Bill Text: IL SB0172 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Amends the Election Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the nomination of candidates for the General Assembly.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-01-12 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-1171 [SB0172 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-SB0172-Chaptered.html

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Public Act 098-1171
SB0172 Enrolled LRB098 04408 HLH 34436 b
AN ACT concerning elections.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
Sections 1-3.5, 1-9, 1-12, 1A-8, 1A-16, 1A-16.5, 1A-25, 3-6,
4-6.3, 4-10, 4-50, 4-105, 5-9, 5-16.3, 5-50, 5-105, 6-29,
6-50.3, 6-100, 6-105, 7-15, 7-34, 10-7, 10-9, 11-4.1, 11-7,
12-1, 13-1, 13-1.1, 13-2, 13-10, 14-3.1, 14-3.2, 16-5.01, 17-8,
17-9, 17-18.1, 17-19.2, 17-21, 17-23, 17-29, 18-5, 18-9.2,
18A-5, 18A-15, 19-2, 19-3, 19-4, 19-5, 19-6, 19-7, 19-8, 19-10,
19-12.1, 19-12.2, 19-13, 19-15, 19-20, 19A-10, 19A-15, 19A-25,
19A-35, 19A-75, 20-1, 20-2, 20-2.1, 20-2.2, 20-2.3, 20-3, 20-4,
20-5, 20-6, 20-7, 20-8, 20-10, 20-13, 20-13.1, 20-25, 24-15,
24-16, 24A-6, 24A-10, 24A-15.1, 24B-6, 24B-10, 24B-15.1,
24C-1, 24C-6, 24C-11, 24C-13, 24C-15, 25-7, 28-9, 29-5, 29-20,
and the heading of Article 19 and by adding Sections 1-9.1,
1-9.2, 1A-16.6, 1A-16.8, 1A-45, 18A-218, 18A-218.10,
18A-218.20, 18A-218.30, and 18A-218.40 as follows:
(10 ILCS 5/1-3.5 new)
Sec. 1-3.5. Absentee voting. Any references to absentee
ballots, absentee voters, absentee registration, or absentee
voting procedures in this Code shall be construed to refer to
vote by mail ballots, persons who vote by mail, registration by

mail, or voting by mail.
(10 ILCS 5/1-9)
Sec. 1-9. Central counting of grace period, early, vote by
mail absentee, and provisional ballots. Notwithstanding any
statutory provision to the contrary enacted before the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
Assembly, all grace period ballots, early voting ballots, vote
by mail absentee ballots, and provisional ballots to be counted
shall be delivered to and counted at an election authority's
central ballot counting location and not in precincts.
References in this Code enacted before the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly to delivery
and counting of grace period ballots, early voting ballots,
vote by mail absentee ballots, or provisional ballots to or at
a precinct polling place or to the proper polling place shall
be construed as references to delivery and counting of those
ballots to and at the election authority's central ballot
counting location.
(Source: P.A. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
(10 ILCS 5/1-9.1 new)
Sec. 1-9.1. Ballot counting information dissemination.
Each election authority maintaining a website must provide
24-hour notice on its website of the date, time, and location
of the analysis, processing, and counting of all ballot forms.

Each election authority must notify any political party or
pollwatcher of the same information 24 hours before the count
begins if such political party or pollwatcher has requested to
be notified. Notification may be by electronic mail at the
address provided by the requester.
(10 ILCS 5/1-9.2 new)
Sec. 1-9.2. Uncounted ballot information on website. No
later than 48 hours after the closing of polling locations on
election day, each election authority maintaining a website
shall post the number of ballots that remain uncounted. The
posting shall separate the number of ballots yet to be counted
into the following categories: ballots cast on election day,
early voting ballots, provisional ballots, vote by mail ballots
received by the election authority but not counted, and vote by
mail ballots sent by the election authority but have not been
returned to the election authority. This information shall be
updated on the website of the election authority each day until
the period for counting provisional and vote by mail ballots
has ended. All election authorities, regardless of whether they
maintain a website, shall share the same information, separated
in the same manner, with the State Board of Elections no later
than 48 hours after the closing of polling locations on
election day and each business day thereafter until the period
for counting provisional and vote by mail ballots has ended.

(10 ILCS 5/1-12)
Sec. 1-12. Public university voting.
(a) Each appropriate election authority shall, in addition
to the early voting conducted at locations otherwise required
by law, conduct early voting, grace period registration, and
grace period voting at the student union in a high traffic
location on the campus of a public university within the
election authority's jurisdiction. The voting required by this
subsection (a) to be conducted on campus must be conducted from
the 6th day before a general primary or general election until
and including the 4th day before a general primary or general
election from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. and as otherwise required by
Article 19A of this Code, except that the voting required by
this subsection (a) need not be conducted during a consolidated
primary or consolidated election. If an election authority has
voting equipment that can accommodate a ballot in every form
required in the election authority's jurisdiction, then the
election authority shall extend early voting and grace period
registration and voting under this Section to any registered
voter in the election authority's jurisdiction. However, if the
election authority does not have voting equipment that can
accommodate a ballot in every form required in the election
authority's jurisdiction, then the election authority may
limit early voting and grace period registration and voting
under this Section to registered voters in precincts where the
public university is located and precincts bordering the

university. Each public university shall make the space
available at the student union in a high traffic area for, and
cooperate and coordinate with the appropriate election
authority in, the implementation of this subsection (a).
(b) (Blank). Each appropriate election authority shall, in
addition to the voting conducted at locations otherwise
required by law, conduct in-person absentee voting on election
day in a high-traffic location on the campus of a public
university within the election authority's jurisdiction. The
procedures for conducting in-person absentee voting at a site
established pursuant to this subsection (b) shall, to the
extent practicable, be the same procedures required by Article
19 of this Code for in-person absentee ballots. The election
authority may limit in-person absentee voting under this
subsection (b) to registered voters in precincts where the
public university is located and precincts bordering the
university. The election authority shall have voting equipment
and ballots necessary to accommodate registered voters who may
cast an in-person absentee ballot at a site established
pursuant to this subsection (b). Each public university shall
make the space available in a high-traffic area for, and
cooperate and coordinate with the appropriate election
authority in, the implementation of this subsection (b).
(c) For the purposes of this Section, "public university"
means the University of Illinois, Illinois State University,
Chicago State University, Governors State University, Southern

Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, Eastern
Illinois University, Western Illinois University, and
Northeastern Illinois University the University of Illinois at
its campuses in Urbana-Champaign and Springfield, Southern
Illinois University at its campuses in Carbondale and
Edwardsville, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State
University, Northern Illinois University, and Western Illinois
University at its campuses in Macomb and Moline.
(d) For the purposes of this Section, "student union" means
the Student Center at 750 S. Halsted on the University of
Illinois-Chicago campus; the Public Affairs Center at the
University of Illinois at Springfield or a new building
completed after the effective date of this Act housing student
government at the University of Illinois at Springfield; the
Illini Union at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
the SIUC Center at the Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale campus; the Morris University Center at the Southern
Illinois University at Edwardsville campus; the University
Union at the Western Illinois University at the Macomb campus;
the Holmes Student Center at the Northern Illinois University
campus; the University Union at the Eastern Illinois University
campus; NEIU Student Union at the Northeastern Illinois
University campus; the Bone Student Center at the Illinois
State University campus; the Cordell Reed Student Union at the
Chicago State University campus; and the Hall of Governors in
Building D at the Governors State University campus.

(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-691, eff. 7-1-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/1A-8) (from Ch. 46, par. 1A-8)
Sec. 1A-8. The State Board of Elections shall exercise the
following powers and perform the following duties in addition
to any powers or duties otherwise provided for by law:
(1) Assume all duties and responsibilities of the State
Electoral Board and the Secretary of State as heretofore
provided in this Act;
(2) Disseminate information to and consult with
election authorities concerning the conduct of elections
and registration in accordance with the laws of this State
and the laws of the United States;
(3) Furnish to each election authority prior to each
primary and general election and any other election it
deems necessary, a manual of uniform instructions
consistent with the provisions of this Act which shall be
used by election authorities in the preparation of the
official manual of instruction to be used by the judges of
election in any such election. In preparing such manual,
the State Board shall consult with representatives of the
election authorities throughout the State. The State Board
may provide separate portions of the uniform instructions
applicable to different election jurisdictions which
administer elections under different options provided by
law. The State Board may by regulation require particular

portions of the uniform instructions to be included in any
official manual of instructions published by election
authorities. Any manual of instructions published by any
election authority shall be identical with the manual of
uniform instructions issued by the Board, but may be
adapted by the election authority to accommodate special or
unusual local election problems, provided that all manuals
published by election authorities must be consistent with
the provisions of this Act in all respects and must receive
the approval of the State Board of Elections prior to
publication; provided further that if the State Board does
not approve or disapprove of a proposed manual within 60
days of its submission, the manual shall be deemed
approved.
(4) Prescribe and require the use of such uniform
forms, notices, and other supplies not inconsistent with
the provisions of this Act as it shall deem advisable which
shall be used by election authorities in the conduct of
elections and registrations;
(5) Prepare and certify the form of ballot for any
proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of
Illinois, or any referendum to be submitted to the electors
throughout the State or, when required to do so by law, to
the voters of any area or unit of local government of the
State;
(6) Require such statistical reports regarding the

conduct of elections and registration from election
authorities as may be deemed necessary;
(7) Review and inspect procedures and records relating
to conduct of elections and registration as may be deemed
necessary, and to report violations of election laws to the
appropriate State's Attorney or the Attorney General;
(8) Recommend to the General Assembly legislation to
improve the administration of elections and registration;
(9) Adopt, amend or rescind rules and regulations in
the performance of its duties provided that all such rules
and regulations must be consistent with the provisions of
this Article 1A or issued pursuant to authority otherwise
provided by law;
(10) Determine the validity and sufficiency of
petitions filed under Article XIV, Section 3, of the
Constitution of the State of Illinois of 1970;
(11) Maintain in its principal office a research
library that includes, but is not limited to, abstracts of
votes by precinct for general primary elections and general
elections, current precinct maps and current precinct poll
lists from all election jurisdictions within the State. The
research library shall be open to the public during regular
business hours. Such abstracts, maps and lists shall be
preserved as permanent records and shall be available for
examination and copying at a reasonable cost;
(12) Supervise the administration of the registration

and election laws throughout the State;
(13) Obtain from the Department of Central Management
Services, under Section 405-250 of the Department of
Central Management Services Law (20 ILCS 405/405-250),
such use of electronic data processing equipment as may be
required to perform the duties of the State Board of
Elections and to provide election-related information to
candidates, public and party officials, interested civic
organizations and the general public in a timely and
efficient manner; and
(14) To take such action as may be necessary or
required to give effect to directions of the national
committee or State central committee of an established
political party under Sections 7-8, 7-11 and 7-14.1 or such
other provisions as may be applicable pertaining to the
selection of delegates and alternate delegates to an
established political party's national nominating
conventions or, notwithstanding any candidate
certification schedule contained within the Election Code,
the certification of the Presidential and Vice
Presidential candidate selected by the established
political party's national nominating convention; .
(15) To post all early voting sites separated by
election authority and hours of operation on its website at
least 5 business days before the period for early voting
begins; and

(16) To post on its website the statewide totals, and
totals separated by each election authority, for each of
the counts received pursuant to Section 1-9.2.
The Board may by regulation delegate any of its duties or
functions under this Article, except that final determinations
and orders under this Article shall be issued only by the
Board.
The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall
be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker,
the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as
required by Section 3.1 of "An Act to revise the law in
relation to the General Assembly", approved February 25, 1874,
as amended, and filing such additional copies with the State
Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly
as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State
Library Act.
(Source: P.A. 95-6, eff. 6-20-07; 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)
(10 ILCS 5/1A-16)
Sec. 1A-16. Voter registration information; Internet
posting; processing of voter registration forms; content of
such forms. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the
following provisions shall apply to voter registration under
this Code.

(a) Voter registration information; Internet posting of
voter registration form. Within 90 days after the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the
State Board of Elections shall post on its World Wide Web site
the following information:
(1) A comprehensive list of the names, addresses, phone
numbers, and websites, if applicable, of all county clerks
and boards of election commissioners in Illinois.
(2) A schedule of upcoming elections and the deadline
for voter registration.
(3) A downloadable, printable voter registration form,
in at least English and in Spanish versions, that a person
may complete and mail or submit to the State Board of
Elections or the appropriate county clerk or board of
election commissioners.
Any forms described under paragraph (3) must state the
following:
If you do not have a driver's license or social
security number, and this form is submitted by mail, and
you have never registered to vote in the jurisdiction you
are now registering in, then you must send, with this
application, either (i) a copy of a current and valid photo
identification, or (ii) a copy of a current utility bill,
bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other
government document that shows the name and address of the
voter. If you do not provide the information required

above, then you will be required to provide election
officials with either (i) or (ii) described above the first
time you vote at a voting place or by absentee ballot.
(b) Acceptance of registration forms by the State Board of
Elections and county clerks and board of election
commissioners. The State Board of Elections, county clerks, and
board of election commissioners shall accept all completed
voter registration forms described in subsection (a)(3) of this
Section and Sections 1A-17 and 1A-30 that are:
(1) postmarked on or before the day that voter
registration is closed under the Election Code;
(2) not postmarked, but arrives no later than 5 days
after the close of registration;
(3) submitted in person by a person using the form on
or before the day that voter registration is closed under
the Election Code; or
(4) submitted in person by a person who submits one or
more forms on behalf of one or more persons who used the
form on or before the day that voter registration is closed
under the Election Code.
Upon the receipt of a registration form, the State Board of
Elections shall mark the date on which the form was received
and send the form via first class mail to the appropriate
county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case
may be, within 2 business days based upon the home address of
the person submitting the registration form. The county clerk

and board of election commissioners shall accept and process
any form received from the State Board of Elections.
(c) Processing of registration forms by county clerks and
boards of election commissioners. The county clerk or board of
election commissioners shall promulgate procedures for
processing the voter registration form.
(d) Contents of the voter registration form. The State
Board shall create a voter registration form, which must
contain the following content:
(1) Instructions for completing the form.
(2) A summary of the qualifications to register to vote
in Illinois.
(3) Instructions for mailing in or submitting the form
in person.
(4) The phone number for the State Board of Elections
should a person submitting the form have questions.
(5) A box for the person to check that explains one of
3 reasons for submitting the form:
(a) new registration;
(b) change of address; or
(c) change of name.
(6) a box for the person to check yes or no that asks,
"Are you a citizen of the United States?", a box for the
person to check yes or no that asks, "Will you be 18 years
of age on or before election day?", and a statement of "If
you checked 'no' in response to either of these questions,

then do not complete this form.".
(7) A space for the person to fill in his or her home
telephone number.
(8) Spaces for the person to fill in his or her first,
middle, and last names, street address (principal place of
residence), county, city, state, and zip code.
(9) Spaces for the person to fill in his or her mailing
address, city, state, and zip code if different from his or
her principal place of residence.
(10) A space for the person to fill in his or her
Illinois driver's license number if the person has a
driver's license.
(11) A space for a person without a driver's license to
fill in the last four digits of his or her social security
number if the person has a social security number.
(12) A space for a person without an Illinois driver's
license to fill in his or her identification number from
his or her State Identification card issued by the
Secretary of State.
(13) A space for the person to fill the name appearing
on his or her last voter registration, the street address
of his or her last registration, including the city,
county, state, and zip code.
(14) A space where the person swears or affirms the
following under penalty of perjury with his or her
signature:

(a) "I am a citizen of the United States.";
(b) "I will be at least 18 years old on or before
the next election.";
(c) "I will have lived in the State of Illinois and
in my election precinct at least 30 days as of the date
of the next election."; and
"The information I have provided is true to the
best of my knowledge under penalty of perjury. If I
have provided false information, then I may be fined,
imprisoned, or if I am not a U.S. citizen, deported
from or refused entry into the United States."
(15) A space for the person to fill in his or her
e-mail address if he or she chooses to provide that
information.
(d-5) Compliance with federal law; rulemaking authority.
The voter registration form described in this Section shall be
consistent with the form prescribed by the Federal Election
Commission under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993,
P.L. 103-31, as amended from time to time, and the Help America
Vote Act of 2002, P.L. 107-252, in all relevant respects. The
State Board of Elections shall periodically update the form
based on changes to federal or State law. The State Board of
Elections shall promulgate any rules necessary for the
implementation of this Section; provided that the rules comport
with the letter and spirit of the National Voter Registration
Act of 1993 and Help America Vote Act of 2002 and maximize the

opportunity for a person to register to vote.
(e) Forms available in paper form. The State Board of
Elections shall make the voter registration form available in
regular paper stock and form in sufficient quantities for the
general public. The State Board of Elections may provide the
voter registration form to the Secretary of State, county
clerks, boards of election commissioners, designated agencies
of the State of Illinois, and any other person or entity
designated to have these forms by the Election Code in regular
paper stock and form or some other format deemed suitable by
the Board. Each county clerk or board of election commissioners
has the authority to design and print its own voter
registration form so long as the form complies with the
requirements of this Section. The State Board of Elections,
county clerks, boards of election commissioners, or other
designated agencies of the State of Illinois required to have
these forms under the Election Code shall provide a member of
the public with any reasonable number of forms that he or she
may request. Nothing in this Section shall permit the State
Board of Elections, county clerk, board of election
commissioners, or other appropriate election official who may
accept a voter registration form to refuse to accept a voter
registration form because the form is printed on photocopier or
regular paper stock and form.
(f) (Blank).
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 10-1-13.)

(10 ILCS 5/1A-16.5)
Sec. 1A-16.5. Online voter registration.
(a) The State Board of Elections shall establish and
maintain a system for online voter registration that permits a
person to apply to register to vote or to update his or her
existing voter registration. In accordance with technical
specifications provided by the State Board of Elections, each
election authority shall maintain a voter registration system
capable of receiving and processing voter registration
application information, including electronic signatures, from
the online voter registration system established by the State
Board of Elections.
(b) The online voter registration system shall employ
security measures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter
registration applications submitted electronically pursuant to
this Section.
(c) The Board may receive voter registration information
provided by applicants using the State Board of Elections'
website, may cross reference that information with data or
information contained in the Secretary of State's database in
order to match the information submitted by applicants, and may
receive from the Secretary of State the applicant's digitized
signature upon a successful match of that applicant's
information with that contained in the Secretary of State's
database.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person
who is qualified to register to vote and who has an authentic
Illinois driver's license or State identification card issued
by the Secretary of State may submit an application to register
to vote electronically on a website maintained by the State
Board of Elections.
(e) An online voter registration application shall contain
all of the information that is required for a paper application
as provided in Section 1A-16 of this Code, except that the
applicant shall be required to provide:
(1) the applicant's full Illinois driver's license or
State identification card number;
(2) the last 4 digits of the applicant's social
security number; and
(3) the date the Illinois driver's license or State
identification card was issued.
(f) For an applicant's registration or change in
registration to be accepted, the applicant shall mark the box
associated with the following statement included as part of the
online voter registration application:
"By clicking on the box below, I swear or affirm all of the
following:
(1) I am the person whose name and identifying information
is provided on this form, and I desire to register to vote in
the State of Illinois.
(2) All the information I have provided on this form is

true and correct as of the date I am submitting this form.
(3) I authorize the Secretary of State to transmit to the
State Board of Elections my signature that is on file with the
Secretary of State and understand that such signature will be
used by my local election authority on this online voter
registration application for admission as an elector as if I
had signed this form personally.".
(g) Immediately upon receiving a completed online voter
registration application, the online voter registration system
shall send, by electronic mail, a confirmation notice that the
application has been received. Within 48 hours of receiving
such an application, the online voter registration system shall
send by electronic mail, a notice informing the applicant of
whether the following information has been matched with the
Secretary of State database:
(1) that the applicant has an authentic Illinois
driver's license or State identification card issued by the
Secretary of State and that the driver's license or State
identification number provided by the applicant matches
the driver's license or State identification card number
for that person on file with the Secretary of State;
(2) that the date of issuance of the Illinois driver's
license or State identification card listed on the
application matches the date of issuance of that card for
that person on file with the Secretary of State;
(3) that the date of birth provided by the applicant

matches the date of birth for that person on file with the
Secretary of State; and
(4) that the last 4 digits of the applicant's social
security number matches the last 4 digits for that person
on file with the Secretary of State.
(h) If the information provided by the applicant matches
the information on the Secretary of State's databases for any
driver's license and State identification card holder and is
matched as provided in subsection (g) above, the online voter
registration system shall:
(1) retrieve from the Secretary of State's database
files an electronic copy of the applicant's signature from
his or her Illinois driver's license or State
identification card and such signature shall be deemed to
be the applicant's signature on his or her online voter
registration application;
(2) within 2 days of receiving the application, forward
to the county clerk or board of election commissioners
having jurisdiction over the applicant's voter
registration: (i) the application, along with the
applicant's relevant data that can be directly loaded into
the jurisdiction's voter registration system and (ii) a
copy of the applicant's electronic signature and a
certification from the State Board of Elections that the
applicant's driver's license or State identification card
number, driver's license or State identification card date

of issuance, and date of birth and social security
information have been successfully matched.
(i) Upon receipt of the online voter registration
application, the county clerk or board of election
commissioners having jurisdiction over the applicant's voter
registration shall promptly search its voter registration
database to determine whether the applicant is already
registered to vote at the address on the application and
whether the new registration would create a duplicate
registration. If the applicant is already registered to vote at
the address on the application, the clerk or board, as the case
may be, shall send the applicant by first class mail, and
electronic mail if the applicant has provided an electronic
mail address on the original voter registration form for that
address, a disposition notice as otherwise required by law
informing the applicant that he or she is already registered to
vote at such address. If the applicant is not already
registered to vote at the address on the application and the
applicant is otherwise eligible to register to vote, the clerk
or board, as the case may be, shall:
(1) enter the name and address of the applicant on the
list of registered voters in the jurisdiction; and
(2) send by mail, and electronic mail if the applicant
has provided an electronic mail address on the voter
registration form, a disposition notice to the applicant as
otherwise provided by law setting forth the applicant's

name and address as it appears on the application and
stating that the person is registered to vote.
(j) An electronic signature of the person submitting a
duplicate registration application or a change of address form
that is retrieved and imported from the Secretary of State's
driver's license or State identification card database as
provided herein may, in the discretion of the clerk or board,
be substituted for and replace any existing signature for that
individual in the voter registration database of the county
clerk or board of election commissioners.
(k) Any new registration or change of address submitted
electronically as provided in this Section shall become
effective as of the date it is received by the county clerk or
board of election commissioners having jurisdiction over said
registration. Disposition notices prescribed in this Section
shall be sent within 5 business days of receipt of the online
application or change of address by the county clerk or board
of election commissioners.
(l) All provisions of this Code governing voter
registration and applicable thereto and not inconsistent with
this Section shall apply to online voter registration under
this Section. All applications submitted on a website
maintained by the State Board of Elections shall be deemed
timely filed if they are submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on
the final day for voter registration prior to an election.
After the registration period for an upcoming election has

ended and until the 2nd day following such election, the web
page containing the online voter registration form on the State
Board of Elections website shall inform users of the procedure
for grace period voting.
(m) The State Board of Elections shall maintain a list of
the name, street address, e-mail address, and likely precinct,
ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, of
people who apply to vote online through the voter registration
system and those names and that information shall be stored in
an electronic format on its website, arranged by county and
accessible to State and local political committees.
(n) The Illinois State Board of Elections shall develop or
cause to be developed an online voter registration system able
to be accessed by at least the top two most used mobile
electronic operating systems by January 1, 2016. The Illinois
State Board of Elections shall submit a report to the General
Assembly and the Governor by January 31, 2014 detailing the
progress made to implement the online voter registration system
described in this Section.
(o) (Blank). The online voter registration system provided
for in this Section shall be fully operational by July 1, 2014.
(p) Each State department that maintains an Internet
website must include a hypertext link to the homepage website
maintained and operated pursuant to this Section 1A-16.5. For
the purposes of this Section, "State department" means the
departments of State Government listed in Section 5-15 of the

Civil Administrative Code of Illinois (General Provisions and
Departments of State Government).
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/1A-16.6 new)
Sec. 1A-16.6. Government agency voter registration.
(a) By April 1, 2016, the State Board of Elections shall
establish and maintain a portal for government agency
registration that permits an eligible person to electronically
apply to register to vote or to update his or her existing
voter registration whenever he or she conducts business, either
online or in person, with a designated government agency. The
portal shall interface with the online voter registration
system established in Section 1A-16.5 of this Code and shall be
capable of receiving and processing voter registration
application information, including electronic signatures, from
a designated government agency. The State Board of Elections
shall modify the online voter registration system as necessary
to implement this Section.
Voter registration data received from a designated
government agency through the online registration system shall
be processed as provided for in Section 1A-16.5 of this Code.
Whenever the registration interface is accessible to the
general public, including, but not limited to, online
transactions, the interface shall allow the applicant to
complete the process as provided for in Section 1A-16.5 of this

Code. The online interface shall be capable of providing the
applicant with the applicant's voter registration status with
the State Board of Elections and, if registered, the
applicant's current registration address. The applicant shall
not be required to re-enter any registration data, such as
name, address, and birth date, if the designated government
agency already has that information on file. The applicant
shall be informed that by choosing to register to vote or to
update his or her existing voter registration, the applicant
consents to the transfer of the applicant's personal
information to the State Board of Elections.
Whenever a government employee is accessing the
registration system while servicing the applicant, the
government employee shall notify the applicant of the
applicant's registration status with the State Board of
Elections and, if registered, the applicant's current
registration address. If the applicant elects to register to
vote or to update his or her existing voter registration, the
government employee shall collect the needed information and
assist the applicant with his or her registration. The
applicant shall be informed that by choosing to register to
vote or to update his or her existing voter registration, the
applicant consents to the transfer of the applicant's personal
information to the State Board of Elections.
In accordance with technical specifications provided by
the State Board of Elections, each designated government agency

shall maintain a data transfer mechanism capable of
transmitting voter registration application information,
including electronic signatures where available, to the online
voter registration system established in Section 1A-16.5 of
this Code. Each designated government agency shall establish
and operate a voter registration system capable of transmitting
voter registration application information to the portal as
described in this Section by July 1, 2016.
(b) Whenever an applicant's data is transferred from a
designated government agency, the agency must transmit a
signature image if available. If no signature image was
provided by the agency or if no signature image is available in
the Secretary of State's database or the statewide voter
registration database, the applicant must be notified that
their registration will remain in a pending status and the
applicant will be required to provide identification and a
signature to the election authority on Election Day in the
polling place or during early voting.
(c) The State Board of Elections shall track registration
data received through the online registration system that
originated from a designated government agency for the purposes
of maintaining statistics required by the federal National
Voter Registration Act of 1993, as amended.
(d) The State Board of Elections shall submit a report to
the General Assembly and the Governor by December 1, 2015
detailing the progress made to implement the government agency

voter registration portal described in this Section.
(e) The Board shall adopt rules, in consultation with the
impacted agencies.
(f) As used in this Section, a "designated government
agency" means the Secretary of State's Driver Services and
Vehicle Services Departments, the Department of Human
Services, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the
Department of Employment Security, and the Department on Aging.
(10 ILCS 5/1A-16.8 new)
Sec. 1A-16.8. Automatic transfer of registration based
upon information from the National Change of Address database.
The State Board of Elections shall cross-reference the
statewide voter registration database against the United
States Postal Service's National Change of Address database
twice each calendar year, April 15 and October 1 in
odd-numbered years and April 15 and December 1 in even-numbered
years, and shall share the findings with the election
authorities. An election authority shall automatically
register any voter who has moved into its jurisdiction from
another jurisdiction in Illinois or has moved within its
jurisdiction provided that:
(1) the election authority whose jurisdiction includes
the new registration address provides the voter an
opportunity to reject the change in registration address
through a mailing, sent by non-forwardable mail, to the new

registration address, and
(2) when the election authority whose jurisdiction
includes the previous registration address is a different
election authority, then that election authority provides
the same opportunity through a mailing, sent by forwardable
mail, to the previous registration address.
This change in registration shall trigger the same
inter-jurisdictional or intra-jurisdictional workflows as if
the voter completed a new registration card, including the
cancellation of the voter's previous registration. Should the
registration of a voter be changed from one address to another
within the State and should the voter appear at the polls and
offer to vote from the prior registration address, attesting
that the prior registration address is the true current
address, the voter, if confirmed by the election authority as
having been registered at the prior registration address and
canceled only by the process authorized by this Section, shall
be issued a regular ballot, and the change of registration
address shall be canceled. If the election authority is unable
to immediately confirm the registration, the voter shall be
issued a provisional ballot and the provisional ballot shall be
counted.
(10 ILCS 5/1A-25)
Sec. 1A-25. Centralized statewide voter registration list.
The centralized statewide voter registration list required by

