Public Act 93-0230
HB0030 Enrolled LRB093 02371 JAM 02379 b
AN ACT relating to simulated voting by minors.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Voting by Minors Act.
Section 5. Development of program.
(a) The State Board of Elections and the State Board of
Education shall develop a pilot program under which
elementary and secondary school students in kindergarten
through grade 12 in participating school districts and
counties may participate in a simulated election held on the
date of the general election in 2004.
(b) The program shall be designed for implementation
only in those counties in which the election authority elects
to participate in the program. Each school district located
in those counties may elect to participate in the program.
(c) In each county and school district electing to
participate in the program, the program shall be implemented
in accordance with standards jointly developed for that
purpose by the State Board of Elections and State Board of
Education.
Section 10. Funding.
(a) Implementation of the program is contingent upon
receipt of the necessary funding from private sources.
(b) The program as developed by the State Board of
Elections and State Board of Education: (i) shall require the
formation of a nonprofit, volunteer administrative board in
each participating county and a coordinating statewide board
that is also nonprofit and volunteer; (ii) shall prescribe
the manner in which those boards shall be formed; (iii) shall
prescribe the responsibilities of those boards, including
securing the necessary private funding and volunteer
assistance required to implement the program; and (iv) shall
prescribe measures designed to assure fiscal integrity in the
use of donated funds and equitable distribution of those
funds for program purposes in the participating counties and
school districts.
Section 15. Volunteer assistance. State funds shall not
be used for implementation of the program. The program shall
be conducted and operated with volunteer assistance and
private funds. The State Board of Elections and State Board
of Education, however, shall develop the program as required
by this Act and may make their personnel available on a
reasonable basis for consulting purposes.
Section 20. Educational curriculum. A component of the
program as developed by the State Board of Education and
State Board of Elections shall include a reasonable amount of
classroom instruction, as part of existing courses offered by
a participating school district, concerning voting history
and laws, voting procedures, election campaigns, media
influence, and the importance of voter participation. The
suggested curriculum shall be developed by the State Board of
Education and State Board of Elections by January 1, 2004 and
shall be made available to school districts that may later
elect to participate in the program. The suggested
curriculum shall be based upon 6 to 12 hours of classroom
instruction and shall include homework assignments that
necessitate dialogue between children and their parents or
guardians concerning the voting process and specifically the
candidates and propositions to be voted upon at the general
election.
Section 25. Basic program requirements. The program
standards jointly developed under subsection (c) of Section 5
shall require: (i) that children register to vote in the
simulated election; (ii) that on the day of the 2004 general
election the children accompany their parents to the polls
and vote on separate ballots in voting booths adjacent to the
adult booths; (iii) that the children vote on the same races
and propositions as the adult voters, except that the number
of races or propositions on which the younger children vote
may be reduced as necessary based on their grade level; (iv)
that the ballots be designed, using pictures and symbols as
necessary, so that all children may vote their choice even
though they are unable to read; (v) that simulated election
judges participate at the polls as part of the simulated
election; (vi) that the results of the simulated election be
tabulated beginning after the closing of the polls and the
results announced on the following day; and (vii) other
standards that the State Board of Elections and State Board
of Education determine will contribute to the voting
experience of the children.
Section 30. Report. The State Board of Elections and
State Board of Education shall develop the voting by minors
pilot program and distribute it to all county election
authorities and school districts in January of 2004. In
addition, before January 1, 2004, the State Board of
Elections and State Board of Education shall jointly file
with the Governor and the General Assembly a copy of the
program together with a written report recommending any
additional legislation necessary before actual implementation
of the program at the 2004 general election.
Section 35. Timetable. The State Board of Elections and
State Board of Education shall adopt rules under which (i)
counties and school districts that chose to participate in
the voting by minors program are determined beginning no
later than March 1, 2004, (ii) the county and statewide
boards described in subsection (b) of Section 10 are
established no later than July 1, 2004, and (iii) the
availability of sufficient private funding is determined by
August 1, 2004, along with those counties and school
districts that will be actual program participants.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.