98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB2636

 

Introduced 2/21/2013, by Rep. Robert F Martwick

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/10-9  from Ch. 46, par. 10-9
10 ILCS 5/10-10  from Ch. 46, par. 10-10

    Amends the Election Code. Provides that the county officers electoral board shall hear and pass upon objections to nominations for municipal offices, for township offices, if the township is wholly located in one county, and for community college district offices. Provides that if a municipality, school district, or community college district is located in 2 or more counties, the county officers electoral board of the county in which the principal offices of the municipality, school district, or community college district are located shall hear and pass upon the objections. Deletes provisions concerning the municipal officers electoral board, the township officers electors board, and the education officers electors board.


LRB098 08931 HLH 39063 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
5Sections 10-9 and 10-10 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/10-9)  (from Ch. 46, par. 10-9)
7    Sec. 10-9. The following electoral boards are designated
8for the purpose of hearing and passing upon the objector's
9petition described in Section 10-8.
10        1. The State Board of Elections will hear and pass upon
11    objections to the nominations of candidates for State
12    offices, nominations of candidates for congressional,
13    legislative and judicial offices of districts,
14    subcircuits, or circuits situated in more than one county,
15    nominations of candidates for the offices of State's
16    attorney or regional superintendent of schools to be
17    elected from more than one county, and petitions for
18    proposed amendments to the Constitution of the State of
19    Illinois as provided for in Section 3 of Article XIV of the
20    Constitution.
21        2. The county officers electoral board to hear and pass
22    upon objections to the nominations of candidates for
23    county, municipal, and township offices, for

 

 

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1    congressional, legislative and judicial offices of a
2    district, subcircuit, or circuit coterminous with or less
3    than a county, for school and community college district
4    offices trustees to be voted for by the electors of the
5    county or by the electors of a township of the county, for
6    the office of multi-township assessor where candidates for
7    such office are nominated in accordance with this Code, and
8    for all special district offices, shall be composed of the
9    county clerk, or an assistant designated by the county
10    clerk, the State's attorney of the county or an Assistant
11    State's Attorney designated by the State's Attorney, and
12    the clerk of the circuit court, or an assistant designated
13    by the clerk of the circuit court, of the county, of whom
14    the county clerk or his designee shall be the chairman,
15    except that in any county which has established a county
16    board of election commissioners that board shall
17    constitute the county officers electoral board ex-officio.
18    If a municipality, school district, or community college
19    district is located in 2 or more counties, the county
20    officers electoral board of the county in which the
21    principal offices of the municipality, school district, or
22    community college district is located shall hear and pass
23    upon objections to nominations of candidates for the
24    municipal offices, school district offices, or community
25    college district offices.
26        3. (Blank). The municipal officers electoral board to

 

 

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1    hear and pass upon objections to the nominations of
2    candidates for officers of municipalities shall be
3    composed of the mayor or president of the board of trustees
4    of the city, village or incorporated town, and the city,
5    village or incorporated town clerk, and one member of the
6    city council or board of trustees, that member being
7    designated who is eligible to serve on the electoral board
8    and has served the greatest number of years as a member of
9    the city council or board of trustees, of whom the mayor or
10    president of the board of trustees shall be the chairman.
11        4. (Blank). The township officers electoral board to
12    pass upon objections to the nominations of township
13    officers shall be composed of the township supervisor, the
14    town clerk, and that eligible town trustee elected in the
15    township who has had the longest term of continuous service
16    as town trustee, of whom the township supervisor shall be
17    the chairman.
18        5. (Blank). The education officers electoral board to
19    hear and pass upon objections to the nominations of
20    candidates for offices in school or community college
21    districts shall be composed of the presiding officer of the
22    school or community college district board, who shall be
23    the chairman, the secretary of the school or community
24    college district board and the eligible elected school or
25    community college board member who has the longest term of
26    continuous service as a board member.

 

 

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1        6. In all cases, however, where the Congressional,
2    Legislative, or Representative district is wholly or
3    partially within the jurisdiction of a single municipal
4    board of election commissioners in Cook County and in all
5    cases where the school district or special district is
6    wholly within the jurisdiction of a municipal board of
7    election commissioners and in all cases where the
8    municipality or township is wholly or partially within the
9    jurisdiction of a municipal board of election
10    commissioners, the board of election commissioners shall
11    ex-officio constitute the electoral board.
12    For special districts situated in more than one county, the
13county officers electoral board of the county in which the
14principal office of the district is located has jurisdiction to
15hear and pass upon objections. For purposes of this Section,
16"special districts" means all political subdivisions other
17than counties, municipalities, townships and school and
18community college districts.
19    In the event that any member of the county officers
20electoral appropriate board is a candidate for the office with
21relation to which the objector's petition is filed, he or she
22shall not be eligible to serve on that board and shall not act
23as a member of the board and his or her place shall be filled by
24the county treasurer, and if he or she is ineligible to serve,
25by the sheriff of the county. as follows:
26        a. In the county officers electoral board by the county