Title III, Subtitle A, Section 303 of the Help America Vote Act
of 2002 shall be created and maintained by the State Board of
Elections as provided in this Section.
(1) The centralized statewide voter registration list
shall be compiled from the voter registration data bases of
each election authority in this State.
(2) With the exception of voter registration forms
submitted electronically through an online voter
registration system, all new voter registration forms and
applications to register to vote, including those reviewed
by the Secretary of State at a driver services facility,
shall be transmitted only to the appropriate election
authority as required by Articles 4, 5, and 6 of this Code
and not to the State Board of Elections. All voter
registration forms submitted electronically to the State
Board of Elections through an online voter registration
system shall be transmitted to the appropriate election
authority as required by Section 1A-16.5. The election
authority shall process and verify each voter registration
form and electronically enter verified registrations on an
expedited basis onto the statewide voter registration
list. All original registration cards shall remain
permanently in the office of the election authority as
required by this Code.
(3) The centralized statewide voter registration list
shall:

(i) Be designed to allow election authorities to
utilize the registration data on the statewide voter
registration list pertinent to voters registered in
their election jurisdiction on locally maintained
software programs that are unique to each
jurisdiction.
(ii) Allow each election authority to perform
essential election management functions, including but
not limited to production of voter lists, processing of
vote by mail absentee voters, production of
individual, pre-printed applications to vote,
administration of election judges, and polling place
administration, but shall not prevent any election
authority from using information from that election
authority's own systems.
(4) The registration information maintained by each
election authority shall be synchronized with that
authority's information on the statewide list at least once
every 24 hours.
To protect the privacy and confidentiality of voter
registration information, the disclosure of any portion of the
centralized statewide voter registration list to any person or
entity other than to a State or local political committee and
other than to a governmental entity for a governmental purpose
is specifically prohibited except as follows: (1) subject to
security measures adopted by the State Board of Elections

which, at a minimum, shall include the keeping of a catalog or
database, available for public view, including the name,
address, and telephone number of the person viewing the list as
well as the time of that viewing, any person may view the list
on a computer screen at the Springfield office of the State
Board of Elections, during normal business hours other than
during the 27 days before an election, but the person viewing
the list under this exception may not print, duplicate,
transmit, or alter the list; or (2) as may be required by an
agreement the State Board of Elections has entered into with a
multi-state voter registration list maintenance system.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/1A-45 new)
Sec. 1A-45. Electronic Registration Information Center.
(a) The State Board of Elections shall enter into an
agreement with the Electronic Registration Information Center
effective no later than January 1, 2016, for the purpose of
maintaining a statewide voter registration database. The State
Board of Elections shall comply with the requirements of the
Electronic Registration Information Center Membership
Agreement. The State Board of Elections shall require a term in
the Electronic Registration Information Center Membership
Agreement that requires the State to share identification
records contained in the Secretary of State's Driver Services
Department and Vehicle Services Department, the Department of

Human Services, the Department of Healthcare and Family
Services, the Department of Aging, and the Department of
Employment Security databases (excluding those fields
unrelated to voter eligibility, such as income or health
information).
(b) The Secretary of State and the Board of Elections shall
enter into an agreement to permit the Secretary of State to
provide the State Board of Elections with any information
required for compliance with the Electronic Registration
Information Center Membership Agreement. The Secretary of
State shall deliver this information as frequently as necessary
for the State Board of Elections to comply with the Electronic
Registration Information Center Membership Agreement.
(b-5) The State Board of Elections and the Department of
Human Services, the Department of Healthcare and Family
Services, the Department on Aging, and the Department of
Employment Security shall enter into an agreement to require
each department to provide the State Board of Elections with
any information necessary to transmit member data under the
Electronic Registration Information Center Membership
Agreement. The director or secretary, as applicable, of each
agency shall deliver this information on an annual basis to the
State Board of Elections pursuant to the agreement between the
entities.
(c) Any communication required to be delivered to a
registrant or potential registrant pursuant to the Electronic

Registration Information Center Membership Agreement shall
include at least the following message:
"Our records show people at this address may not be
registered to vote at this address, but you may be eligible
to register to vote or re-register to vote at this address.
If you are a U.S. Citizen, a resident of Illinois, and will
be 18 years old or older before the next general election
in November, you are qualified to vote.
We invite you to check your registration online at
(enter URL) or register to vote online at (enter URL), by
requesting a mail-in voter registration form by (enter
instructions for requesting a mail-in voter registration
form), or visiting the (name of election authority) office
at (address of election authority)."
The words "register to vote online at (enter URL)" shall be
bolded and of a distinct nature from the other words in the
message required by this subsection (c).
(d) Any communication required to be delivered to a
potential registrant that has been identified by the Electronic
Registration Information Center as eligible to vote but who is
not registered to vote in Illinois shall be prepared and
disseminated at the direction of the State Board of Elections.
All other communications with potential registrants or
re-registrants pursuant to the Electronic Registration
Information Center Membership Agreement shall be prepared and
disseminated at the direction of the appropriate election

authority.
(e) The Executive Director of the State Board of Elections
or his or her designee shall serve as the Member Representative
to the Electronic Registration Information Center.
(f) The State Board of Elections may adopt any rules
necessary to enforce this Section or comply with the Electronic
Registration Information Center Membership Agreement.
(10 ILCS 5/3-6)
Sec. 3-6. Voting age. Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, a person who is 17 years old on the date of a primary
election and who is otherwise qualified to vote is qualified to
vote at that primary, including voting a vote by mail an
absentee, grace period, or early voting ballot with respect to
that primary, if that person will be 18 years old on the date
of the immediately following general election.
References in this Code and elsewhere to the requirement
that a person must be 18 years old to vote shall be interpreted
in accordance with this Section.
For the purposes of this Act, an individual who is 17 years
of age and who will be 18 years of age on the date of the
general election shall be deemed competent to execute and
attest to any voter registration forms.
(Source: P.A. 98-51, eff. 1-1-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-6.3) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-6.3)

Sec. 4-6.3. The county clerk may establish a temporary
place of registration for such times and at such locations
within the county as the county clerk may select. However, no
temporary place of registration may be in operation during the
27 days preceding an election. Notice of the time and place of
registration under this Section shall be published by the
county clerk in a newspaper having a general circulation in the
county not less than 3 nor more than 15 days before the holding
of such registration.
Temporary places of registration shall be established so
that the areas of concentration of population or use by the
public are served, whether by facilities provided in places of
private business or in public buildings or in mobile units.
Areas which may be designated as temporary places of
registration include, but are not limited to, facilities
licensed or certified pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act,
the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, or
the ID/DD Community Care Act, Soldiers' and Sailors' Homes,
shopping centers, business districts, public buildings and
county fairs.
Temporary places of registration shall be available to the
public not less than 2 hours per year for each 1,000 population
or fraction thereof in the county.
All temporary places of registration shall be manned by
deputy county clerks or deputy registrars appointed pursuant to
Section 4-6.2.

(Source: P.A. 97-38, eff. 6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813,
eff. 7-13-12; 98-104, eff. 7-22-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-10)
Sec. 4-10. Except as herein provided, no person shall be
registered, unless he applies in person to a registration
officer, answers such relevant questions as may be asked of him
by the registration officer, and executes the affidavit of
registration. The registration officer shall require the
applicant to furnish two forms of identification, and except in
the case of a homeless individual, one of which must include
his or her residence address. These forms of identification
shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following:
driver's license, social security card, public aid
identification card, utility bill, employee or student
identification card, lease or contract for a residence, credit
card, or a civic, union or professional association membership
card. The registration officer shall require a homeless
individual to furnish evidence of his or her use of the mailing
address stated. This use may be demonstrated by a piece of mail
addressed to that individual and received at that address or by
a statement from a person authorizing use of the mailing
address. The registration officer shall require each applicant
for registration to read or have read to him the affidavit of
registration before permitting him to execute the affidavit.
One of the registration officers or a deputy registration

officer, county clerk, or clerk in the office of the county
clerk, shall administer to all persons who shall personally
apply to register the following oath or affirmation:
"You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will fully and
truly answer all such questions as shall be put to you touching
your name, place of residence, place of birth, your
qualifications as an elector and your right as such to register
and vote under the laws of the State of Illinois."
The registration officer shall satisfy himself that each
applicant for registration is qualified to register before
registering him. If the registration officer has reason to
believe that the applicant is a resident of a Soldiers' and
Sailors' Home or any facility which is licensed or certified
pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental
Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, or the ID/DD Community Care
Act, the following question shall be put, "When you entered the
home which is your present address, was it your bona fide
intention to become a resident thereof?" Any voter of a
township, city, village or incorporated town in which such
applicant resides, shall be permitted to be present at the
place of any precinct registration and shall have the right to
challenge any applicant who applies to be registered.
In case the officer is not satisfied that the applicant is
qualified he shall forthwith notify such applicant in writing
to appear before the county clerk to complete his registration.
Upon the card of such applicant shall be written the word

"incomplete" and no such applicant shall be permitted to vote
unless such registration is satisfactorily completed as
hereinafter provided. No registration shall be taken and marked
as incomplete if information to complete it can be furnished on
the date of the original application.
Any person claiming to be an elector in any election
precinct and whose registration card is marked "Incomplete" may
make and sign an application in writing, under oath, to the
county clerk in substance in the following form:
"I do solemnly swear that I, ...., did on (insert date)
make application to the board of registry of the .... precinct
of the township of .... (or to the county clerk of .... county)
and that said board or clerk refused to complete my
registration as a qualified voter in said precinct. That I
reside in said precinct, that I intend to reside in said
precinct, and am a duly qualified voter of said precinct and am
entitled to be registered to vote in said precinct at the next
election.
(Signature of applicant) ............................."
All such applications shall be presented to the county
clerk or to his duly authorized representative by the
applicant, in person between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00
p.m. on any day after the days on which the 1969 and 1970
precinct re-registrations are held but not on any day within 27
days preceding the ensuing general election and thereafter for

the registration provided in Section 4-7 all such applications
shall be presented to the county clerk or his duly authorized
representative by the applicant in person between the hours of
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on any day prior to 27 days preceding
the ensuing general election. Such application shall be heard
by the county clerk or his duly authorized representative at
the time the application is presented. If the applicant for
registration has registered with the county clerk, such
application may be presented to and heard by the county clerk
or by his duly authorized representative upon the dates
specified above or at any time prior thereto designated by the
county clerk.
Any otherwise qualified person who is absent from his
county of residence either due to business of the United States
or because he is temporarily outside the territorial limits of
the United States may become registered by mailing an
application to the county clerk within the periods of
registration provided for in this Article, or by simultaneous
application for absentee registration by mail and vote by mail
absentee ballot as provided in Article 20 of this Code.
Upon receipt of such application the county clerk shall
immediately mail an affidavit of registration in duplicate,
which affidavit shall contain the following and such other
information as the State Board of Elections may think it proper
to require for the identification of the applicant:
Name. The name of the applicant, giving surname and first

or Christian name in full, and the middle name or the initial
for such middle name, if any.
Sex.
Residence. The name and number of the street, avenue or
other location of the dwelling, and such additional clear and
definite description as may be necessary to determine the exact
location of the dwelling of the applicant. Where the location
cannot be determined by street and number, then the Section,
congressional township and range number may be used, or such
other information as may be necessary, including post office
mailing address.
Electronic mail address, if the registrant has provided
this information.
Term of residence in the State of Illinois and the
precinct.
Nativity. The State or country in which the applicant was
born.
Citizenship. Whether the applicant is native born or
naturalized. If naturalized, the court, place and date of
naturalization.
Age. Date of birth, by month, day and year.
Out of State address of ..........................
AFFIDAVIT OF REGISTRATION
State of ...........)
)ss
County of ..........)

I hereby swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the
United States; that on the day of the next election I shall
have resided in the State of Illinois and in the election
precinct 30 days; that I am fully qualified to vote, that I am
not registered to vote anywhere else in the United States, that
I intend to remain a resident of the State of Illinois and of
the election precinct, that I intend to return to the State of
Illinois, and that the above statements are true.
..............................
(His or her signature or mark)
Subscribed and sworn to before me, an officer qualified to
administer oaths, on (insert date).
........................................
Signature of officer administering oath.
Upon receipt of the executed duplicate affidavit of
Registration, the county clerk shall transfer the information
contained thereon to duplicate Registration Cards provided for
in Section 4-8 of this Article and shall attach thereto a copy
of each of the duplicate affidavit of registration and
thereafter such registration card and affidavit shall
constitute the registration of such person the same as if he
had applied for registration in person.
(Source: P.A. 97-38, eff. 6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813,
eff. 7-13-12; 98-104, eff. 7-22-13; 98-115, eff. 10-1-13;
98-756, eff. 7-16-14.)

(10 ILCS 5/4-50)
Sec. 4-50. Grace period. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Code to the contrary, each election authority
shall establish procedures for the registration of voters and
for change of address during the period from the close of
registration for an a primary or election and until and
including the 3rd day of the before the primary or election,
except that during the 2014 general election the period shall
extend until the polls close on election day. During this grace
period, an unregistered qualified elector may register to vote,
and a registered voter may submit a change of address form, in
person in the office of the election authority, at a permanent
polling place established under Section 19A-10, at any other
early voting site beginning 15 days prior to the election, at a
polling place on election day, or at a voter registration
location specifically designated for this purpose by the
election authority. During the 2014 general election, an
unregistered qualified elector may register to vote, and a
registered voter may submit a change of address form, in person
at any permanent polling place for early voting established
under Section 19A-10 through election day. The election
authority shall register that individual, or change a
registered voter's address, in the same manner as otherwise
provided by this Article for registration and change of
address.
If a voter who registers or changes address during this

grace period wishes to vote at the first election or primary
occurring during after the grace period, he or she must do so
by grace period voting. The election authority shall offer
in-person grace period voting at the authority's office, and
any permanent polling place established under Section 19A-10,
and at any other early voting site beginning 15 days prior to
the election, at a polling place on election day, where grace
period registration is required by this Section; and may offer
in-person grace period voting at additional hours and locations
specifically designated for the purpose of grace period voting
by the election authority. The election authority may allow
grace period voting by mail only if the election authority has
no ballots prepared at the authority's office. Grace period
voting shall be in a manner substantially similar to voting
under Article 19A 19.
Within one day after a voter casts a grace period ballot,
or within one day after the ballot is received by the election
authority if the election authority allows grace period voting
by mail, the election authority shall transmit by electronic
means pursuant to a process established by the State Board of
Elections the voter's name, street address, e-mail address, and
precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may
be, to the State Board of Elections, which shall maintain those
names and that information in an electronic format on its
website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local
political committees. The name of each person issued a grace

period ballot shall also be placed on the appropriate precinct
list of persons to whom vote by mail absentee and early ballots
have been issued, for use as provided in Sections 17-9 and
18-5.
A person who casts a grace period ballot shall not be
permitted to revoke that ballot and vote another ballot with
respect to that primary or election. Ballots cast by persons
who register or change address during the grace period at a
location other than their designated polling place on election
day must be transmitted to and counted at the election
authority's central ballot counting location and shall not be
transmitted to and counted at precinct polling places. The
grace period ballots determined to be valid shall be added to
the vote totals for the precincts for which they were cast in
the order in which the ballots were opened.
In counties with a population of less than 100,000 that do
not have electronic poll books, the election authority may opt
out of registration in the polling place if the election
authority establishes grace period registration and voting at
other sites on election day at the following sites: (i) the
election authority's main office and (ii) a polling place in
each municipality where 20% or more of the county's residents
reside if the election authority's main office is not located
in that municipality. The election authority may establish
other grace period registration and voting sites on election
day provided that the election authority has met the notice

requirements of Section 19A-25 for permanent and temporary
early voting sites.
(Source: P.A. 97-766, eff. 7-6-12; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13;
98-691, eff. 7-1-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-105)
Sec. 4-105. First time voting. A person must vote for the
first time in person and not by a vote by mail mailed absentee
ballot if the person registered to vote by mail, unless the
person first provides the appropriate election authority with
sufficient proof of identity and the election authority
verifies the person's proof of identity. Sufficient proof of
identity shall be demonstrated by submission of the person's
driver's license number or State identification card number or,
if the person does not have either of those, verification by
the last 4 digits of the person's social security number, a
copy of a current and valid photo identification, or a copy of
a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government
check, or other federal, State, or local government document
that shows the person's name and address. A person may also
demonstrate sufficient proof of identity by submission of a
photo identification issued by a college or university
accompanied by either a copy of the applicant's contract or
lease for a residence or any postmarked mail delivered to the
applicant at his or her current residence address. Persons who
apply to register to vote by mail but provide inadequate proof

of identity to the election authority shall be notified by the
election authority that the registration has not been fully
completed and that the person remains ineligible to vote by
mail or in person until such proof is presented.
(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07; 96-317, eff. 1-1-10.)
(10 ILCS 5/5-9) (from Ch. 46, par. 5-9)
Sec. 5-9. Except as herein provided, no person shall be
registered unless he applies in person to registration officer,
answers such relevant questions as may be asked of him by the
registration officer, and executes the affidavit of
registration. The registration officer shall require the
applicant to furnish two forms of identification, and except in
the case of a homeless individual, one of which must include
his or her residence address. These forms of identification
shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following:
driver's license, social security card, public aid
identification card, utility bill, employee or student
identification card, lease or contract for a residence, credit
card, or a civic, union or professional association membership
card. The registration officer shall require a homeless
individual to furnish evidence of his or her use of the mailing
address stated. This use may be demonstrated by a piece of mail
addressed to that individual and received at that address or by
a statement from a person authorizing use of the mailing
address. The registration officer shall require each applicant

for registration to read or have read to him the affidavit of
registration before permitting him to execute the affidavit.
One of the Deputy Registrars, the Judge of Registration, or
an Officer of Registration, County Clerk, or clerk in the
office of the County Clerk, shall administer to all persons who
shall personally apply to register the following oath or
affirmation:
"You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will fully and
truly answer all such questions as shall be put to you touching
your place of residence, name, place of birth, your
qualifications as an elector and your right as such to register
and vote under the laws of the State of Illinois."
The Registration Officer shall satisfy himself that each
applicant for registration is qualified to register before
registering him. If the registration officer has reason to
believe that the applicant is a resident of a Soldiers' and
Sailors' Home or any facility which is licensed or certified
pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental
Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, or the ID/DD Community Care
Act, the following question shall be put, "When you entered the
home which is your present address, was it your bona fide
intention to become a resident thereof?" Any voter of a
township, city, village or incorporated town in which such
applicant resides, shall be permitted to be present at the
place of precinct registration, and shall have the right to
challenge any applicant who applies to be registered.

In case the officer is not satisfied that the applicant is
qualified, he shall forthwith in writing notify such applicant
to appear before the County Clerk to furnish further proof of
his qualifications. Upon the card of such applicant shall be
written the word "Incomplete" and no such applicant shall be
permitted to vote unless such registration is satisfactorily
completed as hereinafter provided. No registration shall be
taken and marked as "incomplete" if information to complete it
can be furnished on the date of the original application.
Any person claiming to be an elector in any election
precinct in such township, city, village or incorporated town
and whose registration is marked "Incomplete" may make and sign
an application in writing, under oath, to the County Clerk in
substance in the following form:
"I do solemnly swear that I, .........., did on (insert
date) make application to the Board of Registry of the ........
precinct of ........ ward of the City of .... or of the
......... District ......... Town of .......... (or to the
County Clerk of .............) and ............ County; that
said Board or Clerk refused to complete my registration as a
qualified voter in said precinct, that I reside in said
precinct (or that I intend to reside in said precinct), am a
duly qualified voter and entitled to vote in said precinct at
the next election.
...........................
(Signature of Applicant)"

All such applications shall be presented to the County
Clerk by the applicant, in person between the hours of nine
o'clock a.m. and five o'clock p.m., on Monday and Tuesday of
the third week subsequent to the weeks in which the 1961 and
1962 precinct re-registrations are to be held, and thereafter
for the registration provided in Section 5-17 of this Article,
all such applications shall be presented to the County Clerk by
the applicant in person between the hours of nine o'clock a.m.
and nine o'clock p.m. on Monday and Tuesday of the third week
prior to the date on which such election is to be held.
Any otherwise qualified person who is absent from his
county of residence either due to business of the United States
or because he is temporarily outside the territorial limits of
the United States may become registered by mailing an
application to the county clerk within the periods of
registration provided for in this Article or by simultaneous
application for absentee registration by mail and vote by mail
absentee ballot as provided in Article 20 of this Code.
Upon receipt of such application the county clerk shall
immediately mail an affidavit of registration in duplicate,
which affidavit shall contain the following and such other
information as the State Board of Elections may think it proper
to require for the identification of the applicant:
Name. The name of the applicant, giving surname and first
or Christian name in full, and the middle name or the initial
for such middle name, if any.

Sex.
Residence. The name and number of the street, avenue or
other location of the dwelling, and such additional clear and
definite description as may be necessary to determine the exact
location of the dwelling of the applicant. Where the location
cannot be determined by street and number, then the Section,
congressional township and range number may be used, or such
other information as may be necessary, including post office
mailing address.
Electronic mail address, if the registrant has provided
this information.
Term of residence in the State of Illinois and the
precinct.
Nativity. The State or country in which the applicant was
born.
Citizenship. Whether the applicant is native born or
naturalized. If naturalized, the court, place and date of
naturalization.
Age. Date of birth, by month, day and year.
Out of State address of ..........................
AFFIDAVIT OF REGISTRATION
State of .........)
)ss
County of ........)
I hereby swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the
United States; that on the day of the next election I shall

have resided in the State of Illinois for 6 months and in the
election precinct 30 days; that I am fully qualified to vote,
that I am not registered to vote anywhere else in the United
States, that I intend to remain a resident of the State of
Illinois and of the election precinct, that I intend to return
to the State of Illinois, and that the above statements are
true.
..............................
(His or her signature or mark)
Subscribed and sworn to before me, an officer qualified to
administer oaths, on (insert date).
........................................
Signature of officer administering oath.
Upon receipt of the executed duplicate affidavit of
Registration, the county clerk shall transfer the information
contained thereon to duplicate Registration Cards provided for
in Section 5-7 of this Article and shall attach thereto a copy
of each of the duplicate affidavit of registration and
thereafter such registration card and affidavit shall
constitute the registration of such person the same as if he
had applied for registration in person.
(Source: P.A. 97-38, eff. 6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813,
eff. 7-13-12; 98-104, eff. 7-22-13; 98-115, eff. 10-1-13;
98-756, eff. 7-16-14.)

(10 ILCS 5/5-16.3) (from Ch. 46, par. 5-16.3)
Sec. 5-16.3. The county clerk may establish temporary
places of registration for such times and at such locations
within the county as the county clerk may select. However, no
temporary place of registration may be in operation during the
27 days preceding an election. Notice of time and place of
registration at any such temporary place of registration under
this Section shall be published by the county clerk in a
newspaper having a general circulation in the county not less
than 3 nor more than 15 days before the holding of such
registration.
Temporary places of registration shall be established so
that the areas of concentration of population or use by the
public are served, whether by facilities provided in places of
private business or in public buildings or in mobile units.
Areas which may be designated as temporary places of
registration include, but are not limited to, facilities
licensed or certified pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act,
the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, or
the ID/DD Community Care Act, Soldiers' and Sailors' Homes,
shopping centers, business districts, public buildings and
county fairs.
Temporary places of registration shall be available to the
public not less than 2 hours per year for each 1,000 population
or fraction thereof in the county.
All temporary places of registration shall be manned by

deputy county clerks or deputy registrars appointed pursuant to
Section 5-16.2.
(Source: P.A. 97-38, eff. 6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813,
eff. 7-13-12; 98-104, eff. 7-22-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/5-50)
Sec. 5-50. Grace period. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Code to the contrary, each election authority
shall establish procedures for the registration of voters and
for change of address during the period from the close of
registration for an a primary or election and until and
including the 3rd day of the before the primary or election,
except that during the 2014 general election the period shall
extend until the polls close on election day. During this grace
period, an unregistered qualified elector may register to vote,
and a registered voter may submit a change of address form, in
person in the office of the election authority, at a permanent
polling place established under Section 19A-10, at any other
early voting site beginning 15 days prior to the election, at a
polling place on election day, or at a voter registration
location specifically designated for this purpose by the
election authority. During the 2014 general election, an
unregistered qualified elector may register to vote, and a
registered voter may submit a change of address form, in person
at any permanent polling place for early voting established
pursuant to Section 19A-10 through election day. The election

authority shall register that individual, or change a
registered voter's address, in the same manner as otherwise
provided by this Article for registration and change of
address.
If a voter who registers or changes address during this
grace period wishes to vote at the first election or primary
occurring during after the grace period, he or she must do so
by grace period voting. The election authority shall offer
in-person grace period voting at his or her office, and any
permanent polling place established under Section 19A-10, and
at any other early voting site beginning 15 days prior to the
election, at a polling place on election day, where grace
period registration is required by this Section; and may offer
in-person grace period voting at additional hours and locations
specifically designated for the purpose of grace period voting
by the election authority. The election authority may allow
grace period voting by mail only if the election authority has
no ballots prepared at the authority's office. Grace period
voting shall be in a manner substantially similar to voting
under Article 19A 19.
Within one day after a voter casts a grace period ballot,
or within one day after the ballot is received by the election
authority if the election authority allows grace period voting
by mail, the election authority shall transmit by electronic
means pursuant to a process established by the State Board of
Elections the voter's name, street address, e-mail address, and

precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may
be, to the State Board of Elections, which shall maintain those
names and that information in an electronic format on its
website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local
political committees. The name of each person issued a grace
period ballot shall also be placed on the appropriate precinct
list of persons to whom vote by mail absentee and early ballots
have been issued, for use as provided in Sections 17-9 and
18-5.
A person who casts a grace period ballot shall not be
permitted to revoke that ballot and vote another ballot with
respect to that primary or election. Ballots cast by persons
who register or change address during the grace period at a
location other than their designated polling place on election
day must be transmitted to and counted at the election
authority's central ballot counting location and shall not be
transmitted to and counted at precinct polling places. The
grace period ballots determined to be valid shall be added to
the vote totals for the precincts for which they were cast in
the order in which the ballots were opened.
In counties with a population of less than 100,000 that do
not have electronic poll books, the election authority may opt
out of registration in the polling place if the election
authority establishes grace period registration and voting at
other sites on election day at the following sites: (i) the
election authority's main office and (ii) a polling place in

each municipality where 20% or more of the county's residents
reside if the election authority's main office is not located
in that municipality. The election authority may establish
other grace period registration and voting sites on election
day provided that the election authority has met the notice
requirements of Section 19A-25 for permanent and temporary
early voting sites.
(Source: P.A. 97-766, eff. 7-6-12; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13;
98-691, eff. 7-1-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/5-105)
Sec. 5-105. First time voting. A person must vote for the
first time in person and not by a vote by mail mailed absentee
ballot if the person registered to vote by mail, unless the
person first provides the appropriate election authority with
sufficient proof of identity and the election authority
verifies the person's proof of identity. Sufficient proof of
identity shall be demonstrated by submission of the person's
driver's license number or State identification card number or,
if the person does not have either of those, verification by
the last 4 digits of the person's social security number, a
copy of a current and valid photo identification, or a copy of
a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government
check, or other federal, State, or local government document
that shows the person's name and address. A person may also
demonstrate sufficient proof of identity by submission of a

photo identification issued by a college or university
accompanied by either a copy of the applicant's contract or
lease for a residence or any postmarked mail delivered to the
applicant at his or her current residence address. Persons who
apply to register to vote by mail but provide inadequate proof
of identity to the election authority shall be notified by the
election authority that the registration has not been fully
completed and that the person remains ineligible to vote by
mail or in person until such proof is presented.
(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07; 96-317, eff. 1-1-10.)
(10 ILCS 5/6-29) (from Ch. 46, par. 6-29)
Sec. 6-29. For the purpose of registering voters under this
Article, the office of the Board of Election Commissioners
shall be open during ordinary business hours of each week day,
from 9 a.m. to 12 o'clock noon on the last four Saturdays
immediately preceding the end of the period of registration
preceding each election, and such other days and such other
times as the board may direct. During the 27 days immediately
preceding any election there shall be no registration of voters
at the office of the Board of Election Commissioners in cities,
villages and incorporated towns of fewer than 200,000
inhabitants. In cities, villages and incorporated towns of
200,000 or more inhabitants, there shall be no registration of
voters at the office of the Board of Election Commissioners
during the 35 days immediately preceding any election;

provided, however, where no precinct registration is being
conducted prior to any election then registration may be taken
in the office of the Board up to and including the 28th day
prior to such election. The Board of Election Commissioners may
set up and establish as many branch offices for the purpose of
taking registrations as it may deem necessary, and the branch
offices may be open on any or all dates and hours during which
registrations may be taken in the main office. All officers and
employees of the Board of Election Commissioners who are
authorized by such board to take registrations under this
Article shall be considered officers of the circuit court, and
shall be subject to the same control as is provided by Section
14-5 of this Act with respect to judges of election.
In any election called for the submission of the revision
or alteration of, or the amendments to the Constitution,
submitted by a Constitutional Convention, the final day for
registration at the office of the election authority charged
with the printing of the ballot of this election shall be the
15th day prior to the date of election.
The Board of Election Commissioners shall appoint one or
more registration teams, consisting of 2 of its employees for
each team, for the purpose of accepting the registration of any
voter who files an affidavit, within the period for taking
registrations provided for in this Article, that he is
physically unable to appear at the office of the Board or at
any appointed place of registration. On the day or days when a

precinct registration is being conducted such teams shall
consist of one member from each of the 2 leading political
parties who are serving on the Precinct Registration Board.
Each team so designated shall visit each disabled person and
shall accept the registration of such person the same as if he
had applied for registration in person.
Any otherwise qualified person who is absent from his
county of residence due to business of the United States, or
who is temporarily residing outside the territorial limits of
the United States, may make application to become registered by
mail to the Board of Election Commissioners within the periods
for registration provided for in this Article or by
simultaneous application for absentee registration by mail and
vote by mail absentee ballot as provided in Article 20 of this
Code.
Upon receipt of such application the Board of Election
Commissioners shall immediately mail an affidavit of
registration in duplicate, which affidavit shall contain the
following and such other information as the State Board of
Elections may think it proper to require for the identification
of the applicant:
Name. The name of the applicant, giving surname and first
or Christian name in full, and the middle name or the initial
for such middle name, if any.
Sex.
Residence. The name and number of the street, avenue or

other location of the dwelling, and such additional clear and
definite description as may be necessary to determine the exact
location of the dwelling of the applicant. Where the location
cannot be determined by street and number, then the section,
congressional township and range number may be used, or such
other information as may be necessary, including post office
mailing address.
Electronic mail address, if the registrant has provided
this information.
Term of residence in the State of Illinois and the
precinct.
Nativity. The state or country in which the applicant was
born.
Citizenship. Whether the applicant is native born or
naturalized. If naturalized, the court, place and date of
naturalization.
Age. Date of birth, by month, day and year.
Out of State address of ..................
AFFIDAVIT OF REGISTRATION
State of .........)
) ss.
County of ........)
I hereby swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the
United States; that on the day of the next election I shall
have resided in the State of Illinois and in the election
precinct 30 days; that I am fully qualified to vote, that I am

not registered to vote anywhere else in the United States, that
I intend to remain a resident of the State of Illinois, and of
the election precinct, that I intend to return to the State of
Illinois, and that the above statements are true.
..............................
(His or her signature or mark)
Subscribed and sworn to before me, an officer qualified to
administer oaths, on (insert date).
........................................
Signature of officer administering oath.
Upon receipt of the executed duplicate affidavit of
Registration, the Board of Election Commissioners shall
transfer the information contained thereon to duplicate
Registration Cards provided for in Section 6-35 of this Article
and shall attach thereto a copy of each of the duplicate
affidavit of registration and thereafter such registration
card and affidavit shall constitute the registration of such
person the same as if he had applied for registration in
person.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 10-1-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/6-50.3) (from Ch. 46, par. 6-50.3)
Sec. 6-50.3. The board of election commissioners may
establish temporary places of registration for such times and
at such locations as the board may select. However, no
temporary place of registration may be in operation during the

27 days preceding an election. Notice of the time and place of
registration at any such temporary place of registration under
this Section shall be published by the board of election
commissioners in a newspaper having a general circulation in
the city, village or incorporated town not less than 3 nor more
than 15 days before the holding of such registration.
Temporary places of registration shall be established so
that the areas of concentration of population or use by the
public are served, whether by facilities provided in places of
private business or in public buildings or in mobile units.
Areas which may be designated as temporary places of
registration include, but are not limited to, facilities
licensed or certified pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act,
the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, or
the ID/DD Community Care Act, Soldiers' and Sailors' Homes,
shopping centers, business districts, public buildings and
county fairs.
Temporary places of registration shall be available to the
public not less than 2 hours per year for each 1,000 population
or fraction thereof in the county.
All temporary places of registration shall be manned by
employees of the board of election commissioners or deputy
registrars appointed pursuant to Section 6-50.2.
(Source: P.A. 97-38, eff. 6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813,
eff. 7-13-12; 98-104, eff. 7-22-13.)

