Full Text of HB5299 95th General Assembly
HB5299 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 HB5299
Introduced , by Rep. Elaine Nekritz SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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10 ILCS 5/11-2 |
from Ch. 46, par. 11-2 |
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Amends the Election Code. Requires that precincts be substantially equal in number of registered voters (now, 500 to 800 voters).
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A BILL FOR
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HB5299 |
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LRB095 17846 JAM 43926 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 Section | 5 |
| 11-2 as follows:
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| (10 ILCS 5/11-2) (from Ch. 46, par. 11-2)
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| Sec. 11-2. The County Board in each county, except in | 8 |
| counties having
a population of 3,000,000 inhabitants or over, | 9 |
| shall establish , at its regular
meeting in June, divide its | 10 |
| election precincts . which contain more than
800 voters, into | 11 |
| election districts so that each district shall contain,
as near | 12 |
| as may be practicable, 500 voters, and not more in any case | 13 |
| than
800. Whenever the County Board ascertains that any | 14 |
| election precinct
contains more than 600 registered voters, it | 15 |
| may divide such precinct,
at its regular meeting in June, into | 16 |
| election precincts so that each
precinct shall contain, as | 17 |
| nearly as may be practicable, 500 voters. Insofar as
is | 18 |
| practicable, each precinct shall be situated within a single | 19 |
| congressional,
legislative and representative district and in | 20 |
| not more than one County Board
district and one municipal ward. | 21 |
| In order to situate each precinct within a
single district or | 22 |
| ward, the County Board shall change the boundaries of
election | 23 |
| precincts after each decennial census as soon as is practicable
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HB5299 |
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LRB095 17846 JAM 43926 b |
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| following the completion of congressional and legislative | 2 |
| redistricting.
In determining whether a division of precincts | 3 |
| should be
made, the county board may anticipate increased voter | 4 |
| registration in
any precinct in which there is in progress new | 5 |
| construction of dwelling
units which will be occupied by voters | 6 |
| more than 30 days before the next
election. Each district shall | 7 |
| be substantially equal in number of registered voters and | 8 |
| composed of contiguous territory in as
compact form as can be | 9 |
| for the convenience of the electors voting
therein. The several | 10 |
| county boards in establishing districts shall
describe them by | 11 |
| metes and bounds and number them. And so often
thereafter as it | 12 |
| shall appear by the number of votes cast at the general
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| election held in November of any year, that any election | 14 |
| district or
undivided election precinct is substantially | 15 |
| unequal in voters contains more than 800 voters , the County
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| Board of the county in which the district or precinct may be , | 17 |
| shall at
its regular meeting in June, or an adjourned meeting | 18 |
| in July next, after
such November election, redivide or | 19 |
| readjust such election district or
election precinct , so that | 20 |
| no district or election precinct shall
contain more than the | 21 |
| number of votes above specified . If for any reason
the County | 22 |
| Board fails in any year to redivide or readjust the election
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| districts or election precinct, then the districts or precincts | 24 |
| as then
existing shall continue until the next regular June | 25 |
| meeting of the
County Board; at which regular June meeting or | 26 |
| an adjourned meeting in
July the County Board shall redivide or |
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HB5299 |
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LRB095 17846 JAM 43926 b |
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| readjust the election districts
or election precincts in manner | 2 |
| as herein required. When at any meeting
of the County Board any | 3 |
| redivision, readjustment or change in name or
number of | 4 |
| election districts or election precincts is made by the County
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| Board, the County Clerk shall immediately notify the State | 6 |
| Board of
Elections of such redivision, readjustment or change. | 7 |
| The County Board
in every case shall fix and establish the | 8 |
| places for holding elections
in its respective county and all | 9 |
| elections shall be held at the places
so fixed. The polling | 10 |
| places shall in all cases be upon the ground floor
in the front | 11 |
| room, the entrance to which is in a highway or public
street | 12 |
| which is at least 40 feet wide, and is as near the center of the
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| voting population of the precinct as is practicable, and for | 14 |
| the
convenience of the greatest number of electors to vote | 15 |
| thereat;
provided, however, where the County Board is unable to | 16 |
| secure a suitable
polling place within the boundaries of a | 17 |
| precinct, it may select a
polling place at the most | 18 |
| conveniently located suitable place outside
the precinct; but | 19 |
| in no case shall an election be held in any room used
or | 20 |
| occupied as a saloon, dramshop, bowling alley or as a place of | 21 |
| resort
for idlers and disreputable persons, billiard hall or in | 22 |
| any room
connected therewith by doors or hallways. No person | 23 |
| shall be permitted
to vote at any election except at the | 24 |
| polling place for the precinct in
which he resides, except as | 25 |
| otherwise provided in this Section or Article 19 of this
Act. | 26 |
| In counties having a population of 3,000,000 inhabitants or |
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HB5299 |
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LRB095 17846 JAM 43926 b |
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| over
the County Board shall divide its election precincts and | 2 |
| shall fix and
establish places for holding elections as | 3 |
| hereinbefore provided during
the month of January instead of at | 4 |
| its regular meeting in June or at an
adjourned meeting in July.
