10 ILCS 5/14-3.1

(10 ILCS 5/14-3.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 14-3.1)

Sec. 14-3.1. The board of election commissioners shall, during the month of July of each even-numbered year, select for each election precinct within the jurisdiction of the board 5 persons to be judges of election who shall possess the qualifications required by this Act for such judges. The selection shall be made by a county board of election commissioners in the following manner: the county board of election commissioners shall select and approve 3 persons as judges of election in each election precinct from a certified list furnished by the chair of the county central committee of the first leading political party in that precinct; the county board of election commissioners also shall select and approve 2 persons as judges of election in each election precinct from a certified list furnished by the chair of the county central committee of the second leading political party in that precinct. The selection by a municipal board of election commissioners shall be made in the following manner: for each precinct, 3 judges shall be selected from one of the 2 leading political parties and the other 2 judges shall be selected from the other leading political party; the parties entitled to 3 and 2 judges, respectively, in the several precincts shall be determined as provided in Section 14-4. However, a Board of Election Commissioners may appoint three judges of election to serve in lieu of the 5 judges of election otherwise required by this Section to serve in any emergency referendum, or in any odd-year regular election or in any special primary or special election called for the purpose of filling a vacancy in the office of representative in the United States Congress or to nominate candidates for such purpose.

If only 3 judges of election serve in each election precinct, no more than 2 persons of the same political party shall be judges of election in the same election precinct, and which political party is entitled to 2 judges of election and which political party is entitled to one judge of election shall be determined as set forth in this Section for a county board of election commissioners' selection of 5 election judges in each precinct or in Section 14-4 for a municipal board of election commissioners' selection of election judges in each precinct, whichever is appropriate. In addition to such precinct judges, the board of election commissioners shall appoint special panels of 3 judges each, who shall possess the same qualifications and shall be appointed in the same manner and with the same division between political parties as is provided for other judges of election. The number of such panels of judges required shall be determined by regulation of the State Board of Elections, which shall base the required number of special panels on the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction or the number of absentee ballots voted at recent elections or any combination of such factors. A municipal board of election commissioners shall make the selections of persons qualified under Section 14-1 from certified lists furnished by the chair of the respective county central committees, or each ward committeeperson in a municipality of 500,000 or more inhabitants, of the 2 leading political parties. Lists furnished by chairmen of county central committees or ward committeepersons, as the case may be, under this Section shall be arranged according to precincts. The chair of each county central committee or ward committeepersons, as the case may be, shall, insofar as possible, list persons who reside within the precinct in which they are to serve as judges. However, he may, in his sole discretion, submit the names of persons who reside outside the precinct but within the county embracing the precinct in which they are to serve. He must, however, submit the names of at least 2 residents of the precinct for each precinct in which his party is to have 3 judges and must submit the name of at least one resident of the precinct for each precinct in which his party is to have 2 judges. The board of election commissioners shall no later than March 1 of each even-numbered year notify the chairmen of the respective county central committees or ward committeepersons, as the case may be, of their responsibility to furnish such lists, and each such chair shall furnish the board of election commissioners with the list for his party on or before May 1 of each even-numbered year. The board of election commissioners shall acknowledge in writing to each county chair or ward committeepersons, as the case may be, the names of all persons submitted on such certified list and the total number of persons listed thereon. If no such list is furnished or if no names or an insufficient number of names are furnished for certain precincts, the board of election commissioners shall make or complete such list from the names contained in the supplemental list provided for in Section 14-3.2. Judges of election shall hold their office for 2 years from their appointment and until their successors are duly appointed in the manner herein provided. The board of election commissioners shall, subject to the provisions of Section 14-3.2, fill all vacancies in the office of judges of election at any time in the manner herein provided.

Such selections under this Section shall be confirmed by the court as provided in Section 14-5.

(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)