(10 ILCS 5/6-100)
Sec. 6-100. Grace period. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Code to the contrary, each election authority
shall establish procedures for the registration of voters and
for change of address during the period from the close of
registration for an a primary or election and until and
including the 3rd day of the before the primary or election,
except that during the 2014 general election the period shall
extend until the polls close on election day. During this grace
period, an unregistered qualified elector may register to vote,
and a registered voter may submit a change of address form, in
person in the office of the election authority, at a permanent
polling place established under Section 19A-10, at any other
early voting site beginning 15 days prior to the election, at a
polling place on election day, or at a voter registration
location specifically designated for this purpose by the
election authority. During the 2014 general election, an
unregistered qualified elector may register to vote, and a
registered voter may submit a change of address form, in person
at any permanent polling place for early voting established
pursuant to Section 19A-10 through election day. The election
authority shall register that individual, or change a
registered voter's address, in the same manner as otherwise
provided by this Article for registration and change of
address.
If a voter who registers or changes address during this

grace period wishes to vote at the first election or primary
occurring during after the grace period. The election authority
shall offer in-person grace period voting at the authority's
office, and any permanent polling place established under
Section 19A-10, and at any other early voting site beginning 15
days prior to the election, at a polling place on election day,
where grace period registration is required by this Section;
and may offer in-person grace period voting at additional hours
and locations specifically designated for the purpose of grace
period voting by the election authority. The election authority
may allow grace period voting by mail only if the election
authority has no ballots prepared at the authority's office.
Grace period voting shall be in a manner substantially similar
to voting under Article 19A 19.
Within one day after a voter casts a grace period ballot,
or within one day after the ballot is received by the election
authority if the election authority allows grace period voting
by mail, the election authority shall transmit by electronic
means pursuant to a process established by the State Board of
Elections the voter's name, street address, e-mail address, and
precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may
be, to the State Board of Elections, which shall maintain those
names and that information in an electronic format on its
website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local
political committees. The name of each person issued a grace
period ballot shall also be placed on the appropriate precinct

list of persons to whom vote by mail absentee and early ballots
have been issued, for use as provided in Sections 17-9 and
18-5.
A person who casts a grace period ballot shall not be
permitted to revoke that ballot and vote another ballot with
respect to that primary or election. Ballots cast by persons
who register or change address during the grace period at a
location other than their designated polling place on election
day must be transmitted to and counted at the election
authority's central ballot counting location and shall not be
transmitted to and counted at precinct polling places. The
grace period ballots determined to be valid shall be added to
the vote totals for the precincts for which they were cast in
the order in which the ballots were opened.
In counties with a population of less than 100,000 that do
not have electronic poll books, the election authority may opt
out of registration in the polling place if the election
authority establishes grace period registration and voting at
other sites on election day at the following sites: (i) the
election authority's main office and (ii) a polling place in
each municipality where 20% or more of the county's residents
reside if the election authority's main office is not located
in that municipality. The election authority may establish
other grace period registration and voting sites on election
day provided that the election authority has met the notice
requirements of Section 19A-25 for permanent and temporary

early voting sites.
(Source: P.A. 97-766, eff. 7-6-12; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13;
98-691, eff. 7-1-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/6-105)
Sec. 6-105. First time voting. A person must vote for the
first time in person and not by a vote by mail mailed absentee
ballot if the person registered to vote by mail, unless the
person first provides the appropriate election authority with
sufficient proof of identity and the election authority
verifies the person's proof of identity. Sufficient proof of
identity shall be demonstrated by submission of the person's
driver's license number or State identification card number or,
if the person does not have either of those, verification by
the last 4 digits of the person's social security number, a
copy of a current and valid photo identification, or a copy of
a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government
check, or other federal, State, or local government document
that shows the person's name and address. A person may also
demonstrate sufficient proof of identity by submission of a
photo identification issued by a college or university
accompanied by either a copy of the applicant's contract or
lease for a residence or any postmarked mail delivered to the
applicant at his or her current residence address. Persons who
apply to register to vote by mail but provide inadequate proof
of identity to the election authority shall be notified by the

election authority that the registration has not been fully
completed and that the person remains ineligible to vote by
mail or in person until such proof is presented.
(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07; 96-317, eff. 1-1-10.)
(10 ILCS 5/7-15) (from Ch. 46, par. 7-15)
Sec. 7-15. At least 60 days prior to each general and
consolidated primary, the election authority shall provide
public notice, calculated to reach elderly and handicapped
voters, of the availability of registration and voting aids
under the Federal Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and
Handicapped Act, of the availability of assistance in marking
the ballot, procedures for voting by a vote by mail absentee
ballot, and procedures for early voting by personal appearance.
At least 20 days before the general primary the county clerk of
each county, and not more than 30 nor less than 10 days before
the consolidated primary the election authority, shall prepare
in the manner provided in this Act, a notice of such primary
which notice shall state the time and place of holding the
primary, the hours during which the polls will be open, the
offices for which candidates will be nominated at such primary
and the political parties entitled to participate therein,
notwithstanding that no candidate of any such political party
may be entitled to have his name printed on the primary ballot.
Such notice shall also include the list of addresses of
precinct polling places for the consolidated primary unless

such list is separately published by the election authority not
less than 10 days before the consolidated primary.
In counties, municipalities, or towns having fewer than
500,000 inhabitants notice of the general primary shall be
published once in two or more newspapers published in the
county, municipality or town, as the case may be, or if there
is no such newspaper, then in any two or more newspapers
published in the county and having a general circulation
throughout the community.
In counties, municipalities, or towns having 500,000 or
more inhabitants notice of the general primary shall be
published at least 15 days prior to the primary by the same
authorities and in the same manner as notice of election for
general elections are required to be published in counties,
municipalities or towns of 500,000 or more inhabitants under
this Act.
Notice of the consolidated primary shall be published once
in one or more newspapers published in each political
subdivision having such primary, and if there is no such
newspaper, then published once in a local, community newspaper
having general circulation in the subdivision, and also once in
a newspaper published in the county wherein the political
subdivisions, or portions thereof, having such primary are
situated.
(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)

(10 ILCS 5/7-34) (from Ch. 46, par. 7-34)
Sec. 7-34. Pollwatchers in a primary election shall be
authorized in the following manner:
(1) Each established political party shall be entitled to
appoint one pollwatcher per precinct. Such pollwatchers must be
affiliated with the political party for which they are
pollwatching and must be a registered voter in Illinois.
(2) Each candidate shall be entitled to appoint two
pollwatchers per precinct. For Federal, State, county,
township, and municipal primary elections, the pollwatchers
must be registered to vote in Illinois.
(3) Each organization of citizens within the county or
political subdivision, which has among its purposes or
interests the investigation or prosecution of election frauds,
and which shall have registered its name and address and the
names and addresses of its principal officers with the proper
election authority at least 40 days before the primary
election, shall be entitled to appoint one pollwatcher per
precinct. For all primary elections, the pollwatcher must be
registered to vote in Illinois.
(3.5) Each State nonpartisan civic organization within the
county or political subdivision shall be entitled to appoint
one pollwatcher per precinct, provided that no more than 2
pollwatchers appointed by State nonpartisan civic
organizations shall be present in a precinct polling place at
the same time. Each organization shall have registered the

names and addresses of its principal officers with the proper
election authority at least 40 days before the primary
election. The pollwatchers must be registered to vote in
Illinois. For the purpose of this paragraph, a "State
nonpartisan civic organization" means any corporation,
unincorporated association, or organization that:
(i) as part of its written articles of incorporation,
bylaws, or charter or by separate written declaration, has
among its stated purposes the provision of voter
information and education, the protection of individual
voters' rights, and the promotion of free and equal
elections;
(ii) is organized or primarily conducts its activities
within the State of Illinois; and
(iii) continuously maintains an office or business
location within the State of Illinois, together with a
current listed telephone number (a post office box number
without a current listed telephone number is not
sufficient).
(4) Each organized group of proponents or opponents of a
ballot proposition, which shall have registered the name and
address of its organization or committee and the name and
address of its chairman with the proper election authority at
least 40 days before the primary election, shall be entitled to
appoint one pollwatcher per precinct. The pollwatcher must be
registered to vote in Illinois.

(5) In any primary election held to nominate candidates for
the offices of a municipality of less than 3,000,000 population
that is situated in 2 or more counties, a pollwatcher who is a
resident of a county in which any part of the municipality is
situated shall be eligible to serve as a pollwatcher in any
polling place located within such municipality, provided that
such pollwatcher otherwise complies with the respective
requirements of subsections (1) through (4) of this Section and
is a registered voter whose residence is within Illinois.
All pollwatchers shall be required to have proper
credentials. Such credentials shall be printed in sufficient
quantities, shall be issued by and under the facsimile
signature(s) of the election authority and shall be available
for distribution at least 2 weeks prior to the election. Such
credentials shall be authorized by the real or facsimile
signature of the State or local party official or the candidate
or the presiding officer of the civic organization or the
chairman of the proponent or opponent group, as the case may
be.
Pollwatcher credentials shall be in substantially the
following form:
POLLWATCHER CREDENTIALS
TO THE JUDGES OF ELECTION:
In accordance with the provisions of the Election Code, the
undersigned hereby appoints ........... (name of pollwatcher)

at .......... (address) in the county of ...........,
.......... (township or municipality) of ........... (name),
State of Illinois and who is duly registered to vote from this
address, to act as a pollwatcher in the ........... precinct of
the .......... ward (if applicable) of the ...........
(township or municipality) of ........... at the ...........
election to be held on (insert date).
........................ (Signature of Appointing Authority)
........................ TITLE (party official, candidate,
civic organization president,
proponent or opponent group chairman)
Under penalties provided by law pursuant to Section 29-10
of the Election Code, the undersigned pollwatcher certifies
that he or she resides at .............. (address) in the
county of ........., ......... (township or municipality) of
.......... (name), State of Illinois, and is duly registered to
vote in Illinois.
........................... ..........................
(Precinct and/or Ward in (Signature of Pollwatcher)
Which Pollwatcher Resides)
Pollwatchers must present their credentials to the Judges
of Election upon entering the polling place. Pollwatcher
credentials properly executed and signed shall be proof of the
qualifications of the pollwatcher authorized thereby. Such
credentials are retained by the Judges and returned to the

Election Authority at the end of the day of election with the
other election materials. Once a pollwatcher has surrendered a
valid credential, he may leave and reenter the polling place
provided that such continuing action does not disrupt the
conduct of the election. Pollwatchers may be substituted during
the course of the day, but established political parties,
candidates, qualified civic organizations and proponents and
opponents of a ballot proposition can have only as many
pollwatchers at any given time as are authorized in this
Article. A substitute must present his signed credential to the
judges of election upon entering the polling place. Election
authorities must provide a sufficient number of credentials to
allow for substitution of pollwatchers. After the polls have
closed, pollwatchers shall be allowed to remain until the
canvass of votes is completed; but may leave and reenter only
in cases of necessity, provided that such action is not so
continuous as to disrupt the canvass of votes.
Candidates seeking office in a district or municipality
encompassing 2 or more counties shall be admitted to any and
all polling places throughout such district or municipality
without regard to the counties in which such candidates are
registered to vote. Actions of such candidates shall be
governed in each polling place by the same privileges and
limitations that apply to pollwatchers as provided in this
Section. Any such candidate who engages in an activity in a
polling place which could reasonably be construed by a majority

of the judges of election as campaign activity shall be removed
forthwith from such polling place.
Candidates seeking office in a district or municipality
encompassing 2 or more counties who desire to be admitted to
polling places on election day in such district or municipality
shall be required to have proper credentials. Such credentials
shall be printed in sufficient quantities, shall be issued by
and under the facsimile signature of the election authority of
the election jurisdiction where the polling place in which the
candidate seeks admittance is located, and shall be available
for distribution at least 2 weeks prior to the election. Such
credentials shall be signed by the candidate.
Candidate credentials shall be in substantially the
following form:
CANDIDATE CREDENTIALS
TO THE JUDGES OF ELECTION:
In accordance with the provisions of the Election Code, I
...... (name of candidate) hereby certify that I am a candidate
for ....... (name of office) and seek admittance to .......
precinct of the ....... ward (if applicable) of the .......
(township or municipality) of ....... at the ....... election
to be held on (insert date).
......................... .......................
(Signature of Candidate) OFFICE FOR WHICH
CANDIDATE SEEKS

NOMINATION OR
ELECTION
Pollwatchers shall be permitted to observe all proceedings
and view all reasonably requested records relating to the
conduct of the election, provided the secrecy of the ballot is
not impinged, and to station themselves in a position in the
voting room as will enable them to observe the judges making
the signature comparison between the voter application and the
voter registration record card; provided, however, that such
pollwatchers shall not be permitted to station themselves in
such close proximity to the judges of election so as to
interfere with the orderly conduct of the election and shall
not, in any event, be permitted to handle election materials.
Pollwatchers may challenge for cause the voting qualifications
of a person offering to vote and may call to the attention of
the judges of election any incorrect procedure or apparent
violations of this Code.
If a majority of the judges of election determine that the
polling place has become too overcrowded with pollwatchers so
as to interfere with the orderly conduct of the election, the
judges shall, by lot, limit such pollwatchers to a reasonable
number, except that each candidate and each established or new
political party shall be permitted to have at least one
pollwatcher present.
Representatives of an election authority, with regard to an

election under its jurisdiction, the State Board of Elections,
and law enforcement agencies, including but not limited to a
United States Attorney, a State's attorney, the Attorney
General, and a State, county, or local police department, in
the performance of their official election duties, shall be
permitted at all times to enter and remain in the polling
place. Upon entering the polling place, such representatives
shall display their official credentials or other
identification to the judges of election.
Uniformed police officers assigned to polling place duty
shall follow all lawful instructions of the judges of election.
The provisions of this Section shall also apply to
supervised casting of vote by mail absentee ballots as provided
in Section 19-12.2 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 95-267, eff. 8-17-07.)
(10 ILCS 5/10-7) (from Ch. 46, par. 10-7)
Sec. 10-7. Any person whose name has been presented as a
candidate, including nonpartisan and independent candidates,
may cause his name to be withdrawn from any such nomination by
his request in writing, signed by him and duly acknowledged
before an officer qualified to take acknowledgment of deeds,
and presented to the principal office or permanent branch
office of the Board, the election authority, or the local
election official, as the case may be, not later than the date
for certification of candidates for the ballot. No name so

withdrawn shall be printed upon the ballots under the party
appellation or title from which the candidate has withdrawn his
name. If such a request for withdrawal is received after the
date for certification of the candidates for the ballot, then
the votes cast for the withdrawn candidate are invalid and
shall not be reported by the election authority. If the name of
the same person has been presented as a candidate for 2 or more
offices which are incompatible so that the same person could
not serve in more than one of such offices if elected, that
person must withdraw as a candidate for all but one of such
offices within the 5 business days following the last day for
petition filing. If he fails to withdraw as a candidate for all
but one of such offices within such time, his name shall not be
certified, nor printed on the ballot, for any office. However,
nothing in this section shall be construed as precluding a
judge who is seeking retention in office from also being a
candidate for another judicial office. Except as otherwise
herein provided, in case the certificate of nomination or
petition as provided for in this Article shall contain or
exhibit the name of any candidate for any office upon more than
one of said certificates or petitions (for the same office),
then and in that case the Board or election authority or local
election official, as the case may be, shall immediately notify
said candidate of said fact and that his name appears
unlawfully upon more than one of said certificates or petitions
and that within 3 days from the receipt of said notification,

said candidate must elect as to which of said political party
appellations or groups he desires his name to appear and remain
under upon said ballot, and if said candidate refuses, fails or
neglects to make such election, then and in that case the Board
or election authority or local election official, as the case
may be, shall permit the name of said candidate to appear or be
printed or placed upon said ballot only under the political
party appellation or group appearing on the certificate of
nomination or petition, as the case may be, first filed, and
shall strike or cause to be stricken the name of said candidate
from all certificates of nomination and petitions filed after
the first such certificate of nomination or petition.
Whenever the name of a candidate for an office is withdrawn
from a new political party petition, it shall constitute a
vacancy in nomination for that office which may be filled in
accordance with Section 10-11 of this Article; provided, that
if the names of all candidates for all offices on a new
political party petition are withdrawn or such petition is
declared invalid by an electoral board or upon judicial review,
no vacancies in nomination for those offices shall exist and
the filing of any notice or resolution purporting to fill
vacancies in nomination shall have no legal effect.
Whenever the name of an independent candidate for an office
is withdrawn or an independent candidate's petition is declared
invalid by an electoral board or upon judicial review, no
vacancy in nomination for that office shall exist and the

filing of any notice or resolution purporting to fill a vacancy
in nomination shall have no legal effect.
All certificates of nomination and nomination papers when
presented or filed shall be open, under proper regulation, to
public inspection, and the State Board of Elections and the
several election authorities and local election officials
having charge of nomination papers shall preserve the same in
their respective offices not less than 6 months.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/10-9) (from Ch. 46, par. 10-9)
Sec. 10-9. The following electoral boards are designated
for the purpose of hearing and passing upon the objector's
petition described in Section 10-8.
1. The State Board of Elections will hear and pass upon
objections to the nominations of candidates for State
offices, nominations of candidates for congressional or ,
legislative offices that are in more than one county or are
wholly located within a single county with a population of
less than 3,000,000 and judicial offices of districts,
subcircuits, or circuits situated in more than one county,
nominations of candidates for the offices of State's
attorney or regional superintendent of schools to be
elected from more than one county, and petitions for
proposed amendments to the Constitution of the State of
Illinois as provided for in Section 3 of Article XIV of the

Constitution.
2. The county officers electoral board of a county with
a population of less than 3,000,000 to hear and pass upon
objections to the nominations of candidates for county
offices, for congressional, legislative and judicial
offices of a district, subcircuit, or circuit coterminous
with or less than a county, for any school district
offices, for the office of multi-township assessor where
candidates for such office are nominated in accordance with
this Code, and for all special district offices, shall be
composed of the county clerk, or an assistant designated by
the county clerk, the State's attorney of the county or an
Assistant State's Attorney designated by the State's
Attorney, and the clerk of the circuit court, or an
assistant designated by the clerk of the circuit court, of
the county, of whom the county clerk or his designee shall
be the chairman, except that in any county which has
established a county board of election commissioners that
board shall constitute the county officers electoral board
ex-officio. If a school district is located in 2 or more
counties, the county officers electoral board of the county
in which the principal office of the school district is
located shall hear and pass upon objections to nominations
of candidates for school district office in that school
district.
2.5. The county officers electoral board of a county

with a population of 3,000,000 or more to hear and pass
upon objections to the nominations of candidates for county
offices, candidates for congressional and legislative
offices if the district is wholly within a county with a
population of 3,000,000 or more, unless the district is
wholly or partially within the jurisdiction of a municipal
board of election commissioners, and judicial offices of a
district, subcircuit, or circuit coterminous with or less
than a county, for any school district offices, for the
office of multi-township assessor where candidates for
such office are nominated in accordance with this Code, and
for all special district offices, shall be composed of the
county clerk, or an assistant designated by the county
clerk, the State's Attorney of the county or an Assistant
State's Attorney designated by the State's Attorney, and
the clerk of the circuit court, or an assistant designated
by the clerk of the circuit court, of the county, of whom
the county clerk or his designee shall be the chairman,
except that, in any county which has established a county
board of election commissioners, that board shall
constitute the county officers electoral board ex-officio.
If a school district is located in 2 or more counties, the
county officers electoral board of the county in which the
principal office of the school district is located shall
hear and pass upon objections to nominations of candidates
for school district office in that school district.

3. The municipal officers electoral board to hear and
pass upon objections to the nominations of candidates for
officers of municipalities shall be composed of the mayor
or president of the board of trustees of the city, village
or incorporated town, and the city, village or incorporated
town clerk, and one member of the city council or board of
trustees, that member being designated who is eligible to
serve on the electoral board and has served the greatest
number of years as a member of the city council or board of
trustees, of whom the mayor or president of the board of
trustees shall be the chairman.
4. The township officers electoral board to pass upon
objections to the nominations of township officers shall be
composed of the township supervisor, the town clerk, and
that eligible town trustee elected in the township who has
had the longest term of continuous service as town trustee,
of whom the township supervisor shall be the chairman.
5. The education officers electoral board to hear and
pass upon objections to the nominations of candidates for
offices in community college districts shall be composed of
the presiding officer of the community college district
board, who shall be the chairman, the secretary of the
community college district board and the eligible elected
community college board member who has the longest term of
continuous service as a board member.
6. In all cases, however, where the Congressional,

Legislative, or Representative district is wholly or
partially within the jurisdiction of a single municipal
board of election commissioners in Cook County and in all
cases where the school district or special district is
wholly within the jurisdiction of a municipal board of
election commissioners and in all cases where the
municipality or township is wholly or partially within the
jurisdiction of a municipal board of election
commissioners, the board of election commissioners shall
ex-officio constitute the electoral board.
For special districts situated in more than one county, the
county officers electoral board of the county in which the
principal office of the district is located has jurisdiction to
hear and pass upon objections. For purposes of this Section,
"special districts" means all political subdivisions other
than counties, municipalities, townships and school and
community college districts.
In the event that any member of the appropriate board is a
candidate for the office with relation to which the objector's
petition is filed, he shall not be eligible to serve on that
board and shall not act as a member of the board and his place
shall be filled as follows:
a. In the county officers electoral board by the county
treasurer, and if he or she is ineligible to serve, by the
sheriff of the county.
b. In the municipal officers electoral board by the

eligible elected city council or board of trustees member
who has served the second greatest number of years as a
city council or board of trustees member.
c. In the township officers electoral board by the
eligible elected town trustee who has had the second
longest term of continuous service as a town trustee.
d. In the education officers electoral board by the
eligible elected community college district board member
who has had the second longest term of continuous service
as a board member.
In the event that the chairman of the electoral board is
ineligible to act because of the fact that he or she is a
candidate for the office with relation to which the objector's
petition is filed, then the substitute chosen under the
provisions of this Section shall be the chairman; In this case,
the officer or board with whom the objector's petition is
filed, shall transmit the certificate of nomination or
nomination papers as the case may be, and the objector's
petition to the substitute chairman of the electoral board.
When 2 or more eligible individuals, by reason of their
terms of service on a city council or board of trustees,
township board of trustees, or community college district
board, qualify to serve on an electoral board, the one to serve
shall be chosen by lot.
Any vacancies on an electoral board not otherwise filled
pursuant to this Section shall be filled by public members

appointed by the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court for the
county wherein the electoral board hearing is being held upon
notification to the Chief Judge of such vacancies. The Chief
Judge shall be so notified by a member of the electoral board
or the officer or board with whom the objector's petition was
filed. In the event that none of the individuals designated by
this Section to serve on the electoral board are eligible, the
chairman of an electoral board shall be designated by the Chief
Judge.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/11-4.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 11-4.1)
Sec. 11-4.1. (a) In appointing polling places under this
Article, the county board or board of election commissioners
shall, insofar as they are convenient and available, use
schools and other public buildings as polling places.
(b) Upon request of the county board or board of election
commissioners, the proper agency of government (including
school districts and units of local government) shall make a
public building under its control available for use as a
polling place on an election day and for a reasonably necessary
time before and after election day, without charge. If the
county board or board of election commissioners chooses a
school to be a polling place, then the school district must
make the school available for use as a polling place. However,
for the day of the election, a school district is encouraged to