 

 

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1    treasurer, and if he or she is ineligible to serve, by the
2    sheriff of the county.
3        b. In the municipal officers electoral board by the
4    eligible elected city council or board of trustees member
5    who has served the second greatest number of years as a
6    city council or board of trustees member.
7        c. In the township officers electoral board by the
8    eligible elected town trustee who has had the second
9    longest term of continuous service as a town trustee.
10        d. In the education officers electoral board by the
11    eligible elected school or community college district
12    board member who has had the second longest term of
13    continuous service as a board member.
14    In the event that the chairman of the electoral board is
15ineligible to act because of the fact that he is a candidate
16for the office with relation to which the objector's petition
17is filed, then the substitute chosen under the provisions of
18this Section shall be the chairman; In this case, the officer
19or board with whom the objector's petition is filed, shall
20transmit the certificate of nomination or nomination papers as
21the case may be, and the objector's petition to the substitute
22chairman of the electoral board.
23    When 2 or more eligible individuals, by reason of their
24terms of service on a city council or board of trustees,
25township board of trustees, or school or community college
26district board, qualify to serve on an electoral board, the one

 

 

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1to serve shall be chosen by lot.
2    Any vacancies on the county officers an electoral board not
3otherwise filled pursuant to this Section shall be filled by
4public members appointed by the Chief Judge of the Circuit
5Court for the county wherein the electoral board hearing is
6being held upon notification to the Chief Judge of such
7vacancies. The Chief Judge shall be so notified by a member of
8the electoral board or the officer or board with whom the
9objector's petition was filed. In the event that none of the
10individuals designated by this Section to serve on the
11electoral board are eligible, the chairman of an electoral
12board shall be designated by the Chief Judge.
13(Source: P.A. 96-1008, eff. 7-6-10.)
 
14    (10 ILCS 5/10-10)  (from Ch. 46, par. 10-10)
15    Sec. 10-10. Within 24 hours after the receipt of the
16certificate of nomination or nomination papers or proposed
17question of public policy, as the case may be, and the
18objector's petition, the chairman of the electoral board other
19than the State Board of Elections shall send a call by
20registered or certified mail to each of the members of the
21electoral board, and to the objector who filed the objector's
22petition, and either to the candidate whose certificate of
23nomination or nomination papers are objected to or to the
24principal proponent or attorney for proponents of a question of
25public policy, as the case may be, whose petitions are objected

 

 

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1to, and shall also cause the sheriff of the county or counties
2in which such officers and persons reside to serve a copy of
3such call upon each of such officers and persons, which call
4shall set out the fact that the electoral board is required to
5meet to hear and pass upon the objections to nominations made
6for the office, designating it, and shall state the day, hour
7and place at which the electoral board shall meet for the
8purpose, which place shall be in the county court house in the
9county in the case of the County Officers Electoral Board, the
10Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the Township Officers
11Electoral Board or the Education Officers Electoral Board,
12except that the Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the
13Township Officers Electoral Board, and the Education Officers
14Electoral Board may meet at the location where the governing
15body of the municipality, township, or school or community
16college district, respectively, holds its regularly scheduled
17meetings, if that location is available; provided that voter
18records may be removed from the offices of an election
19authority only at the discretion and under the supervision of
20the election authority. In those cases where the State Board of
21Elections is the electoral board designated under Section 10-9,
22the chairman of the State Board of Elections shall, within 24
23hours after the receipt of the certificate of nomination or
24nomination papers or petitions for a proposed amendment to
25Article IV of the Constitution or proposed statewide question
26of public policy, send a call by registered or certified mail

 

 

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1to the objector who files the objector's petition, and either
2to the candidate whose certificate of nomination or nomination
3papers are objected to or to the principal proponent or
4attorney for proponents of the proposed Constitutional
5amendment or statewide question of public policy and shall
6state the day, hour and place at which the electoral board
7shall meet for the purpose, which place may be in the Capitol
8Building or in the principal or permanent branch office of the
9State Board. The day of the meeting shall not be less than 3
10nor more than 5 days after the receipt of the certificate of
11nomination or nomination papers and the objector's petition by
12the chairman of the electoral board.
13    The electoral board shall have the power to administer
14oaths and to subpoena and examine witnesses and at the request
15of either party the chairman may issue subpoenas requiring the
16attendance of witnesses and subpoenas duces tecum requiring the
17production of such books, papers, records and documents as may
18be evidence of any matter under inquiry before the electoral
19board, in the same manner as witnesses are subpoenaed in the
20Circuit Court.
21    Service of such subpoenas shall be made by any sheriff or
22other person in the same manner as in cases in such court and
23the fees of such sheriff shall be the same as is provided by
24law, and shall be paid by the objector or candidate who causes
25the issuance of the subpoena. In case any person so served
26shall knowingly neglect or refuse to obey any such subpoena, or

