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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 HB0611
Introduced 2/5/2007, by Rep. Lou Lang SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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10 ILCS 5/12A-10 |
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10 ILCS 5/12A-35 |
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Amends the Election Code. With respect to the Internet Voters' Guide, (i) removes the $600 fee for inclusion of a candidate's personal statement and photograph and (ii) changes various deadlines for the submission, review, and revision of statements and photographs.
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| FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
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A BILL FOR
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HB0611 |
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LRB095 04001 JAM 24034 b |
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| AN ACT concerning elections.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing |
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| Sections 12A-10 and 12A-35 as follows: |
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| (10 ILCS 5/12A-10)
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| Sec. 12A-10. Candidate statements and photographs in the |
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| Internet Guide.
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| (a) Any candidate whose name appears in the Internet Guide |
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| may submit a
written
statement and a photograph to appear in |
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| the Internet Guide, provided that:
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| (1) No personal statement may exceed a brief biography |
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| (name, age, education, and current employment) and an |
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| additional 400 words.
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| (2) Personal statements may include contact |
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| information for the candidate,
including the address and |
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| phone number of the campaign headquarters, and the
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| candidate's website.
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| (3) Personal statements may not mention a candidate's |
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| opponents by name.
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| (4) No personal statement may include language that may |
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| not be legally
sent
through the mail.
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| (5) The photograph shall be a conventional photograph |
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HB0611 |
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LRB095 04001 JAM 24034 b |
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| with a plain
background
and show only the face, or the |
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| head, neck, and shoulders, of the candidate.
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| (6) The photograph shall not (i) show the candidate's |
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| hands, anything in
the
candidate's hands, or the candidate |
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| wearing a
judicial robe, a
hat, or a military, police, or |
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| fraternal uniform or (ii)
include the
uniform or insignia |
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| of any organization.
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| (b) The Board must note in the text of the Internet Guide |
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| that personal
statements were
submitted by the candidate or his |
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| or her designee and were not edited by the
Board.
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| (c) Where a candidate declines to submit a statement, the |
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| Board may note
that
the
candidate declined to submit a |
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| statement.
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| (d) (Blank.)
The candidate must pay $600 for inclusion of |
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| his or her personal
statement
and
photograph, and the Board |
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| shall not include photographs or statements from
candidates
who |
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| do not pay the fee. The Board may adopt rules for refunding |
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| that fee at the
candidate's
request, provided that the Board |
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| may not include a statement or photograph from
a
candidate who |
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| has requested a refund of a fee. Fees collected pursuant to |
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| this subsection shall be deposited into the Voters' Guide Fund, |
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| a special fund created in the State treasury. Moneys in the |
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| Voters' Guide Fund shall be appropriated solely to the State |
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| Board of Elections for use in the implementation and |
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| administration of this Article 12A.
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| (e) Anyone other than the candidate submitting a statement |
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HB0611 |
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LRB095 04001 JAM 24034 b |
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| or photograph
from a
candidate must attest that he or she is |
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| doing so on behalf and at the direction
of
the
candidate. The |
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| Board may assess a civil fine of no more than $1,000 against a
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| person or entity who falsely
submits a statement or photograph |
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| not authorized by the
candidate.
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| (f) Nothing in this Article makes the author of any |
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| statement exempt from
any
civil
or
criminal action because of |
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| any defamatory statements offered for posting or
contained in
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| the Internet Guide. The persons writing, signing, or offering a |
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| statement for
inclusion in
the Internet Guide are deemed to be |
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| its authors and publishers, and the
Board shall not
be liable |
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| in any case or action relating to the content of any material
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| submitted by any
candidate.
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| (g) The Board may set reasonable deadlines for the |
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| submission of personal
statements and
photographs , provided |
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| that a deadline may not be less than 5 business
days after
the |
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| last day for filing new party petitions .
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| (h) The Board may set formats for the submission of |
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| statements and
photographs. The
Board may require that |
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| statements and photographs are submitted in an
electronic |
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| format.
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| (i) Fines
Fees and fines collected pursuant to subsection
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| subsections (d) and (e) , respectively, of this Section shall be |
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| deposited into the Voters' Guide Fund, a special fund created |
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| in the State treasury. Moneys in the Voters' Guide Fund shall |
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| be appropriated solely to the State Board of Elections for use |
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LRB095 04001 JAM 24034 b |
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| in the implementation and administration of this Article 12A.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.) |
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| (10 ILCS 5/12A-35)
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| Sec. 12A-35. Board's review of candidate photograph and |
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| statement;
procedure
for
revision.
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| (a) If a candidate files a photograph and statement
under |
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| item (8) of Section 12A-5 in a voters' guide, the Board shall |
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| review the
photograph and
statement to ensure that they comply |
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| with the requirements of Section 12A-10. Review by the Board |
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| under this Section shall be limited
to
determining whether the |
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| photograph and statement comply with the requirements
of
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| Section 12A-10 and may not include any determination relating
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| to the
accuracy or truthfulness of the substance or contents of |
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| the materials filed.
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| (b) The Board shall review each photograph and statement |
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| not later than 3
business days
following the deadline for |
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| filing a photograph and statement . If the Board
determines
that |
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| the photograph or statement of a candidate must be revised in |
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| order to
comply with
the requirements of Section 12A-10, the |
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| Board
shall
attempt to contact the candidate not later than the |
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| 5th day after the deadline
for filing a
photograph and |
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| statement . A candidate contacted by the Board under this |
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| Section
may
file a revised photograph or statement no later |
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| than the 5th
7th business day
following notification
the
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| deadline for filing a photograph and statement .
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LRB095 04001 JAM 24034 b |
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| (c) If the Board is required to attempt to contact a |
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| candidate under
subsection (b) of this
Section, the Board shall |
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| attempt to contact the candidate by telephone or by
using an
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| electronic transmission facsimile machine, if such contact |
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| information is
provided by the
candidate.
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| (d) If the Board is unable to contact a candidate, if the |
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| candidate does
not file a
revised photograph or statement, or |
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| if the revised filing under subsection (b)
again
fails to meet |
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| the standards of review set by the Board:
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| (1) If a photograph does not comply with Section |
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| 12A-10, the Board may modify the photograph. The candidate |
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| shall pay the
expense
of any modification before |
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| publication of the photograph in the voters' guide.
If the
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| photograph cannot be modified to comply with Section |
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| 12A-10,
the photograph shall not be printed in the guide.
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| (2) If a statement does not comply with Section 12A-10, |
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| the statement shall not be published in the voters' guide.
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| (e) If the photograph or statement of a candidate filed |
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| under item (8)
of Section
12A-5 does not comply with a |
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| requirement
of Section 12A-10 and the Board does not attempt to |
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| contact the
candidate by
the deadline
specified in subsection |
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| (b) of this Section, then, for purposes of this Section
only, |
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photograph or statement shall be published as filed.
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| (f) A candidate revising a photograph or statement under |
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| this Section shall
make only
those revisions necessary to |
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| comply with Section 12A-10.
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