(i) close the school or (ii) hold a teachers institute on that
day with students not in attendance.
(c) A government agency which makes a public building under
its control available for use as a polling place shall (i)
ensure the portion of the building to be used as the polling
place is accessible to handicapped and elderly voters and (ii)
allow the election authority to administer the election as
authorized under this Code.
(d) If a qualified elector's precinct polling place is a
school and the elector will be unable to enter that polling
place without violating Section 11-9.3 of the Criminal Code of
2012 because the elector is a child sex offender as defined in
Section 11-9.3 of the Criminal Code of 2012, that elector may
vote by a vote by mail absentee ballot in accordance with
Article 19 of this Code or may vote early in accordance with
Article 19A of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13; 98-773, eff. 7-18-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/11-7) (from Ch. 46, par. 11-7)
Sec. 11-7. For the purpose of the conduct of any
consolidated election, consolidated primary election, special
municipal primary election or emergency referendum, an
election authority may cluster up to four contiguous precincts
as provided in this Section, which shall constitute a clustered
voting zone. The common polling place for the clustered voting
zone shall be located within the territory comprising the

clustered precincts. Unless the election authority specifies a
larger number, only one election judge shall be appointed for
each of the precincts in each clustered voting zone.
The judges so appointed may not all be affiliated with the
same political party.
The conduct of an election in a clustered voting zone shall
be under the general supervision of all the judges of election
designated to serve in the clustered voting zone. The
designated judges may perform the duties of election judges for
the entire clustered voting zone. However, the requirements of
Section 17-14 shall apply to voter assistance, the requirements
of Section 24-10 shall apply to voter instruction, the
requirement of Section 24A-10 shall apply to examination of
vote by mail absentee ballots, and any disputes as to
entitlement to vote, challenges, counting of ballots or other
matters pertaining directly to voting shall be decided by those
designated judges appointed for the precinct in which the
affected voter resides or the disputed vote is to be counted.
This Section does not apply to any elections in
municipalities with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants.
(Source: P.A. 90-358, eff. 1-1-98.)
(10 ILCS 5/12-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 12-1)
Sec. 12-1. At least 60 days prior to each general and
consolidated election, the election authority shall provide
public notice, calculated to reach elderly and handicapped

voters, of the availability of registration and voting aids
under the Federal Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and
Handicapped Act, of the availability of assistance in marking
the ballot, procedures for voting by vote by mail absentee
ballot, and procedures for voting early by personal appearance.
At least 30 days before any general election, and at least
20 days before any special congressional election, the county
clerk shall publish a notice of the election in 2 or more
newspapers published in the county, city, village,
incorporated town or town, as the case may be, or if there is
no such newspaper, then in any 2 or more newspapers published
in the county and having a general circulation throughout the
community. The notice may be substantially as follows:
Notice is hereby given that on (give date), at (give the
place of holding the election and the name of the precinct or
district) in the county of (name county), an election will be
held for (give the title of the several offices to be filled),
which election will be open at 6:00 a.m. and continued open
until 7:00 p.m. of that day.
Dated at .... on (insert date).
(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)
(10 ILCS 5/13-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 13-1)
Sec. 13-1. In counties not under township organization, the
county board of commissioners shall at its meeting in July in
each even-numbered year appoint in each election precinct 5

capable and discreet persons meeting the qualifications of
Section 13-4 to be judges of election. Where neither voting
machines nor electronic, mechanical or electric voting systems
are used, the county board may, for any precinct with respect
to which the board considers such action necessary or desirable
in view of the number of voters, and shall for general
elections for any precinct containing more than 600 registered
voters, appoint in addition to the 5 judges of election a team
of 5 tally judges. In such precincts the judges of election
shall preside over the election during the hours the polls are
open, and the tally judges, with the assistance of the holdover
judges designated pursuant to Section 13-6.2, shall count the
vote after the closing of the polls. However, the County Board
of Commissioners may appoint 3 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. The tally judges 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 judges of election.
In addition to such precinct judges, the county board of
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 regulations of the State Board of Elections which
shall base the required numbers of special panels on the number
of registered voters in the jurisdiction or the number of vote
by mail absentee ballots voted at recent elections, or any
combination of such factors.
Such appointment shall be confirmed by the court as
provided in Section 13-3 of this Article. No more than 3
persons of the same political party shall be appointed judges
of the same election precinct or election judge panel. The
appointment shall be made in the following manner: The county
board of commissioners shall select and approve 3 persons as
judges of election in each election precinct from a certified
list, furnished by the chairman of the County Central Committee
of the first leading political party in such precinct; and the
county board of commissioners shall also select and approve 2
persons as judges of election in each election precinct from a
certified list, furnished by the chairman of the County Central
Committee of the second leading political party. However, 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

in the same manner as set forth in the next two preceding
sentences with regard to 5 election judges in each precinct.
Such certified list shall be filed with the county clerk not
less than 10 days before the annual meeting of the county board
of commissioners. Such list shall be arranged according to
precincts. The chairman of each county central committee 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 county
board of commissioners shall acknowledge in writing to each
county chairman the names of all persons submitted on such
certified list and the total number of persons listed thereon.
If no such list is filed or such list is incomplete (that is,
no names or an insufficient number of names are furnished for
certain election precincts), the county board of commissioners
shall make or complete such list from the names contained in
the supplemental list provided for in Section 13-1.1. The
election judges shall hold their office for 2 years from their
appointment, and until their successors are duly appointed in
the manner provided in this Act. The county board of

commissioners shall fill all vacancies in the office of judge
of election at any time in the manner provided in this Act.
(Source: P.A. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
(10 ILCS 5/13-1.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 13-1.1)
Sec. 13-1.1. In addition to the list provided for in
Section 13-1 or 13-2, the chairman of the county central
committee, or each township committeeperson in a county with a
population of more than 3,000,000, of each of the two leading
political parties shall submit to the county board a
supplemental list, arranged according to precincts in which
they are to serve, of persons available as judges of election,
the names and number of all persons listed thereon to be
acknowledged in writing to the county chairman or township
committeeperson, as the case may be, submitting such list by
the county board. Vacancies among the judges of election shall
be filled by selection from this supplemental list of persons
qualified under Section 13-4. If the list provided for in
Section 13-1 or 13-2 for any precinct is exhausted, then
selection shall be made from the supplemental list submitted by
the chairman of the county central committee, or each township
committeeperson in a county with a population of more than
3,000,000, of the party. If such supplemental list is exhausted
for any precinct, then selection shall be made from any of the
persons on the supplemental list without regard to the
precincts in which they are listed to serve. No selection or

appointment from the supplemental list shall be made more than
21 days prior to the date of precinct registration for those
judges needed as precinct registrars, and more than 60 45 days
prior to the date of an election for those additional persons
needed as election judges. In any case where selection cannot
be made from the supplemental list without violating Section
13-4, selection shall be made from outside the supplemental
list of some person qualified under Section 13-4.
(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03.)
(10 ILCS 5/13-2) (from Ch. 46, par. 13-2)
Sec. 13-2. In counties under the township organization the
county board shall at its meeting in July in each even-numbered
year except in counties containing a population of 3,000,000
inhabitants or over and except when such judges are appointed
by election commissioners, select in each election precinct in
the county, 5 capable and discreet persons to be judges of
election who shall possess the qualifications required by this
Act for such judges. Where neither voting machines nor
electronic, mechanical or electric voting systems are used, the
county board may, for any precinct with respect to which the
board considers such action necessary or desirable in view of
the number of voters, and shall for general elections for any
precinct containing more than 600 registered voters, appoint in
addition to the 5 judges of election a team of 5 tally judges.
In such precincts the judges of election shall preside over the

election during the hours the polls are open, and the tally
judges, with the assistance of the holdover judges designated
pursuant to Section 13-6.2, shall count the vote after the
closing of the polls. The tally judges 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 judges of election.
However, the county board may appoint 3 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.
In addition to such precinct judges, the county board 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 regulations 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.
No more than 3 persons of the same political party shall be
appointed judges in the same election district or undivided

precinct. The election of the judges of election in the various
election precincts shall be made in the following manner: The
county board shall select and approve 3 of the election judges
in each precinct from a certified list furnished by the
chairman of the County Central Committee of the first leading
political party in such election precinct and shall also select
and approve 2 judges of election in each election precinct from
a certified list furnished by the chairman of the County
Central Committee of the second leading political party in such
election precinct. However, 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 in the same manner as set
forth in the next two preceding sentences with regard to 5
election judges in each precinct. The respective County Central
Committee chairman shall notify the county board by June 1 of
each odd-numbered year immediately preceding the annual
meeting of the county board whether or not such certified list
will be filed by such chairman. Such list shall be arranged
according to precincts. The chairman of each county central
committee 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. Such certified list, if filed, shall be filed with the
county clerk not less than 20 days before the annual meeting of
the county board. The county board shall acknowledge in writing
to each county chairman the names of all persons submitted on
such certified list and the total number of persons listed
thereon. If no such list is filed or the list is incomplete
(that is, no names or an insufficient number of names are
furnished for certain election precincts), the county board
shall make or complete such list from the names contained in
the supplemental list provided for in Section 13-1.1. Provided,
further, that in any case where a township has been or shall be
redistricted, in whole or in part, subsequent to one general
election for Governor, and prior to the next, the judges of
election to be selected for all new or altered precincts shall
be selected in that one of the methods above detailed, which
shall be applicable according to the facts and circumstances of
the particular case, but the majority of such judges for each
such precinct shall be selected from the first leading
political party, and the minority judges from the second
leading political party. Provided, further, that in counties
having a population of 3,000,000 1,000,000 inhabitants or over

the selection of judges of election shall be made in the same
manner in all respects as in other counties, except that the
provisions relating to tally judges are inapplicable to such
counties and except that the county board shall meet during the
month of January for the purpose of making such selection, each
township committeeperson shall assume the responsibilities
given to the chairman of the county central committee in this
Section for the precincts within his or her township, and the
township committeeperson chairman of each county central
committee shall notify the county board by the preceding
October 1 whether or not the certified list will be filed. Such
judges of election shall hold their office for 2 years from
their appointment and until their successors are duly appointed
in the manner provided in this Act. The county board shall fill
all vacancies in the office of judges of elections at any time
in the manner herein provided.
Such selections under this Section shall be confirmed by
the circuit court as provided in Section 13-3 of this Article.
(Source: P.A. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
(10 ILCS 5/13-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 13-10)
Sec. 13-10. The compensation of the judges of all primaries
and all elections, except judges supervising vote by mail
absentee ballots as provided in Section 19-12.2 of this Act, in
counties of less than 600,000 inhabitants shall be fixed by the
respective county boards or boards of election commissioners in

all counties and municipalities, but in no case shall such
compensation be less than $35 per day. The compensation of
judges of all primaries and all elections not under the
jurisdiction of the county clerk, except judges supervising
vote by mail absentee balloting as provided in Section 19-12.2
of this Act, in counties having a population of 2,000,000 or
more shall be not less than $60 per day. The compensation of
judges of all primaries and all elections under the
jurisdiction of the county clerk, except judges supervising
vote by mail absentee balloting as provided in Section 19-12.2
of this Act, in counties having a population of 2,000,000 or
more shall be not less than $60 per day. The compensation of
judges of all primaries and all elections, except judges
supervising vote by mail absentee ballots as provided in
Section 19-12.2 of this Act, in counties having a population of
at least 600,000 but less than 2,000,000 inhabitants shall be
not less than $45 per day as fixed by the county board of
election commissioners of each such county. In addition to
their per day compensation and notwithstanding the limitations
thereon stated herein, the judges of election, in all counties
with a population of less than 600,000, shall be paid $3 each
for each 100 voters or portion thereof, in excess of 200 voters
voting for candidates in the election district or precinct
wherein the judge is serving, whether a primary or an election
is being held. However, no such extra compensation shall be
paid to the judges of election in any precinct in which no

paper ballots are counted by such judges of election. The 2
judges of election in counties having a population of less than
600,000 who deliver the returns to the county clerk shall each
be allowed and paid a sum to be determined by the election
authority for such services and an additional sum per mile to
be determined by the election authority for every mile
necessarily travelled in going to and returning from the office
or place to which they deliver the returns. The compensation
for mileage shall be consistent with current rates paid for
mileage to employees of the county.
However, all judges who have been certified by the County
Clerk or Board of Election Commissioners as having
satisfactorily completed, within the 2 years preceding the day
of election, the training course for judges of election, as
provided in Sections 13-2.1, 13-2.2 and 14-4.1 of this Act,
shall receive additional compensation of not less than $10 per
day in counties of less than 600,000 inhabitants, the
additional compensation of not less than $10 per day in
counties having a population of at least 600,000 but less than
2,000,000 inhabitants as fixed by the county board of election
commissioners of each such county, and additional compensation
of not less than $20 per day in counties having a population of
2,000,000 or more for primaries and elections not under the
jurisdiction of the county clerk, and additional compensation
of not less than $20 per day in counties having a population of
2,000,000 or more for primaries and elections under the

jurisdiction of the county clerk.
In precincts in which there are tally judges, the
compensation of the tally judges shall be 2/3 of that of the
judges of election and each holdover judge shall be paid the
compensation of a judge of election plus that of a tally judge.
Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of
1998, the portion of an election judge's daily compensation
reimbursed by the State Board of Elections is increased by $15.
The increase provided by this amendatory Act of 1998 must be
used to increase each judge's compensation and may not be used
by the county to reduce its portion of a judge's compensation.
Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 95th General Assembly, the portion of an election judge's
daily compensation reimbursement by the State Board of
Elections is increased by an additional $20. The increase
provided by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly
must be used to increase each judge's compensation and may not
be used by the election authority or election jurisdiction to
reduce its portion of a judge's compensation.
(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)
(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 chairman 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 chairman 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 chairman 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 chairman 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
chairman 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 chairman 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. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
(10 ILCS 5/14-3.2) (from Ch. 46, par. 14-3.2)
Sec. 14-3.2. In addition to the list provided for in
Section 14-3.1, the chairman of the county central committee,
or each ward committeeperson in a municipality of 500,000 or
more inhabitants, of each of the 2 leading political parties
shall furnish to the board of election commissioners a
supplemental list, arranged according to precinct in which they
are to serve, of persons available as judges of election, the
names and number of all persons listed thereon to be
acknowledged in writing to the county chairman or ward
committeepersons, as the case may be, submitting such list by
the board of election commissioners. The board of election
commissioners shall select from this supplemental list persons
qualified under Section 14-1, to fill vacancies among the
judges of election. If the list provided for in Section 14-3.1
for any precinct is exhausted, then selection shall be made

from the supplemental list furnished by the chairman of the
county central committee or ward committeepersons, as the case
may be, of the party. If such supplemental list is exhausted
for any precinct, then selection shall be made from any of the
persons on the supplemental list without regard to the
precincts in which they are listed to serve. No selection or
appointment from the supplemental list shall be made more than
21 days prior to the date of precinct registration for those
judges needed as precinct registrars, and more than 60 45 days
prior to the date of an election for those additional persons
needed as election judges. In any case where selection cannot
be made from the supplemental list without violating Section
14-1, selection shall be made from outside the supplemental
list of some person qualified under Section 14-1.
(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03.)
(10 ILCS 5/16-5.01) (from Ch. 46, par. 16-5.01)
Sec. 16-5.01. (a) The election authority shall, at least 46
days prior to the date of any election at which federal
officers are elected and 45 days prior to any other regular
election, have a sufficient number of ballots printed so that
such ballots will be available for mailing 45 days prior to the
date of the election to persons who have filed application for
a ballot under the provisions of Article 20 of this Act.
(b) If at any election at which federal offices are elected
or nominated the election authority is unable to comply with

the provisions of subsection (a), the election authority shall
mail to each such person, in lieu of the ballot, a Special
Write-in Vote by Mail Absentee Voter's Blank Ballot. The
Special Write-in Vote by Mail Absentee Voter's Blank Ballot
shall be used at all elections at which federal officers are
elected or nominated and shall be prepared by the election
authority in substantially the following form:
Special Write-in Vote by Mail Absentee Voter's Blank Ballot
(To vote for a person, write the title of the office and
his or her name on the lines provided. Place to the left of and
opposite the title of office a square and place a cross (X) in
the square.)
Title of Office Name of Candidate
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
The election authority shall send with the Special Write-in
Vote by Mail Absentee Voter's Blank Ballot a list of all
referenda for which the voter is qualified to vote and all
candidates for whom nomination papers have been filed and for
whom the voter is qualified to vote. The voter shall be
entitled to write in the name of any candidate seeking election
and any referenda for which he or she is entitled to vote.

On the back or outside of the ballot, so as to appear when
folded, shall be printed the words "Official Ballot", the date
of the election and a facsimile of the signature of the
election authority who has caused the ballot to be printed.
The provisions of Article 20, insofar as they may be
applicable to the Special Write-in Vote by Mail Absentee
Voter's Blank Ballot, shall be applicable herein.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this Code or other law
to the contrary, the governing body of a municipality may
adopt, upon submission of a written statement by the
municipality's election authority attesting to the
administrative ability of the election authority to administer
an election using a ranked ballot to the municipality's
governing body, an ordinance requiring, and that
municipality's election authority shall prepare, a ranked vote
by mail absentee ballot for municipal and township office
candidates to be voted on in the consolidated election. This
ranked ballot shall be for use only by a qualified voter who
either is a member of the United States military or will be
outside of the United States on the consolidated primary
election day and the consolidated election day. The ranked
ballot shall contain a list of the titles of all municipal and
township offices potentially contested at both the
consolidated primary election and the consolidated election
and the candidates for each office and shall permit the elector
to vote in the consolidated election by indicating his or her

order of preference for each candidate for each office. To
indicate his or her order of preference for each candidate for
each office, the voter shall put the number one next to the
name of the candidate who is the voter's first choice, the
number 2 for his or her second choice, and so forth so that, in
consecutive numerical order, a number indicating the voter's
preference is written by the voter next to each candidate's
name on the ranked ballot. The voter shall not be required to
indicate his or her preference for more than one candidate on
the ranked ballot. The voter may not cast a write-in vote using
the ranked ballot for the consolidated election. The election
authority shall, if using the ranked vote by mail absentee
ballot authorized by this subsection, also prepare
instructions for use of the ranked ballot. The ranked ballot
for the consolidated election shall be mailed to the voter at
the same time that the ballot for the consolidated primary
election is mailed to the voter and the election authority
shall accept the completed ranked ballot for the consolidated
election when the authority accepts the completed ballot for
the consolidated primary election.
The voter shall also be sent a vote by mail an absentee
ballot for the consolidated election for those races that are
not related to the results of the consolidated primary election
as soon as the consolidated election ballot is certified.
The State Board of Elections shall adopt rules for election
authorities for the implementation of this subsection,

including but not limited to the application for and counting
of ranked ballots.
(Source: P.A. 96-1004, eff. 1-1-11; 97-81, eff. 7-5-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/17-8) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-8)
Sec. 17-8. The county clerk shall provide in each polling
place, so designated or provided a sufficient number of booths,
which shall be provided with such supplies and conveniences,
including shelves, pens, penholders, ink, blotters and
pencils, as will enable the voter to prepare his ballot for
voting, and in which voters may prepare their ballots screened
from all observation as to the manner in which they do so. They
shall be within plain view of election officers, and both they
and the ballot boxes shall be within plain view of those within
the proximity of the voting booths. Each of said booths shall
have 3 sides enclosed, one side in front, to be closed with a
curtain. Each side of each booth shall be 6 feet 4 inches and
the curtain shall extend within 2 feet of the floor, which
shall be closed while the voter is preparing his ballot. Each
booth shall be at least 32 inches square and shall contain a
shelf at least one foot wide, at a convenient height for
writing. No person other than the election officers and the
challengers allowed by law, and those admitted for the purpose
of voting as herein provided, shall be permitted within the
proximity of the voting booths, (i) except by authority of the
election officers to keep order and enforce the law and (ii)

except that one or more children under the age of 18 may
accompany their parent or guardian into the voting booth as
long as a request to do so is made to the election officers
and, in the sole discretion of the election officers, the child
or children are not likely to disrupt or interfere with the
voting process or influence the casting of a vote. The number
of such voting booths shall not be less than one to every 75
voters or fraction thereof who voted at the last preceding
election in the precinct. The expense of providing booths and
other things required in this Act shall be paid in the same
manner as other election expenses.
Where electronic voting systems are used, a booth with a
self-contained electronic voting device may be used. Each such
booth shall have 3 sides enclosed and shall be equipped with a
curtain for closing the front of the booth. The curtain must
extend to within 2 feet of the floor. Each side shall be of
such a height, in no event less than 5 feet, one inch, as to
insure the secrecy of the voter. Each booth shall be at least
32 inches square, provided, however, that where a booth is no
more than 23 inches wide and the sides of such booth extend
from a point below the device to a height of 5 feet, one inch,
at the front of the booth, and such booth insures that voters
may prepare their ballots in secrecy, such booth may be used.
If an election authority provides each polling place with
stickers or emblems to be given to voters indicating that the
person has voted, no person who has voted shall be denied such

sticker or emblem.
(Source: P.A. 94-288, eff. 1-1-06.)
(10 ILCS 5/17-9) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-9)
Sec. 17-9. Any person desiring to vote shall give his name
and, if required to do so, his residence to the judges of
election, one of whom shall thereupon announce the same in a
loud and distinct tone of voice, clear, and audible; the judges
of elections shall check each application for ballot against
the list of voters registered in that precinct to whom grace
period, vote by mail absentee, or early ballots have been
issued for that election, which shall be provided by the
election authority and which list shall be available for
inspection by pollwatchers. A voter applying to vote in the
precinct on election day whose name appears on the list as
having been issued a grace period, vote by mail absentee, or
early ballot shall not be permitted to vote in the precinct,
except that a voter to whom a vote by mail an absentee ballot
was issued may vote in the precinct if the voter submits to the
election judges that vote by mail absentee ballot for
cancellation. If the voter is unable to submit the vote by mail
absentee ballot, it shall be sufficient for the voter to submit
to the election judges (i) a portion of the vote by mail
absentee ballot if the vote by mail absentee ballot was torn or
mutilated or (ii) an affidavit executed before the election
judges specifying that (A) the voter never received a vote by

mail an absentee ballot or (B) the voter completed and returned
a vote by mail an absentee ballot and was informed that the
election authority did not receive that vote by mail absentee
ballot. All applicable provisions of Articles 4, 5 or 6 shall
be complied with and if such name is found on the register of
voters by the officer having charge thereof, he shall likewise
repeat said name, and the voter shall be allowed to enter
within the proximity of the voting booths, as above provided.
One of the judges shall give the voter one, and only one of
each ballot to be voted at the election, on the back of which
ballots such judge shall indorse his initials in such manner
that they may be seen when each such ballot is properly folded,
and the voter's name shall be immediately checked on the
register list. In those election jurisdictions where
perforated ballot cards are utilized of the type on which
write-in votes can be cast above the perforation, the election
authority shall provide a space both above and below the
perforation for the judge's initials, and the judge shall
endorse his or her initials in both spaces. Whenever a proposal
for a constitutional amendment or for the calling of a
constitutional convention is to be voted upon at the election,
the separate blue ballot or ballots pertaining thereto shall,
when being handed to the voter, be placed on top of the other
ballots to be voted at the election in such manner that the
legend appearing on the back thereof, as prescribed in Section
16-6 of this Act, shall be plainly visible to the voter. At all

elections, when a registry may be required, if the name of any
person so desiring to vote at such election is not found on the
register of voters, he or she shall not receive a ballot until
he or she shall have complied with the law prescribing the
manner and conditions of voting by unregistered voters. If any
person desiring to vote at any election shall be challenged, he
or she shall not receive a ballot until he or she shall have
established his right to vote in the manner provided
hereinafter; and if he or she shall be challenged after he has
received his ballot, he shall not be permitted to vote until he
or she has fully complied with such requirements of the law
upon being challenged. Besides the election officer, not more
than 2 voters in excess of the whole number of voting booths
provided shall be allowed within the proximity of the voting
booths at one time. The provisions of this Act, so far as they
require the registration of voters as a condition to their
being allowed to vote shall not apply to persons otherwise
entitled to vote, who are, at the time of the election, or at
any time within 60 days prior to such election have been
engaged in the military or naval service of the United States,
and who appear personally at the polling place on election day
and produce to the judges of election satisfactory evidence
thereof, but such persons, if otherwise qualified to vote,
shall be permitted to vote at such election without previous
registration.
All such persons shall also make an affidavit which shall

be in substantially the following form:
State of Illinois,)
) ss.
County of ........)
............... Precinct .......... Ward
I, ...., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen
of the United States, of the age of 18 years or over, and that
within the past 60 days prior to the date of this election at
which I am applying to vote, I have been engaged in the ....
(military or naval) service of the United States; and I am
qualified to vote under and by virtue of the Constitution and
laws of the State of Illinois, and that I am a legally
qualified voter of this precinct and ward except that I have,
because of such service, been unable to register as a voter;
that I now reside at .... (insert street and number, if any) in
this precinct and ward; that I have maintained a legal
residence in this precinct and ward for 30 days and in this
State 30 days next preceding this election.
.........................
Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).
.........................
Judge of Election.
The affidavit of any such person shall be supported by the
affidavit of a resident and qualified voter of any such
precinct and ward, which affidavit shall be in substantially

the following form:
State of Illinois,)
) ss.
County of ........)
........... Precinct ........... Ward
I, ...., do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I am a
resident of this precinct and ward and entitled to vote at this
election; that I am acquainted with .... (name of the
applicant); that I verily believe him to be an actual bona fide
resident of this precinct and ward and that I verily believe
that he or she has maintained a legal residence therein 30 days
and in this State 30 days next preceding this election.
.........................
Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).
.........................
Judge of Election.
All affidavits made under the provisions of this Section
shall be enclosed in a separate envelope securely sealed, and
shall be transmitted with the returns of the elections to the
county clerk or to the board of election commissioners, who
shall preserve the said affidavits for the period of 6 months,
during which period such affidavits shall be deemed public
records and shall be freely open to examination as such.
(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)

(10 ILCS 5/17-18.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-18.1)
Sec. 17-18.1. Wherever the judicial retention ballot to be
used in any general election contains the names of more than 15
judges on a separate paper ballot, the County Clerk or Board of
Election Commissioners as the case may be, shall designate
special judges of election for the purpose of tallying and
canvassing the votes cast for and against the propositions for
the retention of judges in office in such places and at such
times as the County Clerk or Board of Election Commissioners
determine. Special judges of election shall be designated from
certified lists submitted by the respective chairmen of the
county central committees of the two leading political parties.
In the event that the County Clerk or Board of Election
Commissioners as the case may be, decides that the counting of
the retention ballots shall be performed in the precinct where
such ballots are cast, 2 special judges of election shall be
designated to tally and canvass the vote of each precinct with
one being named from each of the 2 leading political parties.
In the event that the County Clerk or Board of Election
Commissioners decides that the judicial retention ballots from
several precincts shall be tallied and canvassed in a central
or common location, then each major political party shall be
entitled to an equal number of special election judges in each
such central or common location. The County Clerk or Board of
Election Commissioners, as the case may be, shall inform, no
later than 75 days prior to such election, the respective

chairmen of the county central committees of the location or
locations where the counting of retention ballots will be done,
the number of names to be included on the certified lists, and
the number of special election judges to be selected from those
lists. If the certified list for either party is not submitted
within thirty days after the chairmen have been so informed,
the County Clerk or Board of Election Commissioners shall
designate special judges of election for that party in whatever
manner it determines.
The County Clerk or Board of Election Commissioners shall
apply to the Circuit Court for the confirmation of the special
judges of election designated under this Section. The court
shall confirm or refuse to confirm such designations as the
interest of the public may require. Those confirmed shall be
officers of the court and subject to its disciplinary powers.
The County Clerk or Board of Election Commissioners shall,
in the exercise of sound discretion, prescribe the forms,
materials and supplies together with the procedures for
completion and return thereof for use in such election by
special judges of election. The special judges of election
designated under this Section shall have full responsibility
and authority for tallying and canvassing the votes pertaining
to the retention of judges and the return of ballots and
supplies.
If the County Clerk or Board of Election Commissioners
decides that the counting of the retention ballots shall be

performed in the precinct where such ballots were cast, at
least 2 ballot boxes shall be provided for paper retention
ballots, one of which shall be used from the opening of the
polls until 9:00 a.m. and from 12:00 noon until 3:00 p.m. and
the second of which shall be used from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00
noon and from 3:00 p.m. until the closing of the polls;
provided that if additional ballot boxes are provided, the
additional boxes shall be used instead of reusing boxes used
earlier. At the close of each such period of use, a ballot box
used for retention ballots shall be immediately unsealed and
opened and the ballots therein counted and tallied by the
special judges of election. After counting and tallying the
retention ballots, the special judges of election shall place
the counted ballots in a container provided for that purpose by
the County Clerk or Board of Election Commissioners and clearly
marked with the appropriate printing and shall thereupon seal
such container. One such container shall be provided for each
of the four time periods and clearly designated as the
container for the respective period. The tally shall be
recorded on sheets provided by the County Clerk or Board of
Election Commissioners and designated as tally sheets for the
respective time periods. Before a ballot box may be reused, it
shall in the presence of all of the judges of election be
verified to be empty, whereupon it shall be resealed. After the
close of the polls, and after the tally of votes cast by vote
by mail absentee voters, the special judges of election shall

add together the tallies of all the ballot boxes used
throughout the day, and complete the canvass of votes for
retention of judges in the manner established by this Act. All
of these procedures shall be carried out within the clear view
of the other judges of election. The sealed containers of used
retention ballots shall be returned with other voted ballots to
the County Clerk or Board of Election Commissioners in the
manner provided by this Act.
The compensation of a special judge of election may not
exceed $30 per judge per precinct or district canvassed.
This Section does not affect any other office or the
conduct of any other election held at the same time as the
election for the retention of judges in office.
(Source: P.A. 81-850; 81-1149.)
(10 ILCS 5/17-19.2) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-19.2)
Sec. 17-19.2. Where a vacancy in nomination is filled
pursuant to Section 7-61 or Section 10-11, the vote by mail
absentee votes cast for the original candidate on the first
ballot shall not be counted. For this purpose, in those
jurisdictions where electronic voting systems are used, the
election authority shall determine a method by which the first
ballots containing the name of the original candidate may be
segregated from the revised ballots containing the name of the
successor candidate and separately counted.
Where a vacancy in nomination is not filled pursuant to

Section 7-61 or Section 10-11, all votes cast for the original
candidate shall be counted for such candidate.
(Source: P.A. 84-861.)
(10 ILCS 5/17-21) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-21)
Sec. 17-21. When the votes shall have been examined and
counted, the judges shall set down on a sheet or return form to
be supplied to them, the name of every person voted for,
written or printed at full length, the office for which such
person received such votes, and the number he did receive and
such additional information as is necessary to complete, as
nearly as circumstances will admit, the following form, to-wit:
TALLY SHEET AND CERTIFICATE OF
RESULTS
We do hereby certify that at the .... election held in the
precinct hereinafter (general or special) specified on (insert
date), a total of .... voters requested and received ballots
and we do further certify:
Number of blank ballots delivered to us ....
Number of vote by mail absentee ballots delivered to us
....
Total number of ballots delivered to us ....
Number of blank and spoiled ballots returned.
(1) Total number of ballots cast (in box)....
.... Defective and Objected To ballots sealed in envelope
(2) .... Total number of ballots cast (in box)