 

 

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1to testify, the electoral board shall at once file a petition
2in the circuit court of the county in which such hearing is to
3be heard, or has been attempted to be heard, setting forth the
4facts, of such knowing refusal or neglect, and accompanying the
5petition with a copy of the citation and the answer, if one has
6been filed, together with a copy of the subpoena and the return
7of service thereon, and shall apply for an order of court
8requiring such person to attend and testify, and forthwith
9produce books and papers, before the electoral board. Any
10circuit court of the state, excluding the judge who is sitting
11on the electoral board, upon such showing shall order such
12person to appear and testify, and to forthwith produce such
13books and papers, before the electoral board at a place to be
14fixed by the court. If such person shall knowingly fail or
15refuse to obey such order of the court without lawful excuse,
16the court shall punish him or her by fine and imprisonment, as
17the nature of the case may require and may be lawful in cases
18of contempt of court.
19    The electoral board on the first day of its meeting shall
20adopt rules of procedure for the introduction of evidence and
21the presentation of arguments and may, in its discretion,
22provide for the filing of briefs by the parties to the
23objection or by other interested persons.
24    In the event of a State Electoral Board hearing on
25objections to a petition for an amendment to Article IV of the
26Constitution pursuant to Section 3 of Article XIV of the

 

 

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1Constitution, or to a petition for a question of public policy
2to be submitted to the voters of the entire State, the
3certificates of the county clerks and boards of election
4commissioners showing the results of the random sample of
5signatures on the petition shall be prima facie valid and
6accurate, and shall be presumed to establish the number of
7valid and invalid signatures on the petition sheets reviewed in
8the random sample, as prescribed in Section 28-11 and 28-12 of
9this Code. Either party, however, may introduce evidence at
10such hearing to dispute the findings as to particular
11signatures. In addition to the foregoing, in the absence of
12competent evidence presented at such hearing by a party
13substantially challenging the results of a random sample, or
14showing a different result obtained by an additional sample,
15this certificate of a county clerk or board of election
16commissioners shall be presumed to establish the ratio of valid
17to invalid signatures within the particular election
18jurisdiction.
19    The electoral board shall take up the question as to
20whether or not the certificate of nomination or nomination
21papers or petitions are in proper form, and whether or not they
22were filed within the time and under the conditions required by
23law, and whether or not they are the genuine certificate of
24nomination or nomination papers or petitions which they purport
25to be, and whether or not in the case of the certificate of
26nomination in question it represents accurately the decision of

 

 

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1the caucus or convention issuing it, and in general shall
2decide whether or not the certificate of nomination or
3nominating papers or petitions on file are valid or whether the
4objections thereto should be sustained and the decision of a
5majority of the electoral board shall be final subject to
6judicial review as provided in Section 10-10.1. The electoral
7board must state its findings in writing and must state in
8writing which objections, if any, it has sustained. A copy of
9the decision shall be served upon the parties to the
10proceedings in open proceedings before the electoral board. If
11a party does not appear for receipt of the decision, the
12decision shall be deemed to have been served on the absent
13party on the date when a copy of the decision is personally
14delivered or on the date when a copy of the decision is
15deposited in the Unites States mail, in a sealed envelope or
16package, with postage prepaid, addressed to each party affected
17by the decision or to such party's attorney of record, if any,
18at the address on record for such person in the files of the
19electoral board.
20    Upon the expiration of the period within which a proceeding
21for judicial review must be commenced under Section 10-10.1,
22the electoral board shall, unless a proceeding for judicial
23review has been commenced within such period, transmit, by
24registered or certified mail, a certified copy of its ruling,
25together with the original certificate of nomination or
26nomination papers or petitions and the original objector's

 

 

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1petition, to the officer or board with whom the certificate of
2nomination or nomination papers or petitions, as objected to,
3were on file, and such officer or board shall abide by and
4comply with the ruling so made to all intents and purposes.
5(Source: P.A. 95-872, eff. 1-1-09; 96-1008, eff. 7-6-10.)