Public Act 095-0872
 
HB4588 Enrolled LRB095 14869 JAM 40811 b

    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing Section
10-10 as follows:
 
    (10 ILCS 5/10-10)  (from Ch. 46, par. 10-10)
    Sec. 10-10. Within 24 hours after the receipt of the
certificate of nomination or nomination papers or proposed
question of public policy, as the case may be, and the
objector's petition, the chairman of the electoral board other
than the State Board of Elections shall send a call by
registered or certified mail to each of the members of the
electoral board, and to the objector who filed the objector's
petition, and either to the candidate whose certificate of
nomination or nomination papers are objected to or to the
principal proponent or attorney for proponents of a question of
public policy, as the case may be, whose petitions are objected
to, and shall also cause the sheriff of the county or counties
in which such officers and persons reside to serve a copy of
such call upon each of such officers and persons, which call
shall set out the fact that the electoral board is required to
meet to hear and pass upon the objections to nominations made
for the office, designating it, and shall state the day, hour
and place at which the electoral board shall meet for the
purpose, which place shall be in the county court house in the
county in the case of the County Officers Electoral Board, the
Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the Township Officers
Electoral Board or the Education Officers Electoral Board,
except that the Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the
Township Officers Electoral Board, and the Education Officers
Electoral Board may meet at the location where the governing
body of the municipality, township, or school or community
college district, respectively, holds its regularly scheduled
meetings, if that location is available; provided that voter
records may be removed from the offices of an election
authority only at the discretion and under the supervision of
the election authority. The Township Officers Electoral Board
may meet in the township offices, if they are available, rather
than the county courthouse. In those cases where the State
Board of Elections is the electoral board designated under
Section 10-9, the chairman of the State Board of Elections
shall, within 24 hours after the receipt of the certificate of
nomination or nomination papers or petitions for a proposed
amendment to Article IV of the Constitution or proposed
statewide question of public policy, send a call by registered
or certified mail to the objector who files the objector's
petition, and either to the candidate whose certificate of
nomination or nomination papers are objected to or to the
principal proponent or attorney for proponents of the proposed
Constitutional amendment or statewide question of public
policy and shall state the day, hour and place at which the
electoral board shall meet for the purpose, which place may be
in the Capitol Building or in the principal or permanent branch
office of the State Board. The day of the meeting shall not be
less than 3 nor more than 5 days after the receipt of the
certificate of nomination or nomination papers and the
objector's petition by the chairman of the electoral board.
    The electoral board shall have the power to administer
oaths and to subpoena and examine witnesses and at the request
of either party the chairman may issue subpoenas requiring the
attendance of witnesses and subpoenas duces tecum requiring the
production of such books, papers, records and documents as may
be evidence of any matter under inquiry before the electoral
board, in the same manner as witnesses are subpoenaed in the
Circuit Court.
    Service of such subpoenas shall be made by any sheriff or
other person in the same manner as in cases in such court and
the fees of such sheriff shall be the same as is provided by
law, and shall be paid by the objector or candidate who causes
the issuance of the subpoena. In case any person so served
shall knowingly neglect or refuse to obey any such subpoena, or
to testify, the electoral board shall at once file a petition
in the circuit court of the county in which such hearing is to
be heard, or has been attempted to be heard, setting forth the
facts, of such knowing refusal or neglect, and accompanying the
petition with a copy of the citation and the answer, if one has
been filed, together with a copy of the subpoena and the return
of service thereon, and shall apply for an order of court
requiring such person to attend and testify, and forthwith
produce books and papers, before the electoral board. Any
circuit court of the state, excluding the judge who is sitting
on the electoral board, upon such showing shall order such
person to appear and testify, and to forthwith produce such
books and papers, before the electoral board at a place to be
fixed by the court. If such person shall knowingly fail or
refuse to obey such order of the court without lawful excuse,
the court shall punish him or her by fine and imprisonment, as
the nature of the case may require and may be lawful in cases
of contempt of court.
    The electoral board on the first day of its meeting shall
adopt rules of procedure for the introduction of evidence and
the presentation of arguments and may, in its discretion,
provide for the filing of briefs by the parties to the
objection or by other interested persons.
    In the event of a State Electoral Board hearing on
objections to a petition for an amendment to Article IV of the
Constitution pursuant to Section 3 of Article XIV of the
Constitution, or to a petition for a question of public policy
to be submitted to the voters of the entire State, the
certificates of the county clerks and boards of election
commissioners showing the results of the random sample of
signatures on the petition shall be prima facie valid and
accurate, and shall be presumed to establish the number of
valid and invalid signatures on the petition sheets reviewed in
the random sample, as prescribed in Section 28-11 and 28-12 of
this Code. Either party, however, may introduce evidence at
such hearing to dispute the findings as to particular
signatures. In addition to the foregoing, in the absence of
competent evidence presented at such hearing by a party
substantially challenging the results of a random sample, or
showing a different result obtained by an additional sample,
this certificate of a county clerk or board of election
commissioners shall be presumed to establish the ratio of valid
to invalid signatures within the particular election
jurisdiction.
    The electoral board shall take up the question as to
whether or not the certificate of nomination or nomination
papers or petitions are in proper form, and whether or not they
were filed within the time and under the conditions required by
law, and whether or not they are the genuine certificate of
nomination or nomination papers or petitions which they purport
to be, and whether or not in the case of the certificate of
nomination in question it represents accurately the decision of
the caucus or convention issuing it, and in general shall
decide whether or not the certificate of nomination or
nominating papers or petitions on file are valid or whether the
objections thereto should be sustained and the decision of a
majority of the electoral board shall be final subject to
judicial review as provided in Section 10-10.1. The electoral
board must state its findings in writing and must state in
writing which objections, if any, it has sustained.
    Upon the expiration of the period within which a proceeding
for judicial review must be commenced under Section 10--10.1,
the electoral board shall, unless a proceeding for judicial
review has been commenced within such period, transmit, by
registered or certified mail, a certified copy of its ruling,
together with the original certificate of nomination or
nomination papers or petitions and the original objector's
petition, to the officer or board with whom the certificate of
nomination or nomination papers or petitions, as objected to,
were on file, and such officer or board shall abide by and
comply with the ruling so made to all intents and purposes.
(Source: P.A. 91-285, eff. 1-1-00.)