Line (2) equals line (1)
We further certify that each of the candidates for
representative in the General Assembly received the number of
votes ascribed to him on the separate tally sheet.
We further certify that each candidate received the number
of votes set forth opposite his name or in the box containing
his name on the tally sheet contained in the page or pages
immediately following our signatures.
The undersigned actually served as judges and counted the
ballots at the election on the .... day of .... in the ....
precinct of the (1) *township of ...., or (2) *City of ...., or
(3) *.... ward in the city of .... and the polls were opened at
6:00 A.M. and closed at 7:00 P.M. Certified by us.
*Fill in either (1), (2) or (3)
A B, ....(Address)
C D, ....(Address)
E F, ....(Address)
G H, ....(Address)
I J, ....(Address)
Each tally sheet shall be in substantially one of the
following forms:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Candidate's
Name of Candidates Total
office Names Vote 5 10 15 20

---
United John Smith 77 11
States
Senator
---
---
Names of candidates
Name of and total vote
office for each 5 10 15 20
---
For United John Smith
States
Senator
Total Vote..................
---
(Source: P.A. 98-463, eff. 8-16-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/17-23) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-23)
Sec. 17-23. Pollwatchers in a general election shall be
authorized in the following manner:
(1) Each established political party shall be entitled to
appoint two pollwatchers per precinct. Such pollwatchers must
be affiliated with the political party for which they are
pollwatching. For all elections, the pollwatchers must be
registered to vote in Illinois.
(2) Each candidate shall be entitled to appoint two

pollwatchers per precinct. For all elections, the pollwatchers
must be registered to vote in Illinois.
(3) Each organization of citizens within the county or
political subdivision, which has among its purposes or
interests the investigation or prosecution of election frauds,
and which shall have registered its name and address and the
name and addresses of its principal officers with the proper
election authority at least 40 days before the election, shall
be entitled to appoint one pollwatcher per precinct. For all
elections, the pollwatcher must be registered to vote in
Illinois.
(3.5) Each State nonpartisan civic organization within the
county or political subdivision shall be entitled to appoint
one pollwatcher per precinct, provided that no more than 2
pollwatchers appointed by State nonpartisan civic
organizations shall be present in a precinct polling place at
the same time. Each organization shall have registered the
names and addresses of its principal officers with the proper
election authority at least 40 days before the election. The
pollwatchers must be registered to vote in Illinois. For the
purpose of this paragraph, a "State nonpartisan civic
organization" means any corporation, unincorporated
association, or organization that:
(i) as part of its written articles of incorporation,
bylaws, or charter or by separate written declaration, has
among its stated purposes the provision of voter

information and education, the protection of individual
voters' rights, and the promotion of free and equal
elections;
(ii) is organized or primarily conducts its activities
within the State of Illinois; and
(iii) continuously maintains an office or business
location within the State of Illinois, together with a
current listed telephone number (a post office box number
without a current listed telephone number is not
sufficient).
(4) In any general election held to elect candidates for
the offices of a municipality of less than 3,000,000 population
that is situated in 2 or more counties, a pollwatcher who is a
resident of Illinois shall be eligible to serve as a
pollwatcher in any poll located within such municipality,
provided that such pollwatcher otherwise complies with the
respective requirements of subsections (1) through (3) of this
Section and is a registered voter in Illinois.
(5) Each organized group of proponents or opponents of a
ballot proposition, which shall have registered the name and
address of its organization or committee and the name and
address of its chairman with the proper election authority at
least 40 days before the election, shall be entitled to appoint
one pollwatcher per precinct. The pollwatcher must be
registered to vote in Illinois.
All pollwatchers shall be required to have proper

credentials. Such credentials shall be printed in sufficient
quantities, shall be issued by and under the facsimile
signature(s) of the election authority or the State Board of
Elections and shall be available for distribution by the
election authority and State Board of Elections at least 2
weeks prior to the election. Such credentials shall be
authorized by the real or facsimile signature of the State or
local party official or the candidate or the presiding officer
of the civic organization or the chairman of the proponent or
opponent group, as the case may be. Neither the election
authority nor the State Board of Elections may require any such
party official or the candidate or the presiding officer of the
civic organization or the chairman of the proponent or opponent
group to submit the names or other information concerning
pollwatchers before making credentials available to such
persons or organizations.
Pollwatcher credentials shall be in substantially the
following form:
POLLWATCHER CREDENTIALS
TO THE JUDGES OF ELECTION:
In accordance with the provisions of the Election Code, the
undersigned hereby appoints .......... (name of pollwatcher)
who resides at ........... (address) in the county of
..........., .......... (township or municipality) of
........... (name), State of Illinois and who is duly

registered to vote from this address, to act as a pollwatcher
in the ........... precinct of the ........... ward (if
applicable) of the ........... (township or municipality) of
........... at the ........... election to be held on (insert
date).
........................ (Signature of Appointing Authority)
......................... TITLE (party official, candidate,
civic organization president,
proponent or opponent group chairman)
Under penalties provided by law pursuant to Section 29-10
of the Election Code, the undersigned pollwatcher certifies
that he or she resides at ................ (address) in the
county of ............, ......... (township or municipality)
of ........... (name), State of Illinois, and is duly
registered to vote in Illinois.
.......................... .......................
(Precinct and/or Ward in (Signature of Pollwatcher)
Which Pollwatcher Resides)
Pollwatchers must present their credentials to the Judges
of Election upon entering the polling place. Pollwatcher
credentials properly executed and signed shall be proof of the
qualifications of the pollwatcher authorized thereby. Such
credentials are retained by the Judges and returned to the
Election Authority at the end of the day of election with the

other election materials. Once a pollwatcher has surrendered a
valid credential, he may leave and reenter the polling place
provided that such continuing action does not disrupt the
conduct of the election. Pollwatchers may be substituted during
the course of the day, but established political parties,
candidates and qualified civic organizations can have only as
many pollwatchers at any given time as are authorized in this
Article. A substitute must present his signed credential to the
judges of election upon entering the polling place. Election
authorities must provide a sufficient number of credentials to
allow for substitution of pollwatchers. After the polls have
closed pollwatchers shall be allowed to remain until the
canvass of votes is completed; but may leave and reenter only
in cases of necessity, provided that such action is not so
continuous as to disrupt the canvass of votes.
Candidates seeking office in a district or municipality
encompassing 2 or more counties shall be admitted to any and
all polling places throughout such district or municipality
without regard to the counties in which such candidates are
registered to vote. Actions of such candidates shall be
governed in each polling place by the same privileges and
limitations that apply to pollwatchers as provided in this
Section. Any such candidate who engages in an activity in a
polling place which could reasonably be construed by a majority
of the judges of election as campaign activity shall be removed
forthwith from such polling place.

Candidates seeking office in a district or municipality
encompassing 2 or more counties who desire to be admitted to
polling places on election day in such district or municipality
shall be required to have proper credentials. Such credentials
shall be printed in sufficient quantities, shall be issued by
and under the facsimile signature of the State Board of
Elections or the election authority of the election
jurisdiction where the polling place in which the candidate
seeks admittance is located, and shall be available for
distribution at least 2 weeks prior to the election. Such
credentials shall be signed by the candidate.
Candidate credentials shall be in substantially the
following form:
CANDIDATE CREDENTIALS
TO THE JUDGES OF ELECTION:
In accordance with the provisions of the Election Code, I
...... (name of candidate) hereby certify that I am a candidate
for ....... (name of office) and seek admittance to .......
precinct of the ....... ward (if applicable) of the .......
(township or municipality) of ....... at the ....... election
to be held on (insert date).
......................... .......................
(Signature of Candidate) OFFICE FOR WHICH
CANDIDATE SEEKS
NOMINATION OR

ELECTION
Pollwatchers shall be permitted to observe all proceedings
and view all reasonably requested records relating to the
conduct of the election, provided the secrecy of the ballot is
not impinged, and to station themselves in a position in the
voting room as will enable them to observe the judges making
the signature comparison between the voter application and the
voter registration record card; provided, however, that such
pollwatchers shall not be permitted to station themselves in
such close proximity to the judges of election so as to
interfere with the orderly conduct of the election and shall
not, in any event, be permitted to handle election materials.
Pollwatchers may challenge for cause the voting qualifications
of a person offering to vote and may call to the attention of
the judges of election any incorrect procedure or apparent
violations of this Code.
If a majority of the judges of election determine that the
polling place has become too overcrowded with pollwatchers so
as to interfere with the orderly conduct of the election, the
judges shall, by lot, limit such pollwatchers to a reasonable
number, except that each established or new political party
shall be permitted to have at least one pollwatcher present.
Representatives of an election authority, with regard to an
election under its jurisdiction, the State Board of Elections,
and law enforcement agencies, including but not limited to a

United States Attorney, a State's attorney, the Attorney
General, and a State, county, or local police department, in
the performance of their official election duties, shall be
permitted at all times to enter and remain in the polling
place. Upon entering the polling place, such representatives
shall display their official credentials or other
identification to the judges of election.
Uniformed police officers assigned to polling place duty
shall follow all lawful instructions of the judges of election.
The provisions of this Section shall also apply to
supervised casting of vote by mail absentee ballots as provided
in Section 19-12.2 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/17-29) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-29)
Sec. 17-29. (a) No judge of election, pollwatcher, or other
person shall, at any primary or election, do any electioneering
or soliciting of votes or engage in any political discussion
within any polling place, within 100 feet of any polling place,
or, at the option of a church or private school, on any of the
property of that church or private school that is a polling
place; no person shall interrupt, hinder or oppose any voter
while approaching within those areas for the purpose of voting.
Judges of election shall enforce the provisions of this
Section.
(b) Election officers shall place 2 or more cones, small

United States national flags, or some other marker a distance
of 100 horizontal feet from each entrance to the room used by
voters to engage in voting, which shall be known as the polling
room. If the polling room is located within a building that is
a private business, a public or private school, or a church or
other organization founded for the purpose of religious worship
and the distance of 100 horizontal feet ends within the
interior of the building, then the markers shall be placed
outside of the building at each entrance used by voters to
enter that building on the grounds adjacent to the thoroughfare
or walkway. If the polling room is located within a public or
private building with 2 or more floors and the polling room is
located on the ground floor, then the markers shall be placed
100 horizontal feet from each entrance to the polling room used
by voters to engage in voting. If the polling room is located
in a public or private building with 2 or more floors and the
polling room is located on a floor above or below the ground
floor, then the markers shall be placed a distance of 100 feet
from the nearest elevator or staircase used by voters on the
ground floor to access the floor where the polling room is
located. The area within where the markers are placed shall be
known as a campaign free zone, and electioneering is prohibited
pursuant to this subsection. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Section, a church or private school may
choose to apply the campaign free zone to its entire property,
and, if so, the markers shall be placed near the boundaries on

the grounds adjacent to the thoroughfares or walkways leading
to the entrances used by the voters. If an election authority
maintains a website, no later than 5 days before election day,
each election authority shall post on its website the name and
address of every polling place designated as a campaign free
zone. This information shall be immediately provided to any
person upon request, and a requester shall not be required to
submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
The area on polling place property beyond the campaign free
zone, whether publicly or privately owned, is a public forum
for the time that the polls are open on an election day. At the
request of election officers any publicly owned building must
be made available for use as a polling place. A person shall
have the right to congregate and engage in electioneering on
any polling place property while the polls are open beyond the
campaign free zone, including but not limited to, the placement
of temporary signs. This subsection shall be construed
liberally in favor of persons engaging in electioneering on all
polling place property beyond the campaign free zone for the
time that the polls are open on an election day. At or near the
door of each polling place, the election judges shall place
signage indicating the proper entrance to the polling place. In
addition, the election judges shall ensure that a sign
identifying the location of the polling place is placed on a
nearby public roadway. The State Board of Elections shall
establish guidelines for the placement of polling place

signage.
(c) The regulation of electioneering on polling place
property on an election day, including but not limited to the
placement of temporary signs, is an exclusive power and
function of the State. A home rule unit may not regulate
electioneering and any ordinance or local law contrary to
subsection (c) is declared void. This is a denial and
limitation of home rule powers and functions under subsection
(h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)
(10 ILCS 5/18-5) (from Ch. 46, par. 18-5)
Sec. 18-5. Any person desiring to vote and whose name is
found upon the register of voters by the person having charge
thereof, shall then be questioned by one of the judges as to
his nativity, his term of residence at present address,
precinct, State and United States, his age, whether naturalized
and if so the date of naturalization papers and court from
which secured, and he shall be asked to state his residence
when last previously registered and the date of the election
for which he then registered. The judges of elections shall
check each application for ballot against the list of voters
registered in that precinct to whom grace period, vote by mail
absentee, and early ballots have been issued for that election,
which shall be provided by the election authority and which
list shall be available for inspection by pollwatchers. A voter

applying to vote in the precinct on election day whose name
appears on the list as having been issued a grace period, vote
by mail absentee, or early ballot shall not be permitted to
vote in the precinct, except that a voter to whom a vote by
mail an absentee ballot was issued may vote in the precinct if
the voter submits to the election judges that vote by mail
absentee ballot for cancellation. If the voter is unable to
submit the vote by mail absentee ballot, it shall be sufficient
for the voter to submit to the election judges (i) a portion of
the vote by mail absentee ballot if the vote by mail absentee
ballot was torn or mutilated or (ii) an affidavit executed
before the election judges specifying that (A) the voter never
received a vote by mail an absentee ballot or (B) the voter
completed and returned a vote by mail an absentee ballot and
was informed that the election authority did not receive that
vote by mail absentee ballot. If such person so registered
shall be challenged as disqualified, the party challenging
shall assign his reasons therefor, and thereupon one of the
judges shall administer to him an oath to answer questions, and
if he shall take the oath he shall then be questioned by the
judge or judges touching such cause of challenge, and touching
any other cause of disqualification. And he may also be
questioned by the person challenging him in regard to his
qualifications and identity. But if a majority of the judges
are of the opinion that he is the person so registered and a
qualified voter, his vote shall then be received accordingly.

But if his vote be rejected by such judges, such person may
afterward produce and deliver an affidavit to such judges,
subscribed and sworn to by him before one of the judges, in
which it shall be stated how long he has resided in such
precinct, and state; that he is a citizen of the United States,
and is a duly qualified voter in such precinct, and that he is
the identical person so registered. In addition to such an
affidavit, the person so challenged shall provide to the judges
of election proof of residence by producing 2 forms of
identification showing the person's current residence address,
provided that such identification may include a lease or
contract for a residence and not more than one piece of mail
addressed to the person at his current residence address and
postmarked not earlier than 30 days prior to the date of the
election, or the person shall procure a witness personally
known to the judges of election, and resident in the precinct
(or district), or who shall be proved by some legal voter of
such precinct or district, known to the judges to be such, who
shall take the oath following, viz:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a resident of
this election precinct (or district), and entitled to vote at
this election, and that I have been a resident of this State
for 30 days last past, and am well acquainted with the person
whose vote is now offered; that he is an actual and bona fide
resident of this election precinct (or district), and has
resided herein 30 days, and as I verily believe, in this State,

30 days next preceding this election.
The oath in each case may be administered by one of the
judges of election, or by any officer, resident in the precinct
or district, authorized by law to administer oaths. Also
supported by an affidavit by a registered voter residing in
such precinct, stating his own residence, and that he knows
such person; and that he does reside at the place mentioned and
has resided in such precinct and state for the length of time
as stated by such person, which shall be subscribed and sworn
to in the same way. For purposes of this Section, the
submission of a photo identification issued by a college or
university, accompanied by either (i) a copy of the applicant's
contract or lease for a residence or (ii) one piece of mail
addressed to the person at his or her current residence address
and postmarked not earlier than 30 days prior to the date of
the election, shall be sufficient to establish proof of
residence. Whereupon the vote of such person shall be received,
and entered as other votes. But such judges, having charge of
such registers, shall state in their respective books the facts
in such case, and the affidavits, so delivered to the judges,
shall be preserved and returned to the office of the
commissioners of election. Blank affidavits of the character
aforesaid shall be sent out to the judges of all the precincts,
and the judges of election shall furnish the same on demand and
administer the oaths without criticism. Such oaths, if
administered by any other officer than such judge of election,

shall not be received. Whenever a proposal for a constitutional
amendment or for the calling of a constitutional convention is
to be voted upon at the election, the separate blue ballot or
ballots pertaining thereto shall be placed on top of the other
ballots to be voted at the election in such manner that the
legend appearing on the back thereof, as prescribed in Section
16-6 of this Act, shall be plainly visible to the voter, and in
this fashion the ballots shall be handed to the voter by the
judge.
Immediately after voting, the voter shall be instructed
whether the voting equipment, if used, accepted or rejected the
ballot or identified the ballot as under-voted. A voter whose
ballot is identified as under-voted for a statewide
constitutional office may return to the voting booth and
complete the voting of that ballot. A voter whose ballot is not
accepted by the voting equipment may, upon surrendering the
ballot, request and vote another ballot. The voter's
surrendered ballot shall be initialed by the election judge and
handled as provided in the appropriate Article governing that
voting equipment.
The voter shall, upon quitting the voting booth, deliver to
one of the judges of election all of the ballots, properly
folded, which he received. The judge of election to whom the
voter delivers his ballots shall not accept the same unless all
of the ballots given to the voter are returned by him. If a
voter delivers less than all of the ballots given to him, the

judge to whom the same are offered shall advise him in a voice
clearly audible to the other judges of election that the voter
must return the remainder of the ballots. The statement of the
judge to the voter shall clearly express the fact that the
voter is not required to vote such remaining ballots but that
whether or not he votes them he must fold and deliver them to
the judge. In making such statement the judge of election shall
not indicate by word, gesture or intonation of voice that the
unreturned ballots shall be voted in any particular manner. No
new voter shall be permitted to enter the voting booth of a
voter who has failed to deliver the total number of ballots
received by him until such voter has returned to the voting
booth pursuant to the judge's request and again quit the booth
with all of the ballots required to be returned by him. Upon
receipt of all such ballots the judges of election shall enter
the name of the voter, and his number, as above provided in
this Section, and the judge to whom the ballots are delivered
shall immediately put the ballots into the ballot box. If any
voter who has failed to deliver all the ballots received by him
refuses to return to the voting booth after being advised by
the judge of election as herein provided, the judge shall
inform the other judges of such refusal, and thereupon the
ballot or ballots returned to the judge shall be deposited in
the ballot box, the voter shall be permitted to depart from the
polling place, and a new voter shall be permitted to enter the
voting booth.

The judge of election who receives the ballot or ballots
from the voter shall announce the residence and name of such
voter in a loud voice. The judge shall put the ballot or
ballots received from the voter into the ballot box in the
presence of the voter and the judges of election, and in plain
view of the public. The judges having charge of such registers
shall then, in a column prepared thereon, in the same line of,
the name of the voter, mark "Voted" or the letter "V".
No judge of election shall accept from any voter less than
the full number of ballots received by such voter without first
advising the voter in the manner above provided of the
necessity of returning all of the ballots, nor shall any such
judge advise such voter in a manner contrary to that which is
herein permitted, or in any other manner violate the provisions
of this Section; provided, that the acceptance by a judge of
election of less than the full number of ballots delivered to a
voter who refuses to return to the voting booth after being
properly advised by such judge shall not be a violation of this
Section.
(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07; 96-317, eff. 1-1-10.)
(10 ILCS 5/18-9.2) (from Ch. 46, par. 18-9.2)
Sec. 18-9.2. Where a vacancy in nomination is filled
pursuant to Section 7-61 or Section 10-11, the vote by mail
absentee votes cast for the original candidate on the first
ballot shall not be counted. For this purpose, in those

jurisdictions where electronic voting systems are used, the
election authority shall determine a method by which the first
ballots containing the name of the original candidate may be
segregated from the revised ballots containing the name of the
successor candidate and separately counted.
Where a vacancy in nomination is not filled pursuant to
Section 7-61 or Section 10-11, all votes cast for the original
candidate shall be counted for such candidate.
(Source: P.A. 84-861.)
(10 ILCS 5/18A-5)
Sec. 18A-5. Provisional voting; general provisions.
(a) A person who claims to be a registered voter is
entitled to cast a provisional ballot under the following
circumstances:
(1) The person's name does not appear on the official
list of eligible voters for the precinct in which the
person seeks to vote and the person has refused an
opportunity to register at the polling location or another
grace period registration site. The official list is the
centralized statewide voter registration list established
and maintained in accordance with Section 1A-25;
(2) The person's voting status has been challenged by
an election judge, a pollwatcher, or any legal voter and
that challenge has been sustained by a majority of the
election judges;

(3) A federal or State court order extends the time for
closing the polls beyond the time period established by
State law and the person votes during the extended time
period;
(4) The voter registered to vote by mail and is
required by law to present identification when voting
either in person or by early voting absentee ballot, but
fails to do so;
(5) The voter's name appears on the list of voters who
voted during the early voting period, but the voter claims
not to have voted during the early voting period; or
(6) The voter received a vote by mail an absentee
ballot but did not return the vote by mail absentee ballot
to the election authority; or
(7) The voter attempted to register to vote on election
day, but failed to provide the necessary documentation
registered to vote during the grace period on the day
before election day or on election day during the 2014
general election.
(b) The procedure for obtaining and casting a provisional
ballot at the polling place shall be as follows:
(1) After first verifying through an examination of the
precinct register that the person's address is within the
precinct boundaries, an election judge at the polling place
shall notify a person who is entitled to cast a provisional
ballot pursuant to subsection (a) that he or she may cast a

provisional ballot in that election. An election judge must
accept any information provided by a person who casts a
provisional ballot that the person believes supports his or
her claim that he or she is a duly registered voter and
qualified to vote in the election. However, if the person's
residence address is outside the precinct boundaries, the
election judge shall inform the person of that fact, give
the person the appropriate telephone number of the election
authority in order to locate the polling place assigned to
serve that address, and instruct the person to go to the
proper polling place to vote.
(2) The person shall execute a written form provided by
the election judge that shall state or contain all of the
following that is available:
(i) an affidavit stating the following:
State of Illinois, County of ................,
Township ............., Precinct ........, Ward
........, I, ......................., do solemnly
swear (or affirm) that: I am a citizen of the
United States; I am 18 years of age or older; I
have resided in this State and in this precinct for
30 days preceding this election; I have not voted
in this election; I am a duly registered voter in
every respect; and I am eligible to vote in this
election. Signature ...... Printed Name of Voter
....... Printed Residence Address of Voter ......

City ...... State .... Zip Code ..... Telephone
Number ...... Date of Birth ....... and Illinois
Driver's License Number ....... or Last 4 digits of
Social Security Number ...... or State
Identification Card Number issued to you by the
Illinois Secretary of State........
(ii) A box for the election judge to check one of
the 6 reasons why the person was given a provisional
ballot under subsection (a) of Section 18A-5.
(iii) An area for the election judge to affix his
or her signature and to set forth any facts that
support or oppose the allegation that the person is not
qualified to vote in the precinct in which the person
is seeking to vote.
The written affidavit form described in this
subsection (b)(2) must be printed on a multi-part form
prescribed by the county clerk or board of election
commissioners, as the case may be.
(3) After the person executes the portion of the
written affidavit described in subsection (b)(2)(i) of
this Section, the election judge shall complete the portion
of the written affidavit described in subsection
(b)(2)(iii) and (b)(2)(iv).
(4) The election judge shall give a copy of the
completed written affidavit to the person. The election
judge shall place the original written affidavit in a

self-adhesive clear plastic packing list envelope that
must be attached to a separate envelope marked as a
"provisional ballot envelope". The election judge shall
also place any information provided by the person who casts
a provisional ballot in the clear plastic packing list
envelope. Each county clerk or board of election
commissioners, as the case may be, must design, obtain or
procure self-adhesive clear plastic packing list envelopes
and provisional ballot envelopes that are suitable for
implementing this subsection (b)(4) of this Section.
(5) The election judge shall provide the person with a
provisional ballot, written instructions for casting a
provisional ballot, and the provisional ballot envelope
with the clear plastic packing list envelope affixed to it,
which contains the person's original written affidavit
and, if any, information provided by the provisional voter
to support his or her claim that he or she is a duly
registered voter. An election judge must also give the
person written information that states that any person who
casts a provisional ballot shall be able to ascertain,
pursuant to guidelines established by the State Board of
Elections, whether the provisional vote was counted in the
official canvass of votes for that election and, if the
provisional vote was not counted, the reason that the vote
was not counted.
(6) After the person has completed marking his or her

provisional ballot, he or she shall place the marked ballot
inside of the provisional ballot envelope, close and seal
the envelope, and return the envelope to an election judge,
who shall then deposit the sealed provisional ballot
envelope into a securable container separately identified
and utilized for containing sealed provisional ballot
envelopes. Ballots that are provisional because they are
cast after 7:00 p.m. by court order shall be kept separate
from other provisional ballots. Upon the closing of the
polls, the securable container shall be sealed with
filament tape provided for that purpose, which shall be
wrapped around the box lengthwise and crosswise, at least
twice each way, and each of the election judges shall sign
the seal.
(c) Instead of the affidavit form described in subsection
(b), the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as
the case may be, may design and use a multi-part affidavit form
that is imprinted upon or attached to the provisional ballot
envelope described in subsection (b). If a county clerk or
board of election commissioners elects to design and use its
own multi-part affidavit form, then the county clerk or board
of election commissioners shall establish a mechanism for
accepting any information the provisional voter has supplied to
the election judge to support his or her claim that he or she
is a duly registered voter. In all other respects, a county
clerk or board of election commissioners shall establish

procedures consistent with subsection (b).
(d) The county clerk or board of election commissioners, as
the case may be, shall use the completed affidavit form
described in subsection (b) to update the person's voter
registration information in the State voter registration
database and voter registration database of the county clerk or
board of election commissioners, as the case may be. If a
person is later determined not to be a registered voter based
on Section 18A-15 of this Code, then the affidavit shall be
processed by the county clerk or board of election
commissioners, as the case may be, as a voter registration
application.
(Source: P.A. 97-766, eff. 7-6-12; 98-691, eff. 7-1-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/18A-15)
Sec. 18A-15. Validating and counting provisional ballots.
(a) The county clerk or board of election commissioners
shall complete the validation and counting of provisional
ballots within 14 calendar days of the day of the election. The
county clerk or board of election commissioners shall have 7
calendar days from the completion of the validation and
counting of provisional ballots to conduct its final canvass.
The State Board of Elections shall complete within 31 calendar
days of the election or sooner if all the returns are received,
its final canvass of the vote for all public offices.
(b) If a county clerk or board of election commissioners

determines that all of the following apply, then a provisional
ballot is valid and shall be counted as a vote:
(1) the provisional voter cast the provisional ballot
in the correct precinct based on the address provided by
the provisional voter unless the provisional voter cast a
ballot pursuant to paragraph (7) of subsection (a) of
Section 18A-5, in which case the provisional ballot must
have been cast in the correct election jurisdiction based
on the address provided. The provisional voter's affidavit
shall serve as a change of address request by that voter
for registration purposes for the next ensuing election if
it bears an address different from that in the records of
the election authority. Votes for federal and statewide
offices on a provisional ballot cast in the incorrect
precinct that meet the other requirements of this
subsection shall be valid and counted in accordance with
this Article rules adopted by the State Board of Elections.
As used in this item, "federal office" is defined as
provided in Section 20-1 and "statewide office" means the
Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State,
Comptroller, and Treasurer. Votes for General Assembly,
countywide, citywide, or township office on a provisional
ballot cast in the incorrect precinct but in the correct
legislative district, representative district, county,
municipality, or township, as the case may be, shall be
valid and counted in accordance with this Article rules

adopted by the State Board of Elections. As used in this
item, "citywide office" means an office elected by the
electors of an entire municipality. As used in this item,
"township office" means an office elected by the electors
of an entire township;
(2) the affidavit executed by the provisional voter
pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of Section 18A-5 contains, at
a minimum, the provisional voter's first and last name,
house number and street name, and signature or mark;
(3) except as permitted by item (5) of subsection (b)
of this Section, the provisional voter is a registered
voter based on information available to the county clerk or
board of election commissioners provided by or obtained
from any of the following:
i. the provisional voter;
ii. an election judge;
iii. the statewide voter registration database
maintained by the State Board of Elections;
iv. the records of the county clerk or board of
election commissioners' database; or
v. the records of the Secretary of State; and
(4) for a provisional ballot cast under item (6) of
subsection (a) of Section 18A-5, the voter did not vote by
vote by mail absentee ballot in the election at which the
provisional ballot was cast; or .
(5) for a provisional ballot cast under item (7) of

subsection (a) of Section 18A-5, the voter provides the
election authority with the necessary documentation within
7 days of election day.
(c) With respect to subsection (b)(3) of this Section, the
county clerk or board of election commissioners shall
investigate and record whether or not the specified information
is available from each of the 5 identified sources. If the
information is available from one or more of the identified
sources, then the county clerk or board of election
commissioners shall seek to obtain the information from each of
those sources until satisfied, with information from at least
one of those sources, that the provisional voter is registered
and entitled to vote. The county clerk or board of election
commissioners shall use any information it obtains as the basis
for determining the voter registration status of the
provisional voter. If a conflict exists among the information
available to the county clerk or board of election
commissioners as to the registration status of the provisional
voter, then the county clerk or board of election commissioners
shall make a determination based on the totality of the
circumstances. In a case where the above information equally
supports or opposes the registration status of the voter, the
county clerk or board of election commissioners shall decide in
favor of the provisional voter as being duly registered to
vote. If the statewide voter registration database maintained
by the State Board of Elections indicates that the provisional

voter is registered to vote, but the county clerk's or board of
election commissioners' voter registration database indicates
that the provisional voter is not registered to vote, then the
information found in the statewide voter registration database
shall control the matter and the provisional voter shall be
deemed to be registered to vote. If the records of the county
clerk or board of election commissioners indicates that the
provisional voter is registered to vote, but the statewide
voter registration database maintained by the State Board of
Elections indicates that the provisional voter is not
registered to vote, then the information found in the records
of the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall
control the matter and the provisional voter shall be deemed to
be registered to vote. If the provisional voter's signature on
his or her provisional ballot request varies from the signature
on an otherwise valid registration application solely because
of the substitution of initials for the first or middle name,
the election authority may not reject the provisional ballot.
(d) In validating the registration status of a person
casting a provisional ballot, the county clerk or board of
election commissioners shall not require a provisional voter to
complete any form other than the affidavit executed by the
provisional voter under subsection (b)(2) of Section 18A-5. In
addition, the county clerk or board of election commissioners
shall not require all provisional voters or any particular
class or group of provisional voters to appear personally

before the county clerk or board of election commissioners or
as a matter of policy require provisional voters to submit
additional information to verify or otherwise support the
information already submitted by the provisional voter. Within
2 calendar days after the election, the election authority
shall transmit by electronic means pursuant to a process
established by the State Board of Elections the name, street
address, e-mail address, and precinct, ward, township, and
district numbers, as the case may be, of each person casting a
provisional ballot to the State Board of Elections, which shall
maintain those names and that information in an electronic
format on its website, arranged by county and accessible to
State and local political committees. The provisional voter
may, within 7 calendar days after the election, submit
additional information to the county clerk or board of election
commissioners. This information must be received by the county
clerk or board of election commissioners within the
7-calendar-day period.
(e) If the county clerk or board of election commissioners
determines that subsection (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(3) does not
apply, then the provisional ballot is not valid and may not be
counted. The provisional ballot envelope containing the ballot
cast by the provisional voter may not be opened. The county
clerk or board of election commissioners shall write on the
provisional ballot envelope the following: "Provisional ballot
determined invalid.".