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| However, in the event that additional divisions of election | 6 |
| precincts
are indicated after a division made by the County | 7 |
| Board in the month of
January, such additional divisions may be | 8 |
| made by the County Board in
counties having a population of | 9 |
| 3,000,000 inhabitants or over, at the
regular meeting in June | 10 |
| or at adjourned meeting in July. The county
board of such | 11 |
| county may divide or readjust precincts at any meeting of
the | 12 |
| county board when the voter registration in a precinct has | 13 |
| increased
beyond 800 and an election is scheduled before the | 14 |
| next regular January
or June meeting of the county board.
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| When in any city, village or incorporated town territory | 16 |
| has been
annexed thereto or disconnected therefrom, which | 17 |
| annexation or
disconnection becomes effective after election | 18 |
| precincts or election
districts have been established as above | 19 |
| provided in this Section, the
clerk of the municipality shall | 20 |
| inform the county clerk thereof as
provided in Section 4-21, | 21 |
| 5-28.1, or 6-31.1, whichever is applicable. In
the event that a | 22 |
| regular meeting of the County Board is to be held after
such | 23 |
| notification and before any election, the County Board shall, | 24 |
| at
its next regular meeting establish new election precinct | 25 |
| lines in
affected territory. In the event that no regular | 26 |
| meeting of the County
Board is to be held before such election |
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| the county clerk shall, within
5 days after being so informed, | 2 |
| call a special meeting of the county
board on a day fixed by | 3 |
| him not more than 20 days thereafter for the
purpose of | 4 |
| establishing election precincts or election districts in the
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| affected territory for the ensuing elections.
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| At any consolidated primary or consolidated election at | 7 |
| which
municipal officers are to be elected, and at any | 8 |
| emergency referendum at
which a public question relating to a | 9 |
| municipality is to be voted on,
notwithstanding any other | 10 |
| provision of this Code, the election authority
shall establish | 11 |
| a polling place within such municipality, upon the request
of | 12 |
| the municipal council or board of trustees at least 60 days | 13 |
| before the
election and provided that the municipality provides | 14 |
| a suitable polling
place. To accomplish this purpose, the | 15 |
| election authority may establish an
election precinct | 16 |
| constituting a single municipality of under 500
population for | 17 |
| all elections, notwithstanding the minimum precinct size
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| otherwise specified herein.
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| Notwithstanding the above, when there
are no more than 50 | 20 |
| registered voters in a precinct who are entitled to
vote in a | 21 |
| local government or school district election, the election
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| authority having
jurisdiction over the precinct
is authorized | 23 |
| to reassign such voters to one or more polling
places in | 24 |
| adjacent precincts, within or without the
election authority's | 25 |
| jurisdiction, for that
election. For the purposes of such local | 26 |
| government or school district
election only, the votes of the |
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LRB095 17846 JAM 43926 b |
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| reassigned voters shall be tallied and
canvassed as votes from | 2 |
| the precinct of the polling place to which such
voters have | 3 |
| been reassigned. The election authority having
jurisdiction | 4 |
| over the precinct shall approve all administrative and polling
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| place procedures.
Such procedures shall take into account voter | 6 |
| convenience, and ensure that the
integrity of the election | 7 |
| process is maintained and that the secrecy of the
ballot is not | 8 |
| violated.
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| Except in the event of a fire, flood or total loss of heat | 10 |
| in a place
fixed or established by any county board or election | 11 |
| authority pursuant to
this Section as a polling place for an | 12 |
| election, no election authority
shall change the location of a | 13 |
| polling place so established for any
precinct after notice of | 14 |
| the place of holding the election for that
precinct has been | 15 |
| given as required under Article 12 unless the election
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| authority notifies all registered voters in the precinct of the | 17 |
| change in
location by first class mail in sufficient time for | 18 |
| such notice to be
received by the registered voters in the | 19 |
| precinct at least one day prior to
the date of the election.
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| The provisions of this Section apply to all precincts, | 21 |
| including
those where voting machines or electronic voting | 22 |
| systems are used.
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| (Source: P.A. 86-867.)
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