must protect the integrity of the data and the anonymity of each voter, for example, by means of storage location scrambling. The ballot image records may be either machine-readable or manually transcribed, or both, at the discretion of the election authority.

(p) The system shall include built-in test, measurement and diagnostic software and hardware for detecting and reporting the system's status and degree of operability.

(q) The system shall contain provisions for maintaining the integrity of memory voting and audit data during an election and for a period of at least 6 months thereafter and shall provide the means for creating an audit trail.

(r) The system shall be fully accessible so as to permit blind or visually impaired voters as well as voters with physical disabilities to exercise their right to vote in private and without assistance.

(s) The system shall provide alternative language accessibility if required pursuant to Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

(t) Each voting device shall enable a voter to vote for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot.

(u) The system shall record and count accurately each vote properly cast for or against any candidate and for or against any public question, including the names of all candidates whose names are written in by the voters.

(v) The system shall allow for accepting provisional ballots and for separating such provisional ballots from precinct totals until authorized by the election authority.

(w) The system shall provide an effective audit trail as defined in Section 24C-2 in this Code.

(x) The system shall be suitably designed for the purpose used, be durably constructed, and be designed for safety, accuracy and efficiency.

(y) The system shall comply with all provisions of federal, State and local election laws and regulations and any future modifications to those laws and regulations.

(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)

(10 ILCS 5/24C-12)

Sec. 24C-12. Procedures for counting and tallying of ballots. In an election jurisdiction where a Direct Recording Electronic Voting System is used, the following procedures for counting and tallying the ballots shall apply:

Before the opening of the polls, the judges of elections shall assemble the voting equipment and devices and turn the equipment on. The judges shall, if necessary, take steps to activate the voting devices and counting equipment by inserting into the equipment and voting devices appropriate data cards containing passwords and data codes that will select the proper ballot formats selected for that polling place and that will prevent inadvertent or unauthorized activation of the poll-opening function. Before voting begins and before ballots are entered into the voting devices, the judges of election shall cause to be printed a record of the following: the election's identification data, the device's unit identification, the ballot's format identification, the contents of each active candidate register by office and of each active public question register showing that they contain all zero votes, all ballot fields that can be used to invoke special voting options, and other information needed to ensure the readiness of the equipment and to accommodate administrative reporting requirements. The judges must also check to be sure that the totals are all zeros in the counting columns and in the public counter affixed to the voting devices.

After the judges have determined that a person is qualified to vote, a voting device with the proper ballot to which the voter is entitled shall be enabled to be used by the voter. The ballot may then be cast by the voter by marking by appropriate means the designated area of the ballot for the casting of a vote for any candidate or for or against any public question. The voter shall be able to vote for any and all candidates and public measures appearing on the ballot in any legal number and combination and the voter shall be able to delete, change or correct his or her selections before the ballot is cast. The voter shall be able to select candidates whose names do not appear upon the ballot for any office by entering electronically as many names of candidates as the voter is entitled to select for each office.

Upon completing his or her selection of candidates or public questions, the voter shall signify that voting has been completed by activating the appropriate button, switch or active area of the ballot screen associated with end of voting. Upon activation, the voting system shall record an image of the completed ballot, increment the proper ballot position registers, and shall signify to the voter that the ballot has been cast. Upon activation, the voting system shall also print a permanent paper record of each ballot cast as defined in Section 24C-2 of this Code. This permanent paper record shall (i) be printed in a clear, readily readable format that can be easily reviewed by the voter for completeness and accuracy and (ii) either be self-contained within the voting device or be deposited by the voter into a secure ballot box. No permanent paper record shall be removed from the polling place except by election officials as authorized by this Article. All permanent paper records shall be preserved and secured by election officials in the same manner as paper ballots and shall be available as an official record for any recount, redundant count, or verification or retabulation of the vote count conducted with respect to any election in which the voting system is used. The voter shall exit the voting station and the voting system shall prevent any further attempt to vote until it has been properly re-activated. If a voting device has been enabled for voting but the voter leaves the polling place without casting a ballot, 2 judges of election, one from each of the 2 major political parties, shall spoil the ballot.

Throughout the election day and before the closing of the polls, no person may check any vote totals for any candidate or public question on the voting or counting equipment. Such equipment shall be programmed so that no person may reset the equipment for reentry of ballots unless provided the proper code from an authorized representative of the election authority.

The precinct judges of election shall check the public register to determine whether the number of ballots counted by the voting equipment agrees with the number of voters voting as shown by the applications for ballot. If the same do not agree, the judges of election shall immediately contact the offices of the election authority in charge of the election for further instructions. If the number of ballots counted by the voting equipment agrees with the number of voters voting as shown by the application for ballot, the number shall be listed on the "Statement of Ballots" form provided by the election authority.

The totals for all candidates and propositions shall be tabulated. One copy of an "In-Precinct Totals Report" shall be generated by the automatic tabulating equipment for return to the election authority. One copy of an "In-Precinct Totals Report" shall be generated and posted in a conspicuous place inside the polling place, provided that any authorized pollwatcher or other official authorized to be present in the polling place to observe the counting of ballots is present. The judges of election shall provide, if requested, a set for each authorized pollwatcher or other official authorized to be present in the polling place to observe the counting of ballots. In addition, sufficient time shall be provided by the judges of election to the pollwatchers to allow them to copy information from the copy which has been posted.

Until December 31, 2019, in elections at which fractional cumulative votes are cast for candidates, the tabulation of those fractional cumulative votes may be made by the election authority at its central office location, and 4 copies of a "Certificate of Results" shall be printed by the automatic tabulation equipment and shall be posted in 4 conspicuous places at the central office location where those fractional cumulative votes have been tabulated.

If instructed by the election authority, the judges of election shall cause the tabulated returns to be transmitted electronically to the offices of the election authority via modem or other electronic medium.

The precinct judges of election shall select a bi-partisan team of 2 judges, who shall immediately return the ballots in a sealed container, along with all other election materials and equipment as instructed by the election authority; provided, however, that such container must first be sealed by the election judges with filament tape or other approved sealing devices provided for the purpose in a manner that the ballots cannot be removed from the container without breaking the seal or filament tape and disturbing any signatures affixed by the election judges to the container. The election authority shall keep the office of the election authority, or any receiving stations designated by the authority, open for at least 12 consecutive hours after the polls close or until the ballots and election material and equipment from all precincts within the jurisdiction of the election authority have been returned to the election authority. Ballots and election materials and equipment returned to the office of the election authority which are not signed and sealed as required by law shall not be accepted by the election authority until the judges returning the ballots make and sign the necessary corrections. Upon acceptance of the ballots and election materials and equipment by the election authority, the judges returning the ballots shall take a receipt signed by the election authority and stamped with the time and date of the return. The election judges whose duty it is to return any ballots and election materials and equipment as provided shall, in the event the ballots, materials or equipment cannot be found when needed, on proper request, produce the receipt which they are to take as above provided.

(Source: P.A. 99-522, eff. 6-30-16; 99-701, eff. 7-29-16.)