(f) If the county clerk or board of election commissioners
determines that a provisional ballot is valid under this
Section, then the provisional ballot envelope shall be opened.
The outside of each provisional ballot envelope shall also be
marked to identify the precinct and the date of the election.
(g) Provisional ballots determined to be valid shall be
counted at the election authority's central ballot counting
location and shall not be counted in precincts. The provisional
ballots determined to be valid shall be added to the vote
totals for the precincts from which they were cast in the order
in which the ballots were opened. The validation and counting
of provisional ballots shall be subject to the provisions of
this Code that apply to pollwatchers. If the provisional
ballots are a ballot of a punch card voting system, then the
provisional ballot shall be counted in a manner consistent with
Article 24A. If the provisional ballots are a ballot of optical
scan or other type of approved electronic voting system, then
the provisional ballots shall be counted in a manner consistent
with Article 24B.
(h) As soon as the ballots have been counted, the election
judges or election officials shall, in the presence of the
county clerk or board of election commissioners, place each of
the following items in a separate envelope or bag: (1) all
provisional ballots, voted or spoiled; (2) all provisional
ballot envelopes of provisional ballots voted or spoiled; and
(3) all executed affidavits of the provisional ballots voted or

spoiled. All provisional ballot envelopes for provisional
voters who have been determined not to be registered to vote
shall remain sealed. The county clerk or board of election
commissioners shall treat the provisional ballot envelope
containing the written affidavit as a voter registration
application for that person for the next election and process
that application. The election judges or election officials
shall then securely seal each envelope or bag, initial the
envelope or bag, and plainly mark on the outside of the
envelope or bag in ink the precinct in which the provisional
ballots were cast. The election judges or election officials
shall then place each sealed envelope or bag into a box, secure
and seal it in the same manner as described in item (6) of
subsection (b) of Section 18A-5. Each election judge or
election official shall take and subscribe an oath before the
county clerk or board of election commissioners that the
election judge or election official securely kept the ballots
and papers in the box, did not permit any person to open the
box or otherwise touch or tamper with the ballots and papers in
the box, and has no knowledge of any other person opening the
box. For purposes of this Section, the term "election official"
means the county clerk, a member of the board of election
commissioners, as the case may be, and their respective
employees.
(Source: P.A. 97-766, eff. 7-6-12; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13;
98-691, eff. 7-1-14.)

(10 ILCS 5/18A-218 new)
Sec. 18A-218. Interpretation of Article 18A. The Sections
of this Article following this Section shall be supplemental to
all other provisions of this Article and are intended to
provide procedural requirements for the implementation of the
provisions of this Article. In the case of a conflict between
the Sections following this Section and the Sections preceding
this Section, the Sections preceding this Section shall
prevail.
(10 ILCS 5/18A-218.10 new)
Sec. 18A-218.10. Definitions relating to provisional
ballots.
(a) As used in this Article:
"Citywide or villagewide office" means an office
elected by the electors of an entire municipality.
"Correct precinct" means the precinct containing the
addresses at which the provisional voter resides and at
which he or she is registered to vote.
"Countywide office" means the offices of Clerk,
Sheriff, State's Attorney, Circuit Court Clerk, Recorder,
Auditor, County Board President, County Board Member or
County Commissioner in those counties that elect those
officers countywide, Coroner, Regional Superintendent of
Schools, Sanitary District Commissioners or Trustees,

Assessor, Board of Review Members in those counties that
elect those officers countywide, and Treasurer.
"Election authority" means either the County Clerk,
County Board of Election Commissioners, or Municipal Board
of Election Commissioners, as the case may be.
"Election jurisdiction" means an entire county, in the
case of a county in which no city board of election
commissioners is located or that is under the jurisdiction
of a county board of election commissioners; the
territorial jurisdiction of a city board of election
commissioners; and the territory in a county outside of the
jurisdiction of a city board of election commissioners.
Election jurisdictions shall be determined according to
which election authority maintains the permanent
registration records of qualified electors.
"Incorrect precinct" means the precinct in which the
voter cast a provisional ballot, but is not the precinct
containing the address at which he or she is registered to
vote. In order for a provisional ballot to be eligible for
counting when cast in an incorrect precinct, that precinct
must be located within either the county or municipality in
which the voter is registered.
"Leading established political party" means one of the
two political parties whose candidates for Governor at the
most recent 3 gubernatorial elections received either the
highest or second highest average number of votes. The

first leading political party is the party whose candidate
for Governor received the highest average number of votes
in the 3 most recent gubernatorial elections and the second
leading political party is the party whose candidate for
Governor received the second highest average number of
votes in the 3 most recent gubernatorial elections.
"Legislative district" means the district in which an
Illinois State Senator is elected to serve the residents.
"Persons entitled to vote provisionally" or
"provisional voter" means a person claiming to be a
registered voter who is entitled by Section 18A-5 of this
Code to vote a provisional ballot under the following
circumstances:
(1) The person's name does not appear on the
official list of eligible voters for the precinct in
which the person seeks to vote and the person has
refused an opportunity to register at the polling
location or another grace period registration site.
(2) The person's voting status has been
successfully challenged by an election judge, a
pollwatcher or any legal voter.
(3) A federal or State court order extends the time
for closing the polls beyond the time period
established by State law and the person votes during
the extended time period.
(4) The voter registered to vote by mail and is

required by law to present identification when voting
either in person or by vote by mail ballot, but fails
to do so.
(5) The voter's name appears on the list of voters
who voted during the early voting period, but the voter
claims not to have voted during the early voting
period.
(6) The voter received a vote by mail ballot but
did not return the vote by mail ballot to the election
authority, and failed to surrender it to the election
judges.
(7) The voter attempted to register to vote on
election day, but failed to provide the necessary
documentation.
"Representative district" means the district from
which an Illinois State Representative is elected to serve
the residents.
"Statewide office" means the Constitutional offices of
Governor and Lt. Governor running jointly, Secretary of
State, Attorney General, Comptroller, and Treasurer.
"Township office" means an office elected by the
electors of an entire township.
(b) Procedures for Voting Provisionally in the Polling
Place.
(1) If any of the 7 reasons cited in the definition of
provisional voter in subsection (a) for casting a

provisional ballot exists, an election judge must accept
any information provided by a person who casts a
provisional ballot that the person believes supports his or
her claim that he or she is a duly registered voter and
qualified to vote in the election. However, if the person's
residence address is outside the precinct boundaries, the
election judge shall inform the person of that fact, give
the person the appropriate telephone number of the election
authority in order to locate the polling place assigned to
serve that address (or consult any alternative tools
provided by the election authority for determining a
voter's correct precinct polling place) and instruct the
person to go to the proper polling place to vote.
(2) Once it has been determined by the election judges
that the person is entitled to receive a provisional
ballot, and the voter has completed the provisional voter
affidavit, the voter shall be given a provisional ballot
and shall proceed to vote that ballot. Upon receipt of the
ballot by the election judges, the ballot shall be
transmitted to the election authority in accordance with
subsection (a) of Section 18A-10 of this Code.
(3) In the event that a provisional ballot is
mistakenly cast in a precinct other than the precinct that
contains the voter's address of registration (if the voter
believed he or she registered in the precinct in which he
or she voted provisionally, and the election judges should

have, but did not direct the voter to vote in the correct
precinct), Section 218.20 shall apply.
(10 ILCS 5/18A-218.20 new)
Sec. 18A-218.20. Counting procedures for provisional
ballots cast in an incorrect precinct within the same election
authority's jurisdiction.
(a) The election authority shall:
(1) transmit to the State Board of Elections the
provisional voter's identifying information and voting
jurisdiction within 2 calendar days. Following that, and
subject to paragraph (2) below, if the election authority
having jurisdiction over the provisional voter determines
that the voter has cast a provisional ballot in an
incorrect precinct, the ballot shall still be counted using
the procedures established in subsection (b) of this
Section or Section 18A-218.30 if applicable. Jurisdictions
that use election machines authorized pursuant to Article
24C of this Code for casting provisional ballots may vary
procedures of this Section and Section 18A-218.30 as
appropriate for the counting of provisional ballots cast on
those machines.
(2) determine whether the voter was entitled to cast a
provisional ballot. The voter is entitled to cast a
provisional ballot if:
(A) the affidavit executed by the voter contains,

at a minimum, the provisional voter's first and last
name, house number and street name, and signature or
mark;
(B) the provisional voter is a registered voter
based on information available to the county clerk or
board of election commissioners provided by or
obtained from the provisional voter, an election
judge, the Statewide voter registration database
maintained by the State Board of Elections, the records
of the county clerk or board of election commissioners'
database, or the records of the Secretary of State or
the voter is attempting to register but lacks the
necessary documentation; and
(C) the provisional voter did not vote using the
vote by mail ballot and did not vote during the period
for early voting.
(b) Once it has been determined by the election authority
that the voter was entitled to vote a provisional ballot, even
though it had been cast in an incorrect precinct, the election
authority shall select a team or teams of 2 duly commissioned
election judges, one from each of the two leading established
political parties in Illinois, to count the votes that are
eligible to be cast on the provisional ballot. In those
jurisdictions that use election officials as defined in
subsection (h) of Section 18A-15 of this Code, these duties may
be performed by those election officials.

(1) Votes cast for Statewide offices, the Office of
President of the United States (including votes cast in the
Presidential Preference Primary), and United States Senate
shall be counted on all provisional ballots cast in the
incorrect precinct.
(2) Votes cast for Representative in Congress,
delegate or alternate delegate to a national nominating
convention, State Senator, State Representative, or
countywide, citywide, villagewide, or township office
shall be counted if it is determined by the election judges
or officials that the voter would have been entitled to
vote for one or more of these offices had the voter voted
in the precinct in which he or she is registered to vote
(the correct precinct) and had the voter voted a ballot of
the correct ballot style containing all the offices and
candidates for which the voter was entitled to cast a
ballot (the correct ballot style). This determination
shall be made by comparing a sample ballot of the correct
ballot style with the actual provisional ballot cast by the
voter. If the same office (including the same district
number for a Congressional, Legislative or Representative
district) appears on both the correct ballot style sample
ballot and the provisional ballot cast by the voter, votes
for that office shall be counted. All votes cast for any
remaining offices (offices for which the voter would not
have been entitled to vote had he or she voted in the

correct precinct) shall not be counted.
(3) No votes shall be counted for an office when the
voter voted for more candidates than he or she was allowed.
(4) Once it has been determined which offices are to be
counted and the provisional ballot contains no other votes,
the provisional ballot shall be counted pursuant to the
procedures set forth in this subsection (b).
(5) If a provisional ballot does not contain any valid
votes, the provisional ballot shall be marked invalid and
shall not be counted.
(6) Any provisional voting verification system
established by an election authority shall inform the
provisional voter that his or her provisional ballot was
partially counted because it was cast in an incorrect
precinct.
(7) If a provisional ballot only contains votes cast
for eligible offices, and does not contain any votes cast
for ineligible offices, the ballot may be tabulated without
having to be remade.
(8) If a provisional ballot contains both valid votes
that must be counted and invalid votes that cannot be
counted:
(A) the election judges, consisting in each case of
at least one of each of the 2 leading political
parties, shall, if the provisional ballot was cast on a
paper ballot sheet, proceed to remake the voted ballot

onto a blank ballot that includes all of the offices
for which valid votes were cast, transferring only
valid votes. The original provisional ballot shall be
marked "Original Provisional Ballot" with a serial
number commencing at "1" and continuing consecutively
for ballots of that kind in the precinct. The duplicate
provisional ballot shall be marked "Duplicate
Provisional Ballot" and be given the same serial number
as the original ballot from which it was duplicated.
The duplicate provisional ballot shall then be treated
in the same manner as other provisional ballots.
(B) if the provisional ballot was cast on a direct
recording electronic voting device, the election
judges shall mark the original provisional ballot as a
partially counted defective electronic provisional
ballot because it was cast in the incorrect precinct
(or bear some similar notation) and proceed to either:
(i) remake the voted ballot by transferring
all valid votes to a duplicate paper ballot sheet
of the correct ballot style, marking the duplicate
ballot "Duplicate Electronic Provisional Ballot"
and then counting the duplicate provisional ballot
in the same manner as the other provisional ballots
marked on paper ballot sheets; or
(ii) transfer, or cause to be transferred, all
valid votes electronically to the correct

precinct, which shall be counted and added to the
vote totals for the correct precinct, excluding
any votes that cannot be counted. If this method is
used, a permanent paper record must be generated
for both the defective provisional ballot and the
duplicate electronic provisional ballot.
(c) For provisional ballots cast at a partisan primary
election, the judges shall use a duplicate ballot of the
correct ballot style for the same political party as the ballot
chosen by the voter.
(d) At least one qualified pollwatcher for each candidate,
political party, and civic organization, as authorized by
Section 17-23 of this Code, shall be permitted to observe the
ballot remaking process.
(10 ILCS 5/18A-218.30 new)
Sec. 18A-218.30. Counting procedures for provisional
ballots cast in an incorrect precinct within a different
election authority's jurisdiction.
(a) The election authority having possession of the
provisional ballot shall first notify the election authority
having jurisdiction over the provisional voter that the voter
cast a provisional ballot in its jurisdiction and provide
whatever information is needed for the election authority to
comply with the notification requirements set forth in
subsection (d) of Section 18A-15 of this Code. For purpose of

determining which election authority has jurisdiction over the
provisional voter, the election authority having possession of
the provisional ballot shall use the address listed on the
provisional ballot affidavit that was provided by the voter. If
that address is different from the address at which the voter
is registered, the ballot shall be rejected; however, the
affidavit shall serve as a request to register at that address.
If a voter cast a provisional ballot in an incorrect precinct
located in the jurisdiction of an election authority other than
the election authority having jurisdiction over the voter's
correct precinct, but where the precinct is located within the
same county as the 2 election authorities (e.g., a voter is
registered in the City of Chicago, but casts a provisional
ballot in suburban Cook County), the election authority in
whose territory the provisional ballot was cast shall, after
receipt of the provisional ballot, transmit it, along with the
provisional voter's affidavit and any other documentation
provided to the election judges, to the office of the election
authority having jurisdiction over the voter's correct
precinct. The ballot shall be sealed in a secure envelope or
other suitable container and transmitted within 8 business days
after the election at which it was cast. If the locations of
the election authorities' offices are such that it is feasible
to hand deliver the ballot, the ballot shall be sealed in a
secure envelope and transmitted in that manner by 2 election
judges (or election officials), one from each of the 2 leading

political parties. If the locations of the 2 election
authorities are such that it is not feasible to hand deliver
the ballot, the election authority having jurisdiction over the
incorrect precinct shall cause the ballot to be sealed in a
secure envelope and transmitted via express mail within 8
business days after the election at which the ballot was cast,
with a delivery date no later than the second business day
following the mailing date. Upon receipt of the ballot by the
election authority having jurisdiction over the correct
precinct, the election authority shall proceed to remake, and
count the votes on, the provisional ballot in accordance with
the procedures described in Section 18A-218.20, including the
determination of eligibility to cast a provisional ballot. Any
information provided to the election authority within the 7 day
period provided for in Section 18A-15 of this Code shall be
sealed in a secure envelope and transmitted to the office of
the election authority having jurisdiction over the voter's
correct precinct, along with the provisional ballot of that
voter.
(b) Incorrect precinct is located in a different county
from the county where the voter is registered, but is located
in the same municipality or legislative district as the one in
which the voter is registered:
(1) The election authority having possession of the
provisional ballot shall first notify the election
authority having jurisdiction over the provisional voter

that the voter cast a provisional ballot in its
jurisdiction and provide whatever information is needed
for the election authority to comply with the notification
requirements set forth in subsection (d) of Section 18A-15
of this Code. For purposes of determining which election
authority has jurisdiction over the provisional voter, the
election authority having possession of the provisional
ballot shall use the address listed on the provisional
ballot affidavit that was provided by the voter. If that
address is different from the address at which the voter is
registered, the ballot shall be rejected; however, the
affidavit shall serve as a request to register at that
address. The election authority shall then cause the
ballot, along with the provisional voter's affidavit and
any other documentation provided to the election judges, to
be transmitted via express mail within 8 business days
after the election at which the ballot was cast, with a
delivery date no later than the second business day
following the mailing date. Upon receipt of the ballot by
the election authority having jurisdiction over the
correct precinct, that election authority shall proceed to
remake and count the votes on the provisional ballot in
accordance with the procedures described in Section
18A-218.20, including the determination of eligibility to
cast a provisional ballot. Any information provided to the
election authority within the 7 day period provided for in

Section 18A-15 of this Code shall be transmitted to the
office of the election authority having jurisdiction over
the voter's correct precinct, along with the provisional
ballot of that voter.
(2) If a voter casts a provisional ballot in a precinct
outside of the county in which he or she is registered and
outside of the municipality, representative district, or
legislative district in which he or she is registered (if
applicable), the ballot shall not be counted. It shall,
however, be transmitted via the U.S. Postal Service to the
election authority having jurisdiction over the voter's
correct precinct within 14 days after the election and
shall be kept for 2 months, the same length of time as is
required for other voted ballots.
For purposes of determining which election authority has
jurisdiction over the provisional voter, the election
authority having possession of the provisional ballot shall use
the address listed on the provisional ballot affidavit that was
provided by the voter. If such address is different from the
address at which the voter is registered, the ballot shall be
rejected, however the affidavit shall serve as a request to
register at such address.
(10 ILCS 5/18A-218.40 new)
Sec. 18A-218.40. Follow-up procedures for provisional
ballots. The original provisional ballot cast by the voter

shall be stored separately from other ballots voted in the
election and shall be preserved in the same manner as original
ballots that had to be remade for other reasons, such as a
damaged ballot or as a result of a voter over-voting an office.
(10 ILCS 5/Art. 19 heading)
ARTICLE 19. VOTING BY MAIL ABSENT ELECTORS
(10 ILCS 5/19-2) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-2)
Sec. 19-2. Any elector as defined in Section 19-1 may by
mail or electronically on the website of the appropriate
election authority, not more than 90 nor less than 5 days prior
to the date of such election, or by personal delivery not more
than 90 nor less than one day prior to the date of such
election, make application to the county clerk or to the Board
of Election Commissioners for an official ballot for the
voter's precinct to be voted at such election. The URL address
at which voters may electronically request a vote by mail an
absentee ballot shall be fixed no later than 90 calendar days
before an election and shall not be changed until after the
election. Such a ballot shall be delivered to the elector only
upon separate application by the elector for each election.
(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-691,
eff. 7-1-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/19-3) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-3)

Sec. 19-3. The application for vote by mail absentee ballot
shall be substantially in the following form:
APPLICATION FOR VOTE BY MAIL ABSENTEE BALLOT
To be voted at the .... election in the County of .... and
State of Illinois, in the .... precinct of the (1) *township of
.... (2) *City of .... or (3) *.... ward in the City of ....
I state that I am a resident of the .... precinct of the
(1) *township of .... (2) *City of .... or (3) *.... ward in
the city of .... residing at .... in such city or town in the
county of .... and State of Illinois; that I have lived at such
address for .... month(s) last past; that I am lawfully
entitled to vote in such precinct at the .... election to be
held therein on ....; and that I wish to vote by vote by mail
absentee ballot.
I hereby make application for an official ballot or ballots
to be voted by me at such election, and I agree that I shall
return such ballot or ballots to the official issuing the same
prior to the closing of the polls on the date of the election
or, if returned by mail, postmarked no later than midnight
preceding election day, for counting no later than during the
period for counting provisional ballots, the last day of which
is the 14th day following election day.
I understand that this application is made for an official
vote by mail absentee ballot or ballots to be voted by me at
the election specified in this application and that I must
submit a separate application for an official vote by mail

absentee ballot or ballots to be voted by me at any subsequent
election.
Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Section
29-10 of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the
statements set forth in this application are true and correct.
....
*fill in either (1), (2) or (3).
Post office address to which ballot is mailed:
...............
However, if application is made for a primary election
ballot, such application shall require the applicant to
designate the name of the political party with which the
applicant is affiliated.
If application is made electronically, the applicant shall
mark the box associated with the above described statement
included as part of the online application certifying that the
statements set forth in this application are true and correct,
and a signature is not required.
Any person may produce, reproduce, distribute, or return to
an election authority the application for vote by mail absentee
ballot. Upon receipt, the appropriate election authority shall
accept and promptly process any application for vote by mail
absentee ballot submitted in a form substantially similar to
that required by this Section, including any substantially
similar production or reproduction generated by the applicant.
(Source: P.A. 97-766, eff. 7-6-12; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)

(10 ILCS 5/19-4) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-4)
Sec. 19-4. Mailing or delivery of ballots; time.
Immediately upon the receipt of such application either by mail
or electronic means, not more than 90 40 days nor less than 5
days prior to such election, or by personal delivery not more
than 90 40 days nor less than one day prior to such election,
at the office of such election authority, it shall be the duty
of such election authority to examine the records to ascertain
whether or not such applicant is lawfully entitled to vote as
requested, including a verification of the applicant's
signature by comparison with the signature on the official
registration record card, and if found so to be entitled to
vote, to post within one business day thereafter the name,
street address, ward and precinct number or township and
district number, as the case may be, of such applicant given on
a list, the pages of which are to be numbered consecutively to
be kept by such election authority for such purpose in a
conspicuous, open and public place accessible to the public at
the entrance of the office of such election authority, and in
such a manner that such list may be viewed without necessity of
requesting permission therefor. Within one day after posting
the name and other information of an applicant for a vote by
mail an absentee ballot, the election authority shall transmit
by electronic means pursuant to a process established by the
State Board of Elections that name and other posted information

to the State Board of Elections, which shall maintain those
names and other information in an electronic format on its
website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local
political committees. Within 2 business days after posting a
name and other information on the list within its office, but
no sooner than 40 days before an election, the election
authority shall mail, postage prepaid, or deliver in person in
such office an official ballot or ballots if more than one are
to be voted at said election. Mail delivery of Temporarily
Absent Student ballot applications pursuant to Section 19-12.3
shall be by nonforwardable mail. However, for the consolidated
election, vote by mail absentee ballots for certain precincts
may be delivered to applicants not less than 25 days before the
election if so much time is required to have prepared and
printed the ballots containing the names of persons nominated
for offices at the consolidated primary. The election authority
shall enclose with each vote by mail absentee ballot or
application written instructions on how voting assistance
shall be provided pursuant to Section 17-14 and a document,
written and approved by the State Board of Elections, informing
the vote by mail voter of the required postage for returning
the application and ballot, and enumerating the circumstances
under which a person is authorized to vote by vote by mail
absentee ballot pursuant to this Article; such document shall
also include a statement informing the applicant that if he or
she falsifies or is solicited by another to falsify his or her

eligibility to cast a vote by mail an absentee ballot, such
applicant or other is subject to penalties pursuant to Section
29-10 and Section 29-20 of the Election Code. Each election
authority shall maintain a list of the name, street address,
ward and precinct, or township and district number, as the case
may be, of all applicants who have returned vote by mail
absentee ballots to such authority, and the name of such vote
by mail absent voter shall be added to such list within one
business day from receipt of such ballot. If the vote by mail
absentee ballot envelope indicates that the voter was assisted
in casting the ballot, the name of the person so assisting
shall be included on the list. The list, the pages of which are
to be numbered consecutively, shall be kept by each election
authority in a conspicuous, open, and public place accessible
to the public at the entrance of the office of the election
authority and in a manner that the list may be viewed without
necessity of requesting permission for viewing.
Each election authority shall maintain a list for each
election of the voters to whom it has issued vote by mail
absentee ballots. The list shall be maintained for each
precinct within the jurisdiction of the election authority.
Prior to the opening of the polls on election day, the election
authority shall deliver to the judges of election in each
precinct the list of registered voters in that precinct to whom
vote by mail absentee ballots have been issued by mail.
Each election authority shall maintain a list for each

election of voters to whom it has issued temporarily absent
student ballots. The list shall be maintained for each election
jurisdiction within which such voters temporarily abide.
Immediately after the close of the period during which
application may be made by mail or electronic means for vote by
mail absentee ballots, each election authority shall mail to
each other election authority within the State a certified list
of all such voters temporarily abiding within the jurisdiction
of the other election authority.
In the event that the return address of an application for
ballot by a physically incapacitated elector is that of a
facility licensed or certified under the Nursing Home Care Act,
the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, or
the ID/DD Community Care Act, within the jurisdiction of the
election authority, and the applicant is a registered voter in
the precinct in which such facility is located, the ballots
shall be prepared and transmitted to a responsible judge of
election no later than 9 a.m. on the Saturday, Sunday or Monday
immediately preceding the election as designated by the
election authority under Section 19-12.2. Such judge shall
deliver in person on the designated day the ballot to the
applicant on the premises of the facility from which
application was made. The election authority shall by mail
notify the applicant in such facility that the ballot will be
delivered by a judge of election on the designated day.
All applications for vote by mail absentee ballots shall be

available at the office of the election authority for public
inspection upon request from the time of receipt thereof by the
election authority until 30 days after the election, except
during the time such applications are kept in the office of the
election authority pursuant to Section 19-7, and except during
the time such applications are in the possession of the judges
of election.
(Source: P.A. 97-38, eff. 6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813,
eff. 7-13-12; 98-104, eff. 7-22-13; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13;
98-756, eff. 7-16-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/19-5) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-5)
Sec. 19-5. It shall be the duty of the election authority
to fold the ballot or ballots in the manner specified by the
statute for folding ballots prior to their deposit in the
ballot box, and to enclose such ballot or ballots in an
envelope unsealed to be furnished by him, which envelope shall
bear upon the face thereof the name, official title and post
office address of the election authority, and upon the other
side a printed certification in substantially the following
form:
I state that I am a resident of the .... precinct of the
(1) *township of .... (2) *City of .... or (3) *.... ward in
the city of .... residing at .... in such city or town in the
county of .... and State of Illinois, that I have lived at such
address for .... months last past; and that I am lawfully

entitled to vote in such precinct at the .... election to be
held on .....
*fill in either (1), (2) or (3).
I further state that I personally marked the enclosed
ballot in secret.
Under penalties of perjury as provided by law pursuant to
Section 29-10 of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies
that the statements set forth in this certification are true
and correct.
.......................
If the ballot is to go to an elector who is physically
incapacitated and needs assistance marking the ballot, the
envelope shall bear upon the back thereof a certification in
substantially the following form:
I state that I am a resident of the .... precinct of the
(1) *township of .... (2) *City of .... or (3) *.... ward in
the city of .... residing at .... in such city or town in the
county of .... and State of Illinois, that I have lived at such
address for .... months last past; that I am lawfully entitled
to vote in such precinct at the .... election to be held on
....; that I am physically incapable of personally marking the
ballot for such election.
*fill in either (1), (2) or (3).
I further state that I marked the enclosed ballot in secret
with the assistance of
.................................

