HB1359 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 25615 RJT 51964 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB1359

Introduced 1/31/2023, by Rep. Martin McLaughlin, David Friess, Joe C. Sosnowski, Dan Ugaste, Jed Davis, et al.

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the School Board Member Recall Act. Establishes procedures under which school board members that were elected during a consolidated election may be recalled. Provides for petition requirements for recall elections. Provides for requirements for recall ballots, including requirements for replacement candidates wishing to be listed on the recall ballot.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning elections.

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 School Board Member Recall Act.

Section 5. School board member recall elections.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, school board members that were elected during a consolidated election may be recalled under this Act.

(b) In order to recall a school board member under this Act, the organizer of the petitions of the recall must reside within the jurisdiction that the school board member represents and file with the local election authority petitions meeting the following signature requirements of voters registered in that jurisdiction supporting the recall: (i) signatures representing 25% of the votes cast in that jurisdiction in the last election for Governor or (ii) 10,000 signatures of residents of the jurisdiction, whichever is less.

Before circulating petitions for a recall election, the petitioner must file an intent to recall with the appropriate local election authority. Such filing shall contain the name of the petitioner requesting the recall, the school board member to be recalled, and the reason for the recall. Circulation of petitions may only begin after the filing of the intent to recall. The recall petitions shall follow the same general format as petitions for running for office, but shall include the words "RECALL PETITION" on the top of each form, with the reason for the recall also printed on the form.

An intent to recall may be filed any time after a school board member has been in office for more than one year. Recall petitions may be circulated only from 120 to 180 days before a consolidated election and after the intent to recall has been filed. Petitions may be filed anytime from 120 to 180 days before a consolidated election.

(c) All recall elections under this Act shall be conducted during consolidated elections. The ballot question on the recall shall read as follows:

Shall (name of school board member) be recalled from (his or her) position as (title of position)? (YES/NO)

If (name of school board member) is recalled, whom do you vote for to replace (him or her)?

(Name of school board member).

(Name of candidate).

(Name of candidate).

(d) Replacement candidates wishing to be listed on the recall ballot shall be certified under the same procedures as if they were running for the school board in a standard consolidated election, except that the petition circulation and filing of petitions shall be only from the time the intent to recall is filed to 90 days before the election. Candidates running to replace the recalled school board member shall state clearly on their petitions which school board member the candidates are seeking to replace.

(e) There shall be no primary or runoff election after a recall election. The person with the most votes in the recall election shall replace the school board member that was recalled.

(f) The procedure to be certified to run in the recall election shall be the same as being nominated and certified in the standard consolidated election for the office to be filled. Challenges to recall petitions shall follow the same procedures as challenges to petitions under the Election Code.

(g) If multiple school board members from the same school district are being recalled, each recall question must be asked separately. All candidates running as replacements for that office and the current school board members shall be on the ballot beneath the recall question.