(Individual rendering assistance)
.................................
(Residence Address)
Under penalties of perjury as provided by law pursuant to
Section 29-10 of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies
that the statements set forth in this certification are true
and correct.
.......................
In the case of a voter with a physical incapacity, marking
a ballot in secret includes marking a ballot with the
assistance of another individual, other than a candidate whose
name appears on the ballot (unless the voter is the spouse or a
parent, child, brother, or sister of the candidate), the
voter's employer, an agent of that employer, or an officer or
agent of the voter's union, when the voter's physical
incapacity necessitates such assistance.
In the case of a physically incapacitated voter, marking a
ballot in secret includes marking a ballot with the assistance
of another individual, other than a candidate whose name
appears on the ballot (unless the voter is the spouse or a
parent, child, brother, or sister of the candidate), the
voter's employer, an agent of that employer, or an officer or
agent of the voter's union, when the voter's physical
incapacity necessitates such assistance.
Provided, that if the ballot enclosed is to be voted at a
primary election, the certification shall designate the name of

the political party with which the voter is affiliated.
In addition to the above, the election authority shall
provide printed slips giving full instructions regarding the
manner of marking and returning the ballot in order that the
same may be counted, and shall furnish one of such printed
slips to each of such applicants at the same time the ballot is
delivered to him. Such instructions shall include the following
statement: "In signing the certification on the vote by mail
absentee ballot envelope, you are attesting that you personally
marked this vote by mail absentee ballot in secret. If you are
physically unable to mark the ballot, a friend or relative may
assist you after completing the enclosed affidavit. Federal and
State laws prohibit a candidate whose name appears on the
ballot (unless you are the spouse or a parent, child, brother,
or sister of the candidate), your employer, your employer's
agent or an officer or agent of your union from assisting
physically disabled voters."
In addition to the above, if a ballot to be provided to an
elector pursuant to this Section contains a public question
described in subsection (b) of Section 28-6 and the territory
concerning which the question is to be submitted is not
described on the ballot due to the space limitations of such
ballot, the election authority shall provide a printed copy of
a notice of the public question, which shall include a
description of the territory in the manner required by Section
16-7. The notice shall be furnished to the elector at the same

time the ballot is delivered to the elector.
(Source: P.A. 95-440, eff. 8-27-07; 96-553, eff. 8-17-09.)
(10 ILCS 5/19-6) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-6)
Sec. 19-6. Such vote by mail absent voter shall make and
subscribe to the certifications provided for in the application
and on the return envelope for the ballot, and such ballot or
ballots shall be folded by such voter in the manner required to
be folded before depositing the same in the ballot box, and be
deposited in such envelope and the envelope securely sealed.
The voter shall then endorse his certificate upon the back of
the envelope and the envelope shall be mailed in person by such
voter, postage prepaid, to the election authority issuing the
ballot or, if more convenient, it may be delivered in person,
by either the voter or by any person authorized by the voter a
spouse, parent, child, brother or sister of the voter, or by a
company licensed as a motor carrier of property by the Illinois
Commerce Commission under the Illinois Commercial
Transportation Law, which is engaged in the business of making
deliveries. It shall be unlawful for any person not the voter
or a person authorized by the voter, his or her spouse, parent,
child, brother, or sister, or a representative of a company
engaged in the business of making deliveries to the election
authority to take the ballot and ballot envelope of a voter for
deposit into the mail unless the ballot has been issued
pursuant to application by a physically incapacitated elector

under Section 3-3 or a hospitalized voter under Section 19-13,
in which case any employee or person under the direction of the
facility in which the elector or voter is located may deposit
the ballot and ballot envelope into the mail. If the voter
authorized a person to deliver the ballot to the election
authority, the voter and the person authorized to deliver the
ballot shall complete the authorization printed on the exterior
envelope supplied by an election authority for the return of
the vote by mail ballot. The exterior of the envelope supplied
by an election authority for the return of the vote by mail
ballot shall include an authorization in substantially the
following form:
I ............ (voter) authorize ............... to take
the necessary steps to have this ballot delivered promptly to
the office of the election authority.
....................... ........................
Date Signature of voter
...............................................
Printed Name of Authorized Delivery Agent
...............................................
Signature of Authorized Delivery Agency

...............................................
Date Delivered to the Election Authority
If an absentee voter gives his ballot and ballot envelope to a
spouse, parent, child, brother or sister of the voter or to a
company which is engaged in the business of making deliveries
for delivery to the election authority, the voter shall give an
authorization form to the person making the delivery. The
person making the delivery shall present the authorization to
the election authority. The authorization shall be in
substantially the following form:
I ............ (absentee voter) authorize ...............
to take my ballot to the office of the election authority.
....................... ........................
Date Signature of voter
....................... ........................
Hour Address
....................... ........................
Date Signature of Authorized
Individual
....................... ........................
Hour Relationship (if any)
(Source: P.A. 89-653, eff. 8-14-96.)

(10 ILCS 5/19-7) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-7)
Sec. 19-7. (a) Upon receipt of such vote by mail absent
voter's ballot, the election authority shall forthwith enclose
the same unopened, together with the application made by said
vote by mail absent voter in a large or carrier envelope which
shall be securely sealed and endorsed with the name and
official title of such officer and the words, "This envelope
contains a vote by mail an absent voter's ballot and must be
opened on election day," together with the number and
description of the precinct in which said ballot is to be
voted, and such officer shall thereafter safely keep the same
in his office until counted by him as provided in the next
section.
(b) Within one day after receipt of such vote by mail
absent voter's ballot, the election authority shall transmit,
by electronic means pursuant to a process established by the
State Board of Elections, the voter's name, street address,
e-mail address, and precinct, ward, township, and district
numbers, as the case may be, to the State Board of Elections,
which shall maintain those names and that information in an
electronic format on its website, arranged by county and
accessible to State and local political committees.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/19-8) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-8)
Sec. 19-8. Time and place of counting ballots.

(a) (Blank.)
(b) Each vote by mail absent voter's ballot returned to an
election authority, by any means authorized by this Article,
and received by that election authority before the closing of
the polls on election day shall be endorsed by the receiving
election authority with the day and hour of receipt and may be
processed by the election authority beginning on the 15th day
before election day shall be counted in the central ballot
counting location of the election authority, but the results of
the processing may not be counted until on the day of the
election after 7:00 p.m., except as provided in subsections (g)
and (g-5).
(c) Each vote by mail absent voter's ballot that is mailed
to an election authority and postmarked no later than by the
midnight preceding the opening of the polls on election day,
but that is received by the election authority after the polls
close on election day and before the close of the period for
counting provisional ballots cast at that election, shall be
endorsed by the receiving authority with the day and hour of
receipt and shall be counted at the central ballot counting
location of the election authority during the period for
counting provisional ballots.
Each vote by mail absent voter's ballot that is mailed to
an election authority absent a postmark, but that is received
by the election authority after the polls close on election day
and before the close of the period for counting provisional

ballots cast at that election, shall be endorsed by the
receiving authority with the day and hour of receipt, opened to
inspect the date inserted on the certification, and, if the
certification date is a date preceding the election day and the
ballot is otherwise found to be valid under the requirements of
this Section, counted at the central ballot counting location
of the election authority during the period for counting
provisional ballots. Absent a date on the certification, the
ballot shall not be counted.
(d) Special write-in vote by mail absentee voter's blank
ballots returned to an election authority, by any means
authorized by this Article, and received by the election
authority at any time before the closing of the polls on
election day shall be endorsed by the receiving election
authority with the day and hour of receipt and shall be counted
at the central ballot counting location of the election
authority during the same period provided for counting vote by
mail absent voters' ballots under subsections (b), (g), and
(g-5). Special write-in vote by mail absentee voter's blank
ballots that are mailed to an election authority and postmarked
no later than by the midnight preceding the opening of the
polls on election day, but that are received by the election
authority after the polls close on election day and before the
closing of the period for counting provisional ballots cast at
that election, shall be endorsed by the receiving authority
with the day and hour of receipt and shall be counted at the

central ballot counting location of the election authority
during the same periods provided for counting vote by mail
absent voters' ballots under subsection (c).
(e) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, vote by
mail absent voters' ballots and special write-in vote by mail
absentee voter's blank ballots received by the election
authority after the closing of the polls on an election day
shall be endorsed by the election authority receiving them with
the day and hour of receipt and shall be safely kept unopened
by the election authority for the period of time required for
the preservation of ballots used at the election, and shall
then, without being opened, be destroyed in like manner as the
used ballots of that election.
(f) Counting required under this Section to begin on
election day after the closing of the polls shall commence no
later than 8:00 p.m. and shall be conducted by a panel or
panels of election judges appointed in the manner provided by
law. The counting shall continue until all vote by mail absent
voters' ballots and special write-in vote by mail absentee
voter's blank ballots required to be counted on election day
have been counted.
(g) The procedures set forth in Articles 17 and 18 of this
Code shall apply to all ballots counted under this Section. In
addition, within 2 days after a vote by mail an absentee
ballot, other than an in-person absentee ballot, is received,
but in all cases before the close of the period for counting

provisional ballots, the election judge or official shall
compare the voter's signature on the certification envelope of
that vote by mail absentee ballot with the signature of the
voter on file in the office of the election authority. If the
election judge or official determines that the 2 signatures
match, and that the vote by mail absentee voter is otherwise
qualified to cast a vote by mail an absentee ballot, the
election authority shall cast and count the ballot on election
day or the day the ballot is determined to be valid, whichever
is later, adding the results to the precinct in which the voter
is registered. If the election judge or official determines
that the signatures do not match, or that the vote by mail
absentee voter is not qualified to cast a vote by mail an
absentee ballot, then without opening the certification
envelope, the judge or official shall mark across the face of
the certification envelope the word "Rejected" and shall not
cast or count the ballot.
In addition to the voter's signatures not matching, a vote
by mail an absentee ballot may be rejected by the election
judge or official:
(1) if the ballot envelope is open or has been opened
and resealed;
(2) if the voter has already cast an early or grace
period ballot;
(3) if the voter voted in person on election day or the
voter is not a duly registered voter in the precinct; or

(4) on any other basis set forth in this Code.
If the election judge or official determines that any of
these reasons apply, the judge or official shall mark across
the face of the certification envelope the word "Rejected" and
shall not cast or count the ballot.
(g-5) If a vote by mail an absentee ballot, other than an
in-person absentee ballot, is rejected by the election judge or
official for any reason, the election authority shall, within 2
days after the rejection but in all cases before the close of
the period for counting provisional ballots, notify the vote by
mail absentee voter that his or her ballot was rejected. The
notice shall inform the voter of the reason or reasons the
ballot was rejected and shall state that the voter may appear
before the election authority, on or before the 14th day after
the election, to show cause as to why the ballot should not be
rejected. The voter may present evidence to the election
authority supporting his or her contention that the ballot
should be counted. The election authority shall appoint a panel
of 3 election judges to review the contested ballot,
application, and certification envelope, as well as any
evidence submitted by the vote by mail absentee voter. No more
than 2 election judges on the reviewing panel shall be of the
same political party. The reviewing panel of election judges
shall make a final determination as to the validity of the
contested vote by mail absentee ballot. The judges'
determination shall not be reviewable either administratively

or judicially.
A vote by mail An absentee ballot subject to this
subsection that is determined to be valid shall be counted
before the close of the period for counting provisional
ballots.
(g-10) All vote by mail absentee ballots determined to be
valid shall be added to the vote totals for the precincts for
which they were cast in the order in which the ballots were
opened.
(h) Each political party, candidate, and qualified civic
organization shall be entitled to have present one pollwatcher
for each panel of election judges therein assigned.
(Source: P.A. 94-557, eff. 8-12-05; 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06;
95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)
(10 ILCS 5/19-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-10)
Sec. 19-10. Pollwatchers may be appointed to observe early
in-person absentee voting procedures and view all reasonably
requested records relating to the conduct of the election,
provided the secrecy of the ballot is not impinged, at the
office of the election authority as well as at municipal,
township or road district clerks' offices where such early
absentee voting is conducted. Such pollwatchers shall qualify
and be appointed in the same manner as provided in Sections
7-34 and 17-23, except each candidate, political party or
organization of citizens may appoint only one pollwatcher for

each location where early in-person absentee voting is
conducted. Pollwatchers must be registered to vote in Illinois
and possess valid pollwatcher credentials.
In the polling place on election day, pollwatchers shall be
permitted to be present during the casting of the absent
voters' ballots and the vote of any absent voter may be
challenged for cause the same as if he were present and voted
in person, and the judges of the election or a majority thereof
shall have power and authority to hear and determine the
legality of such ballot; Provided, however, that if a challenge
to any absent voter's right to vote is sustained, notice of the
same must be given by the judges of election by mail addressed
to the voter's place of residence.
Where certain vote by mail absent voters' ballots are
counted on the day of the election in the office of the
election authority as provided in Section 19-8 of this Act,
each political party, candidate and qualified civic
organization shall be entitled to have present one pollwatcher
for each panel of election judges therein assigned. Such
pollwatchers shall be subject to the same provisions as are
provided for pollwatchers in Sections 7-34 and 17-23 of this
Code, and shall be permitted to observe the election judges
making the signature comparison between that which is on the
ballot envelope and that which is on the permanent voter
registration record card taken from the master file.
(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)

(10 ILCS 5/19-12.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-12.1)
Sec. 19-12.1. Any qualified elector who has secured an
Illinois Person with a Disability Identification Card in
accordance with the Illinois Identification Card Act,
indicating that the person named thereon has a Class 1A or
Class 2 disability or any qualified voter who has a permanent
physical incapacity of such a nature as to make it improbable
that he will be able to be present at the polls at any future
election, or any voter who is a resident of (i) a federally
operated veterans' home, hospital, or facility located in
Illinois or (ii) a facility licensed or certified pursuant to
the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental Health
Rehabilitation Act of 2013, or the ID/DD Community Care Act and
has a condition or disability of such a nature as to make it
improbable that he will be able to be present at the polls at
any future election, may secure a disabled voter's or nursing
home resident's identification card, which will enable him to
vote under this Article as a physically incapacitated or
nursing home voter. For the purposes of this Section,
"federally operated veterans' home, hospital, or facility"
means the long-term care facilities at the Jesse Brown VA
Medical Center, Illiana Health Care System, Edward Hines, Jr.
VA Hospital, Marion VA Medical Center, and Captain James A.
Lovell Federal Health Care Center.
Application for a disabled voter's or nursing home

resident's identification card shall be made either: (a) in
writing, with voter's sworn affidavit, to the county clerk or
board of election commissioners, as the case may be, and shall
be accompanied by the affidavit of the attending physician
specifically describing the nature of the physical incapacity
or the fact that the voter is a nursing home resident and is
physically unable to be present at the polls on election days;
or (b) by presenting, in writing or otherwise, to the county
clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be,
proof that the applicant has secured an Illinois Person with a
Disability Identification Card indicating that the person
named thereon has a Class 1A or Class 2 disability. Upon the
receipt of either the sworn-to application and the physician's
affidavit or proof that the applicant has secured an Illinois
Person with a Disability Identification Card indicating that
the person named thereon has a Class 1A or Class 2 disability,
the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall issue
a disabled voter's or nursing home resident's identification
card. Such identification cards shall be issued for a period of
5 years, upon the expiration of which time the voter may secure
a new card by making application in the same manner as is
prescribed for the issuance of an original card, accompanied by
a new affidavit of the attending physician. The date of
expiration of such five-year period shall be made known to any
interested person by the election authority upon the request of
such person. Applications for the renewal of the identification

cards shall be mailed to the voters holding such cards not less
than 3 months prior to the date of expiration of the cards.
Each disabled voter's or nursing home resident's
identification card shall bear an identification number, which
shall be clearly noted on the voter's original and duplicate
registration record cards. In the event the holder becomes
physically capable of resuming normal voting, he must surrender
his disabled voter's or nursing home resident's identification
card to the county clerk or board of election commissioners
before the next election.
The holder of a disabled voter's or nursing home resident's
identification card may make application by mail for an
official ballot within the time prescribed by Section 19-2.
Such application shall contain the same information as is
included in the form of application for ballot by a physically
incapacitated elector prescribed in Section 19-3 except that it
shall also include the applicant's disabled voter's
identification card number and except that it need not be sworn
to. If an examination of the records discloses that the
applicant is lawfully entitled to vote, he shall be mailed a
ballot as provided in Section 19-4. The ballot envelope shall
be the same as that prescribed in Section 19-5 for physically
disabled voters, and the manner of voting and returning the
ballot shall be the same as that provided in this Article for
other vote by mail absentee ballots, except that a statement to
be subscribed to by the voter but which need not be sworn to

shall be placed on the ballot envelope in lieu of the affidavit
prescribed by Section 19-5.
Any person who knowingly subscribes to a false statement in
connection with voting under this Section shall be guilty of a
Class A misdemeanor.
For the purposes of this Section, "nursing home resident"
includes a resident of (i) a federally operated veterans' home,
hospital, or facility located in Illinois or (ii) a facility
licensed under the ID/DD Community Care Act or the Specialized
Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013. For the purposes of
this Section, "federally operated veterans' home, hospital, or
facility" means the long-term care facilities at the Jesse
Brown VA Medical Center, Illiana Health Care System, Edward
Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, Marion VA Medical Center, and Captain
James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center.
(Source: P.A. 97-38, eff. 6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-275,
eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 97-1064, eff. 1-1-13;
98-104, eff. 7-22-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/19-12.2) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-12.2)
Sec. 19-12.2. Voting by physically incapacitated electors
who have made proper application to the election authority not
later than 5 days before the regular primary and general
election of 1980 and before each election thereafter shall be
conducted on the premises of (i) federally operated veterans'
homes, hospitals, and facilities located in Illinois or (ii)

facilities licensed or certified pursuant to the Nursing Home
Care Act, the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of
2013, or the ID/DD Community Care Act for the sole benefit of
residents of such homes, hospitals, and facilities. For the
purposes of this Section, "federally operated veterans' home,
hospital, or facility" means the long-term care facilities at
the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Illiana Health Care System,
Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, Marion VA Medical Center, and
Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center. Such voting
shall be conducted during any continuous period sufficient to
allow all applicants to cast their ballots between the hours of
9 a.m. and 7 p.m. either on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday or
Monday immediately preceding the regular election. This vote by
mail absentee voting on one of said days designated by the
election authority shall be supervised by two election judges
who must be selected by the election authority in the following
order of priority: (1) from the panel of judges appointed for
the precinct in which such home, hospital, or facility is
located, or from a panel of judges appointed for any other
precinct within the jurisdiction of the election authority in
the same ward or township, as the case may be, in which the
home, hospital, or facility is located or, only in the case
where a judge or judges from the precinct, township or ward are
unavailable to serve, (3) from a panel of judges appointed for
any other precinct within the jurisdiction of the election
authority. The two judges shall be from different political

parties. Not less than 30 days before each regular election,
the election authority shall have arranged with the chief
administrative officer of each home, hospital, or facility in
his or its election jurisdiction a mutually convenient time
period on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday immediately
preceding the election for such voting on the premises of the
home, hospital, or facility and shall post in a prominent place
in his or its office a notice of the agreed day and time period
for conducting such voting at each home, hospital, or facility;
provided that the election authority shall not later than noon
on the Thursday before the election also post the names and
addresses of those homes, hospitals, and facilities from which
no applications were received and in which no supervised vote
by mail absentee voting will be conducted. All provisions of
this Code applicable to pollwatchers shall be applicable
herein. To the maximum extent feasible, voting booths or
screens shall be provided to insure the privacy of the voter.
Voting procedures shall be as described in Article 17 of this
Code, except that ballots shall be treated as vote by mail
absentee ballots and shall not be counted until the close of
the polls on the following day. After the last voter has
concluded voting, the judges shall seal the ballots in an
envelope and affix their signatures across the flap of the
envelope. Immediately thereafter, the judges shall bring the
sealed envelope to the office of the election authority who
shall deliver such ballots to the election authority's central

ballot counting location prior to the closing of the polls on
the day of election. The judges of election shall also report
to the election authority the name of any applicant in the
home, hospital, or facility who, due to unforeseen circumstance
or condition or because of a religious holiday, was unable to
vote. In this event, the election authority may appoint a
qualified person from his or its staff to deliver the ballot to
such applicant on the day of election. This staff person shall
follow the same procedures prescribed for judges conducting
vote by mail absentee voting in such homes, hospitals, or
facilities and shall return the ballot to the central ballot
counting location before the polls close. However, if the home,
hospital, or facility from which the application was made is
also used as a regular precinct polling place for that voter,
voting procedures heretofore prescribed may be implemented by 2
of the election judges of opposite party affiliation assigned
to that polling place during the hours of voting on the day of
the election. Judges of election shall be compensated not less
than $25.00 for conducting vote by mail absentee voting in such
homes, hospitals, or facilities.
Not less than 120 days before each regular election, the
Department of Public Health shall certify to the State Board of
Elections a list of the facilities licensed or certified
pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental
Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, or the ID/DD Community Care
Act. The lists shall indicate the approved bed capacity and the

name of the chief administrative officer of each such home,
hospital, or facility, and the State Board of Elections shall
certify the same to the appropriate election authority within
20 days thereafter.
(Source: P.A. 97-38, eff. 6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-275,
eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-104, eff. 7-22-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/19-13) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-13)
Sec. 19-13. Any qualified voter who has been admitted to a
hospital, nursing home, or rehabilitation center due to an
illness or physical injury not more than 14 days before an
election shall be entitled to personal delivery of a vote by
mail an absentee ballot in the hospital, nursing home, or
rehabilitation center subject to the following conditions:
(1) The voter completes the Application for Physically
Incapacitated Elector as provided in Section 19-3, stating as
reasons therein that he is a patient in ............... (name
of hospital/home/center), ............... located at,
............... (address of hospital/home/center),
............... (county, city/village), was admitted for
............... (nature of illness or physical injury), on
............... (date of admission), and does not expect to be
released from the hospital/home/center on or before the day of
election or, if released, is expected to be homebound on the
day of the election and unable to travel to the polling place.
(2) The voter's physician completes a Certificate of

Attending Physician in a form substantially as follows:
CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDING PHYSICIAN
I state that I am a physician, duly licensed to practice in
the State of .........; that .......... is a patient in
.......... (name of hospital/home/center), located at
............. (address of hospital/home/center),
................. (county, city/village); that such individual
was admitted for ............. (nature of illness or physical
injury), on ............ (date of admission); and that I have
examined such individual in the State in which I am licensed to
practice medicine and do not expect such individual to be
released from the hospital/home/center on or before the day of
election or, if released, to be able to travel to the polling
place on election day.
Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Section
29-10 of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the
statements set forth in this certification are true and
correct.
(Signature) ...............
(Date licensed) ............
(3) Any person who is registered to vote in the same
precinct as the admitted voter or any legal relative of the
admitted voter may present such voter's vote by mail absentee
ballot application, completed as prescribed in paragraph 1,
accompanied by the physician's certificate, completed as
prescribed in paragraph 2, to the election authority. Such

precinct voter or relative shall execute and sign an affidavit
furnished by the election authority attesting that he is a
registered voter in the same precinct as the admitted voter or
that he is a legal relative of the admitted voter and stating
the nature of the relationship. Such precinct voter or relative
shall further attest that he has been authorized by the
admitted voter to obtain his or her vote by mail absentee
ballot from the election authority and deliver such ballot to
him in the hospital, home, or center.
Upon receipt of the admitted voter's application,
physician's certificate, and the affidavit of the precinct
voter or the relative, the election authority shall examine the
registration records to determine if the applicant is qualified
to vote and, if found to be qualified, shall provide the
precinct voter or the relative the vote by mail absentee ballot
for delivery to the applicant.
Upon receipt of the vote by mail absentee ballot, the
admitted voter shall mark the ballot in secret and subscribe to
the certifications on the vote by mail absentee ballot return
envelope. After depositing the ballot in the return envelope
and securely sealing the envelope, such voter shall give the
envelope to the precinct voter or the relative who shall
deliver it to the election authority in sufficient time for the
ballot to be delivered by the election authority to the
election authority's central ballot counting location before 7
p.m. on election day.

Upon receipt of the admitted voter's vote by mail absentee
ballot, the ballot shall be counted in the manner prescribed in
this Article.
(Source: P.A. 94-18, eff. 6-14-05; 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06;
95-878, eff. 1-1-09.)
(10 ILCS 5/19-15)
Sec. 19-15. Precinct tabulation optical scan technology
voting equipment. If the election authority has adopted the use
of Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting
equipment pursuant to Article 24B of this Code, and the
provisions of the Article are in conflict with the provisions
of this Article 19, the provisions of Article 24B shall govern
the procedures followed by the election authority, its judges
of elections, and all employees and agents, provided that vote
by mail absentee ballots are counted at the election
authority's central ballot counting location. In following the
provisions of Article 24B, the election authority is authorized
to develop and implement procedures to fully utilize Precinct
Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting equipment, at the
central ballot counting location, authorized by the State Board
of Elections as long as the procedure is not in conflict with
either Article 24B or the administrative rules of the State
Board of Elections.
(Source: P.A. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)

(10 ILCS 5/19-20)
Sec. 19-20. Report on vote by mail absentee ballots. This
Section applies to vote by mail absentee ballots other than
in-person absentee ballots.
On or before the 21st day after an election, each election
authority shall transmit to the State Board of Elections the
following information with respect to that election:
(1) The number, by precinct, of vote by mail absentee
ballots requested, provided, and counted.
(2) The number of rejected vote by mail absentee
ballots.
(3) The number of voters seeking review of rejected
vote by mail absentee ballots pursuant to subsection (g-5)
of Section 19-8.
(4) The number of vote by mail absentee ballots counted
following review pursuant to subsection (g-5) of Section
19-8.
On or before the 28th day after an election, the State Board of
Elections shall compile the information received under this
Section with respect to that election and make that information
available to the public.
(Source: P.A. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
(10 ILCS 5/19A-10)
Sec. 19A-10. Permanent polling places for early voting.
(a) An election authority may establish permanent polling

places for early voting by personal appearance at locations
throughout the election authority's jurisdiction, including
but not limited to a municipal clerk's office, a township
clerk's office, a road district clerk's office, or a county or
local public agency office. Any Except as otherwise provided in
subsection (b), any person entitled to vote early by personal
appearance may do so at any polling place established for early
voting.
(b) (Blank). If it is impractical for the election
authority to provide at each polling place for early voting a
ballot in every form required in the election authority's
jurisdiction, the election authority may:
(1) provide appropriate forms of ballots to the office
of the municipal clerk in a municipality not having a board
of election commissioners; the township clerk; or in
counties not under township organization, the road
district clerk; and
(2) limit voting at that polling place to registered
voters in that municipality, ward or group of wards,
township, or road district.
If the early voting polling place does not have the correct
ballot form for a person seeking to vote early, the election
judge or election official conducting early voting at that
polling place shall inform the person of that fact, give the
person the appropriate telephone number of the election
authority in order to locate an early voting polling place with

the correct ballot form for use in that person's assigned
precinct, and instruct the person to go to the proper early
voting polling place to vote early.
(c) During each general primary and general election, each
election authority in a county with a population over 250,000
shall establish at least one permanent polling place for early
voting by personal appearance at a location within each of the
3 largest municipalities within its jurisdiction. If any of the
3 largest municipalities is over 80,000, the election authority
shall establish at least 2 permanent polling places within the
municipality. All population figures shall be determined by the
federal census.
(d) During each general primary and general election, each
board of election commissioners established under Article 6 of
this Code in any city, village, or incorporated town with a
population over 100,000 shall establish at least 2 permanent
polling places for early voting by personal appearance. All
population figures shall be determined by the federal census.
(e) During each general primary and general election, each
election authority in a county with a population of over
100,000 but under 250,000 persons shall establish at least one
permanent polling place for early voting by personal
appearance. The location for early voting may be the election
authority's main office or another location designated by the
election authority. The election authority may designate
additional sites for early voting by personal appearance. All

population figures shall be determined by the federal census.
(f) No permanent polling place required by this Section
shall be located within 1.5 miles from another permanent
polling place required by this Section, unless such permanent
polling place is within a municipality with a population of
500,000 or more.
(Source: P.A. 98-691, eff. 7-1-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/19A-15)
Sec. 19A-15. Period for early voting; hours.
(a) The period for early voting by personal appearance
begins the 40th 15th day preceding a general primary,
consolidated primary, consolidated, or general election and
extends through the end of the 3rd day before election day,
except that for the 2014 general election the period for early
voting by personal appearance shall extend through the 2nd day
before election day.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by this Section, a
permanent polling place for early voting must remain open
beginning the 15th day before an election through the end of
the day before election day during the hours of 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., or 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., on weekdays, except that
beginning 8 days before election day, a permanent polling place
for early voting must remain open during the hours of 8:30 a.m.
to 7:00 p.m., or 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00
p.m. on Saturdays and holidays, and 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. 12:00

p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sundays; except that, in addition to the
hours required by this subsection, a permanent early voting
polling place designated by an election authority under
subsections subsection (c), (d), and (e) of Section 19A-10 must
remain open for a total of at least 8 hours on any holiday
during the early voting period and a total of at least 14 hours
on the final weekend during the early voting period. For the
2014 general election, a permanent polling place for early
voting must remain open during the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. or 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, except that
beginning 8 days before election day, a permanent polling place
for early voting must remain open during the hours of 8:30 a.m.
to 7:00 p.m., or 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.. For the 2014 general
election, a permanent polling place for early voting shall
remain open during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on
Saturdays and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sundays; except that,
in addition to the hours required by this subsection (b), a
permanent early voting place designated by an election
authority under subsection (c) of Section 19A-10 must remain
open for a total of at least 14 hours on the final weekend
during the early voting period.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection subsections (a) and (b), an
election authority may close an early voting polling place if
the building in which the polling place is located has been
closed by the State or unit of local government in response to
a severe weather emergency or other force majeure. In the event

of a closure, the election authority shall conduct early voting
on the 2nd day before election day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
or 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The election authority shall notify
the State Board of Elections of any closure and shall make
reasonable efforts to provide notice to the public of an
alternative location for early voting the extended early voting
period.
(d) (Blank). Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), in
2013 only, an election authority may close an early voting
place on Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday,
provided that the early voting place remains open 2 hours later
on April 3, 4, and 5 of 2013. The election authority shall
notify the State Board of Elections of any closure and shall
provide notice to the public of the closure and the extended
hours during the final week.
(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11; 97-766, eff. 7-6-12; 98-4,
eff. 3-12-13; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-691, eff. 7-1-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/19A-25)
Sec. 19A-25. Schedule of locations and times for early
voting.
(a) The election authority shall publish during the week
before the period for early voting and at least once each week
during the period for early voting in a newspaper of general
circulation in the election authority's jurisdiction a
schedule stating:

(1) the location of each permanent and temporary
polling place for early voting and the precincts served by
each location; and
(2) the dates and hours that early voting will be
conducted at each location.
(b) The election authority shall post a copy of the
schedule at any office or other location that is to be used as
a polling place for early voting. The schedule must be posted
continuously for a period beginning not later than the 10th 5th
day before the first day of the period for early voting by
personal appearance and ending on the last day of that period.
(c) The election authority must make copies of the schedule
available to the public in reasonable quantities without charge
during the period of posting.
(d) If the election authority maintains a website, it shall
make the schedule available on its website.
(e) No additional permanent polling places for early voting
may be established after the schedule is published under this
Section. Additional temporary locations may be established
after the schedule is published, provided that the location is
open to all eligible voters. The location, dates, and hours
shall be reported to the State Board of Elections and posted on
the election authority's website.
(f) At least 10 days before the period for early voting
begins, each election authority shall provide the State Board
of Elections with a list of all early voting sites and the

hours each site will be open.
(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)
(10 ILCS 5/19A-35)
Sec. 19A-35. Procedure for voting.
(a) Not more than 23 days before the start of the election,
the county clerk shall make available to the election official
conducting early voting by personal appearance a sufficient
number of early ballots, envelopes, and printed voting
instruction slips for the use of early voters. The election
official shall receipt for all ballots received and shall
return unused or spoiled ballots at the close of the early
voting period to the county clerk and must strictly account for
all ballots received. The ballots delivered to the election
official must include early ballots for each precinct in the
election authority's jurisdiction and must include separate
ballots for each political subdivision conducting an election
of officers or a referendum at that election.
(b) In conducting early voting under this Article, the
election judge or official is required to verify the signature
of the early voter by comparison with the signature on the
official registration card, and the judge or official must
verify (i) (i) the identity of the applicant, (ii) that the
applicant is a registered voter, (ii) (iii) the precinct in
which the applicant is registered, and (iii) (iv) the proper
ballots of the political subdivision in which the applicant

resides and is entitled to vote before providing an early
ballot to the applicant. Except for during the 2014 general
election, the applicant's identity must be verified by the
applicant's presentation of an Illinois driver's license, a
non-driver identification card issued by the Illinois
Secretary of State, a photo identification card issued by a
university or college, or another government-issued
identification document containing the applicant's photograph.
The election judge or official must verify the applicant's
registration from the most recent poll list provided by the
election authority, and if the applicant is not listed on that
poll list, by telephoning the office of the election authority.
(b-5) A person requesting an early voting ballot to whom a
vote by mail an absentee ballot was issued may vote early if
the person submits that vote by mail absentee ballot to the
judges of election or official conducting early voting for
cancellation. If the voter is unable to submit the vote by mail
absentee ballot, it shall be sufficient for the voter to submit
to the judges or official (i) a portion of the vote by mail
absentee ballot if the vote by mail absentee ballot was torn or
mutilated or (ii) an affidavit executed before the judges or
official specifying that (A) the voter never received a vote by
mail an absentee ballot or (B) the voter completed and returned
a vote by mail an absentee ballot and was informed that the
election authority did not receive that vote by mail absentee
ballot.

(b-10) Within one day after a voter casts an early voting
ballot, the election authority shall transmit the voter's name,
street address, and precinct, ward, township, and district
numbers, as the case may be, to the State Board of Elections,
which shall maintain those names and that information in an
electronic format on its website, arranged by county and
accessible to State and local political committees.
(b-15) Immediately after voting an early ballot, the voter
shall be instructed whether the voting equipment accepted or
rejected the ballot or identified that ballot as under-voted
for a statewide constitutional office. A voter whose ballot is
identified as under-voted may return to the voting booth and
complete the voting of that ballot. A voter whose early voting
ballot is not accepted by the voting equipment may, upon
surrendering the ballot, request and vote another early voting
ballot. The voter's surrendered ballot shall be initialed by
the election judge or official conducting the early voting and
handled as provided in the appropriate Article governing the
voting equipment used.
(c) The sealed early ballots in their carrier envelope
shall be delivered by the election authority to the central
ballot counting location before the close of the polls on the
day of the election.
(Source: P.A. 98-691, eff. 7-1-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/19A-75)

Sec. 19A-75. Early voting in jurisdictions using Direct
Recording Electronic Voting Systems under Article 24C.
Election authorities that have adopted for use Direct Recording
Electronic Voting Systems under Article 24C may either use
those voting systems to conduct early voting or, so long as at
least one Direct Recording Electronic Voting System device is
available at each early voting polling place, use whatever
method the election authority uses for vote by mail absentee
balloting conducted by mail; provided that no early ballots are
counted before the polls close on election day.
(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-1)
Sec. 20-1. The following words and phrases contained in
this Article shall be construed as follows:
1. "Territorial limits of the United States" means each of
the several States of the United States and includes the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam and
the Virgin Islands; but does not include American Samoa, the
Canal Zone, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands or any
other territory or possession of the United States.
2. "Member of the United States Service" means (a) members
of the Armed Forces while on active duty and their spouses and
dependents of voting age when residing with or accompanying
them, (b) members of the Merchant Marine of the United States
and their spouses and dependents when residing with or

accompanying them and (c) United States government employees
serving outside the territorial limits of the United States.
3. "Citizens of the United States temporarily residing
outside the territorial limits of the United States" means
civilian citizens of the United States and their spouses and
dependents of voting age when residing with or accompanying
them, who maintain a precinct residence in a county in this
State and whose intent to return may be ascertained.
4. "Non-Resident Civilian Citizens" means civilian
citizens of the United States (a) who reside outside the
territorial limits of the United States, (b) who had maintained
a precinct residence in a county in this State immediately
prior to their departure from the United States, (c) who do not
maintain a residence and are not registered to vote in any
other State, and (d) whose intent to return to this State may
be uncertain.
5. "Official postcard" means the postcard application for
registration to vote or for a vote by mail an absentee ballot
in the form provided in Section 204(c) of the Federal Voting
Rights Act of 1955, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1973cc-14(c)).
6. "Federal office" means the offices of President and
Vice-President of the United States, United States Senator,
Representative in Congress, delegates and alternate delegates
to the national nominating conventions and candidates for the
Presidential Preference Primary.
7. "Federal election" means any general, primary or special

election at which candidates are nominated or elected to
Federal office.
8. "Dependent", for purposes of this Article, shall mean a
father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter.
9. "Electronic transmission" includes, but is not limited
to, transmission by electronic mail or the Internet.
(Source: P.A. 96-1004, eff. 1-1-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-2) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-2)
Sec. 20-2. Any member of the United States Service,
otherwise qualified to vote, who expects in the course of his
duties to be absent from the county in which he resides on the
day of holding any election may make application for a vote by
mail an absentee ballot to the election authority having
jurisdiction over his precinct of residence on the official
postcard or on a form furnished by the election authority as
prescribed by Section 20-3 of this Article not less than 10
days before the election. A request pursuant to this Section
shall entitle the applicant to a vote by mail an absentee
ballot for every election in one calendar year. The original
application for ballot shall be kept in the office of the
election authority for one year as authorization to send a
ballot to the voter for each election to be held within that
calendar year. A certified copy of such application for ballot
shall be sent each election with the vote by mail absentee
ballot to the election authority's central ballot counting

location to be used in lieu of the original application for
ballot. No registration shall be required in order to vote
pursuant to this Section.
Ballots under this Section shall be mailed by the election
authority in the manner prescribed by Section 20-5 of this
Article and not otherwise. Ballots voted under this Section
must be returned postmarked no later than midnight preceding
election day and received for counting at the central ballot
counting location of the election authority during the period
for counting provisional ballots, the last day of which is the
14th day following election day.
(Source: P.A. 96-312, eff. 1-1-10.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-2.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-2.1)
Sec. 20-2.1. Citizens of the United States temporarily
residing outside the territorial limits of the United States
who are not registered but otherwise qualified to vote and who
expect to be absent from their county of residence during the
periods of voter registration provided for in Articles 4, 5 or
6 of this Code and on the day of holding any election, may make
simultaneous application to the election authority having
jurisdiction over their precinct of residence for an absentee
registration by mail and vote by mail absentee ballot not less
than 30 days before the election. Such application may be made
on the official postcard or on a form furnished by the election
authority as prescribed by Section 20-3 of this Article or by

facsimile or electronic transmission. A request pursuant to
this Section shall entitle the applicant to a vote by mail an
absentee ballot for every election in one calendar year. The
original application for ballot shall be kept in the office of
the election authority for one year as authorization to send a
ballot to the voter for each election to be held within that
calendar year. A certified copy of such application for ballot
shall be sent each election with the vote by mail absentee
ballot to the election authority's central ballot counting
location to be used in lieu of the original application for
ballot.
Registration shall be required in order to vote pursuant to
this Section. However, if the election authority receives one
of such applications after 30 days but not less than 10 days
before a Federal election, said applicant shall be sent a
ballot containing the Federal offices only and registration for
that election shall be waived.
Ballots under this Section shall be delivered by the
election authority in the manner prescribed by Section 20-5 of
this Article in person, by mail, or, if requested by the
applicant and the election authority has the capability, by
facsimile transmission or by electronic transmission.
Ballots voted under this Section must be returned
postmarked no later than midnight preceding election day and
received for counting at the central ballot counting location
of the election authority during the period for counting

provisional ballots, the last day of which is the 14th day
following election day.
(Source: P.A. 96-312, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1004, eff. 1-1-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-2.2) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-2.2)
Sec. 20-2.2. Any non-resident civilian citizen, otherwise
qualified to vote, may make application to the election
authority having jurisdiction over his precinct of former
residence for a vote by mail an absentee ballot containing the
Federal offices only not less than 10 days before a Federal
election. Such application may be made on the official postcard
or by facsimile or electronic transmission. A request pursuant
to this Section shall entitle the applicant to a vote by mail
an absentee ballot for every election in one calendar year at
which Federal offices are filled. The original application for
ballot shall be kept in the office of the election authority
for one year as authorization to send a ballot to the voter for
each election to be held within that calendar year at which
Federal offices are filled. A certified copy of such
application for ballot shall be sent each election with the
vote by mail absentee ballot to the election authority's
central ballot counting location to be used in lieu of the
original application for ballot. No registration shall be
required in order to vote pursuant to this Section. Ballots
under this Section shall be delivered by the election authority
in the manner prescribed by Section 20-5 of this Article in

person, by mail, or, if requested by the applicant and the
election authority has the capability, by facsimile
transmission or by electronic transmission. Ballots voted
under this Section must be returned postmarked no later than
midnight preceding election day and received for counting at
the central ballot counting location of the election authority
during the period for counting provisional ballots, the last
day of which is the 14th day following election day.
(Source: P.A. 96-312, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1004, eff. 1-1-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-2.3) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-2.3)
Sec. 20-2.3. Members of the Armed Forces and their spouses
and dependents. Any member of the United States Armed Forces
while on active duty, and his or her spouse and dependents,
otherwise qualified to vote, who expects in the course of his
or her duties to be absent from the county in which he or she
resides on the day of holding any election, in addition to any
other method of making application for vote by mail an absentee
ballot under this Article, may make application for a vote by
mail an absentee ballot to the election authority having
jurisdiction over his or her precinct of residence by a
facsimile machine or electronic transmission not less than 10
days before the election.
Ballots under this Section shall be delivered by the
election authority in the manner prescribed by Section 20-5 of
this Article in person, by mail, or, if requested by the

applicant and the election authority has the capability, by
facsimile transmission or by electronic transmission. Ballots
voted under this Section must be returned postmarked no later
than midnight preceding election day and received for counting
at the central ballot counting location of the election
authority during the period for counting provisional ballots,
the last day of which is the 14th day following election day.
(Source: P.A. 96-312, eff. 1-1-10; 96-512, eff. 1-1-10;
96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1004, eff. 1-1-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-3) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-3)
Sec. 20-3. The election authority shall furnish the
following applications for absentee registration by mail or
vote by mail absentee ballot which shall be considered a method
of application in lieu of the official postcard.
1. Members of the United States Service, citizens of the
United States temporarily residing outside the territorial
limits of the United States, and certified program participants
under the Address Confidentiality for Victims of Domestic
Violence Act may make application within the periods prescribed
in Sections 20-2 or 20-2.1, as the case may be. Such
application shall be substantially in the following form:
"APPLICATION FOR BALLOT
To be voted at the............ election in the precinct in
which is located my residence at..............., in the
city/village/township of ............(insert home address)

County of........... and State of Illinois.
I state that I am a citizen of the United States; that on
(insert date of election) I shall have resided in the State of
Illinois and in the election precinct for 30 days; that on the
above date I shall be the age of 18 years or above; that I am
lawfully entitled to vote in such precinct at that election;
that I am (check category 1, 2, or 3 below):
1. ( ) a member of the United States Service,
2. ( ) a citizen of the United States temporarily residing
outside the territorial limits of the United States and that I
expect to be absent from the said county of my residence on the
date of holding such election, and that I will have no
opportunity to vote in person on that day.
3. ( ) a certified program participant under the Address
Confidentiality for Victims of Domestic Violence Act.
I hereby make application for an official ballot or ballots
to be voted by me at such election if I am absent from the said
county of my residence, and I agree that I shall return said
ballot or ballots to the election authority postmarked no later
than midnight preceding election day, for counting no later
than during the period for counting provisional ballots, the
last day of which is the 14th day following election day or
shall destroy said ballot or ballots.
(Check below only if category 2 or 3 and not previously
registered)
( ) I hereby make application to become registered as a

voter and agree to return the forms and affidavits for
registration to the election authority not later than 30 days
before the election.
Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Article 29
of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the
statements set forth in this application are true and correct.
.........................
Post office address or service address to which
registration materials or ballot should be mailed
.........................
.........................
.........................
........................"
If application is made for a primary election ballot, such
application shall designate the name of the political party
with which the applicant is affiliated.
Such applications may be obtained from the election
authority having jurisdiction over the person's precinct of
residence.
2. A spouse or dependent of a member of the United States
Service, said spouse or dependent being a registered voter in
the county, may make application on behalf of said person in
the office of the election authority within the periods
prescribed in Section 20-2 which shall be substantially in the
following form:
"APPLICATION FOR BALLOT to be voted at the........... election

in the precinct in which is located the residence of the person
for whom this application is made at.............(insert
residence address) in the city/village/township of.........
County of.......... and State of Illinois.
I certify that the following named person................
(insert name of person) is a member of the United States
Service.
I state that said person is a citizen of the United States;
that on (insert date of election) said person shall have
resided in the State of Illinois and in the election precinct
for which this application is made for 30 days; that on the
above date said person shall be the age of 18 years or above;
that said person is lawfully entitled to vote in such precinct
at that election; that said person is a member of the United
States Service, and that in the course of his duties said
person expects to be absent from his county of residence on the
date of holding such election, and that said person will have
no opportunity to vote in person on that day.
I hereby make application for an official ballot or ballots
to be voted by said person at such election and said person
agrees that he shall return said ballot or ballots to the
election authority postmarked no later than midnight preceding
election day, for counting no later than during the period for
counting provisional ballots, the last day of which is the 14th
day following election day, or shall destroy said ballot or
ballots.

I hereby certify that I am the (mother, father, sister,
brother, husband or wife) of the said elector, and that I am a
registered voter in the election precinct for which this
application is made. (Strike all but one that is applicable.)
Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Article 29
of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the
statements set forth in this application are true and correct.
Name of applicant ......................
Residence address ........................
City/village/township........................
Service address to which ballot should be mailed:
.........................
.........................
.........................
........................"
If application is made for a primary election ballot, such
application shall designate the name of the political party
with which the person for whom application is made is
affiliated.
Such applications may be obtained from the election
authority having jurisdiction over the voting precinct in which
the person for whom application is made is entitled to vote.
(Source: P.A. 96-312, eff. 1-1-10.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-4) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-4)
Sec. 20-4. Immediately upon the receipt of the official

postcard or an application as provided in Section 20-3 within
the times heretofore prescribed, the election authority shall
ascertain whether or not such applicant is legally entitled to
vote as requested, including verification of the applicant's
signature by comparison with the signature on the official
registration record card, if any. If the election authority
ascertains that the applicant is lawfully entitled to vote, it
shall enter the name, street address, ward and precinct number
of such applicant on a list to be posted in his or its office in
a place accessible to the public. Within one day after posting
the name and other information of an applicant for a ballot,
the election authority shall transmit that name and posted
information to the State Board of Elections, which shall
maintain the names and other information in an electronic
format on its website, arranged by county and accessible to
State and local political committees. As soon as the official
ballot is prepared the election authority shall immediately
deliver the same to the applicant in person, by mail, by
facsimile transmission, or by electronic transmission as
provided in this Article.
If any such election authority receives a second or
additional application which it believes is from the same
person, he or it shall submit it to the chief judge of the
circuit court or any judge of that court designated by the
chief judge. If the chief judge or his designate determines
that the application submitted to him is a second or additional

one, he shall so notify the election authority who shall
disregard the second or additional application.
The election authority shall maintain a list for each
election of the voters to whom it has issued vote by mail
absentee ballots. The list shall be maintained for each
precinct within the jurisdiction of the election authority.
Prior to the opening of the polls on election day, the election
authority shall deliver to the judges of election in each
precinct the list of registered voters in that precinct to whom
vote by mail absentee ballots have been issued.
Election authorities may transmit by facsimile or other
electronic means a ballot simultaneously with transmitting an
application for vote by mail absentee ballot; however, no such
ballot shall be counted unless an application has been
completed by the voter and the election authority ascertains
that the applicant is lawfully entitled to vote as provided in
this Section.
(Source: P.A. 96-1004, eff. 1-1-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-5) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-5)
Sec. 20-5. The election authority shall fold the ballot or
ballots in the manner specified by the statute for folding
ballots prior to their deposit in the ballot box and shall
enclose such ballot in an envelope unsealed to be furnished by
it, which envelope shall bear upon the face thereof the name,
official title and post office address of the election

authority, and upon the other side of such envelope there shall
be printed a certification in substantially the following form:
"CERTIFICATION
I state that I am a resident/former resident of the .......
precinct of the city/village/township of ............,
(Designation to be made by Election Authority) or of the ....
ward in the city of ........... (Designation to be made by
Election Authority) residing at ................ in said
city/village/township in the county of ........... and State of
Illinois; that I am a
1. ( ) member of the United States Service
2. ( ) citizen of the United States temporarily residing
outside the territorial limits of the United States
3. ( ) nonresident civilian citizen
and desire to cast the enclosed ballot pursuant to Article 20
of The Election Code; that I am lawfully entitled to vote in
such precinct at the ........... election to be held on
............
I further state that I marked the enclosed ballot in
secret.
Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Article 29
of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the
statements set forth in this certification are true and
correct.
...............(Name)
.....................

(Service Address)"
.....................
.....................
.....................
If the ballot enclosed is to be voted at a primary
election, the certification shall designate the name of the
political party with which the voter is affiliated.
In addition to the above, the election authority shall
provide printed slips giving full instructions regarding the
manner of completing the forms and affidavits for absentee
registration by mail or the manner of marking and returning the
ballot in order that the same may be counted, and shall furnish
one of the printed slips to each of the applicants at the same
time the registration materials or ballot is delivered to him.
In addition to the above, if a ballot to be provided to an
elector pursuant to this Section contains a public question
described in subsection (b) of Section 28-6 and the territory
concerning which the question is to be submitted is not
described on the ballot due to the space limitations of such
ballot, the election authority shall provide a printed copy of
a notice of the public question, which shall include a
description of the territory in the manner required by Section
16-7. The notice shall be furnished to the elector at the same
time the ballot is delivered to the elector.
The envelope in which such registration or such ballot is
mailed to the voter as well as the envelope in which the

registration materials or the ballot is returned by the voter
shall have printed across the face thereof two parallel
horizontal red bars, each one-quarter inch wide, extending from
one side of the envelope to the other side, with an intervening
space of one-quarter inch, the top bar to be one and
one-quarter inches from the top of the envelope, and with the
words "Official Election Balloting Material-VIA AIR MAIL"
between the bars. In the upper right corner of such envelope in
a box, there shall be printed the words: "U.S. Postage Paid 42
USC 1973". All printing on the face of such envelopes shall be
in red, including an appropriate inscription or blank in the
upper left corner of return address of sender.
The envelope in which the ballot is returned to the
election authority may be delivered (i) by mail, postage paid,
(ii) in person, by the spouse, parent, child, brother, or
sister of the voter, or (iii) by a company engaged in the
business of making deliveries of property and licensed as a
motor carrier of property by the Illinois Commerce Commission
under the Illinois Commercial Transportation Law.
Election authorities transmitting ballots by facsimile or
electronic transmission shall, to the extent possible, provide
those applicants with the same instructions, certification,
and other materials required when sending by mail.
(Source: P.A. 96-512, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1004, eff. 1-1-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-6) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-6)

Sec. 20-6. Such vote by mail absent voter shall make and
subscribe to the certifications provided for in the application
and on the return envelope for the ballot, and such ballot or
ballots shall then be folded by such voter in the manner
required to be folded before depositing the same in the ballot
box, and be deposited in such envelope and the envelope
securely sealed. The envelope in which the ballot is returned
to the election authority may be delivered (i) by mail, postage
paid, (ii) in person, by the spouse, parent, child, brother, or
sister of the voter, or (iii) by a company engaged in the
business of making deliveries of property and licensed as a
motor carrier of property by the Illinois Commerce Commission
under the Illinois Commercial Transportation Law.
(Source: P.A. 96-512, eff. 1-1-10.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-7) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-7)
Sec. 20-7. Upon receipt of such vote by mail absent voter's
ballot, the officer or officers above described shall forthwith
enclose the same unopened, together with the application made
by said vote by mail absent voter in a large or carrier
envelope which shall be securely sealed and endorsed with the
name and official title of such officer and the words, "This
envelope contains a vote by mail an absent voter's ballot and
must be opened on election day," together with the number and
description of the precinct in which said ballot is to be
voted, and such officer shall thereafter safely keep the same

in his office until counted by him as provided in the next
section.
(Source: P.A. 81-155.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-8) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-8)
Sec. 20-8. Time and place of counting ballots.
(a) (Blank.)
(b) Each vote by mail absent voter's ballot returned to an
election authority, by any means authorized by this Article,
and received by that election authority may be processed by the
election authority beginning on the 15th day before election
day before the closing of the polls on election day shall be
endorsed by the receiving election authority with the day and
hour of receipt and shall be counted in the central ballot
counting location of the election authority, but the results of
the processing may not be counted until on the day of the
election after 7:00 p.m., except as provided in subsections (g)
and (g-5).
(c) Each vote by mail absent voter's ballot that is mailed
to an election authority and postmarked no later than by the
midnight preceding the opening of the polls on election day,
but that is received by the election authority after the polls
close on election day and before the close of the period for
counting provisional ballots cast at that election, shall be
endorsed by the receiving authority with the day and hour of
receipt and shall be counted at the central ballot counting

location of the election authority during the period for
counting provisional ballots.
Each vote by mail absent voter's ballot that is mailed to
an election authority absent a postmark, but that is received
by the election authority after the polls close on election day
and before the close of the period for counting provisional
ballots cast at that election, shall be endorsed by the
receiving authority with the day and hour of receipt, opened to
inspect the date inserted on the certification, and, if the
certification date is a date preceding the election day and the
ballot is otherwise found to be valid under the requirements of
this Section, counted at the central ballot counting location
of the election authority during the period for counting
provisional ballots. Absent a date on the certification, the
ballot shall not be counted.
(d) Special write-in vote by mail absentee voter's blank
ballots returned to an election authority, by any means
authorized by this Article, and received by the election
authority at any time before the closing of the polls on
election day shall be endorsed by the receiving election
authority with the day and hour of receipt and shall be counted
at the central ballot counting location of the election
authority during the same period provided for counting vote by
mail absent voters' ballots under subsections (b), (g), and
(g-5). Special write-in vote by mail absentee voter's blank
ballot that are mailed to an election authority and postmarked

by midnight preceding the opening of the polls on election day,
but that are received by the election authority after the polls
close on election day and before the closing of the period for
counting provisional ballots cast at that election, shall be
endorsed by the receiving authority with the day and hour of
receipt and shall be counted at the central ballot counting
location of the election authority during the same periods
provided for counting vote by mail absent voters' ballots under
subsection (c).
(e) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, vote by
mail absent voters' ballots and special write-in vote by mail
absentee voter's blank ballots received by the election
authority after the closing of the polls on the day of election
shall be endorsed by the person receiving the ballots with the
day and hour of receipt and shall be safely kept unopened by
the election authority for the period of time required for the
preservation of ballots used at the election, and shall then,
without being opened, be destroyed in like manner as the used
ballots of that election.
(f) Counting required under this Section to begin on
election day after the closing of the polls shall commence no
later than 8:00 p.m. and shall be conducted by a panel or
panels of election judges appointed in the manner provided by
law. The counting shall continue until all vote by mail absent
voters' ballots and special write-in vote by mail absentee
voter's blank ballots required to be counted on election day

have been counted.
(g) The procedures set forth in Articles 17 and 18 of this
Code shall apply to all ballots counted under this Section. In
addition, within 2 days after a ballot subject to this Article
is received, but in all cases before the close of the period
for counting provisional ballots, the election judge or
official shall compare the voter's signature on the
certification envelope of that ballot with the signature of the
voter on file in the office of the election authority. If the
election judge or official determines that the 2 signatures
match, and that the voter is otherwise qualified to cast a
ballot under this Article, the election authority shall cast
and count the ballot on election day or the day the ballot is
determined to be valid, whichever is later, adding the results
to the precinct in which the voter is registered. If the
election judge or official determines that the signatures do
not match, or that the voter is not qualified to cast a ballot
under this Article, then without opening the certification
envelope, the judge or official shall mark across the face of
the certification envelope the word "Rejected" and shall not
cast or count the ballot.
In addition to the voter's signatures not matching, a
ballot subject to this Article may be rejected by the election
judge or official:
(1) if the ballot envelope is open or has been opened
and resealed;

(2) if the voter has already cast an early or grace
period ballot;
(3) if the voter voted in person on election day or the
voter is not a duly registered voter in the precinct; or
(4) on any other basis set forth in this Code.
If the election judge or official determines that any of
these reasons apply, the judge or official shall mark across
the face of the certification envelope the word "Rejected" and
shall not cast or count the ballot.
(g-5) If a ballot subject to this Article is rejected by
the election judge or official for any reason, the election
authority shall, within 2 days after the rejection but in all
cases before the close of the period for counting provisional
ballots, notify the voter that his or her ballot was rejected.
The notice shall inform the voter of the reason or reasons the
ballot was rejected and shall state that the voter may appear
before the election authority, on or before the 14th day after
the election, to show cause as to why the ballot should not be
rejected. The voter may present evidence to the election
authority supporting his or her contention that the ballot
should be counted. The election authority shall appoint a panel
of 3 election judges to review the contested ballot,
application, and certification envelope, as well as any
evidence submitted by the vote by mail absentee voter. No more
than 2 election judges on the reviewing panel shall be of the
same political party. The reviewing panel of election judges

shall make a final determination as to the validity of the
contested ballot. The judges' determination shall not be
reviewable either administratively or judicially.
A ballot subject to this subsection that is determined to
be valid shall be counted before the close of the period for
counting provisional ballots.
(g-10) All ballots determined to be valid shall be added to
the vote totals for the precincts for which they were cast in
the order in which the ballots were opened.
(h) Each political party, candidate, and qualified civic
organization shall be entitled to have present one pollwatcher
for each panel of election judges therein assigned.
(Source: P.A. 94-557, eff. 8-12-05; 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06;
95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-10)
Sec. 20-10. Pollwatchers shall be permitted to be present
during the casting of the vote by mail absent voters' ballots
and the vote of any vote by mail absent voter may be challenged
for cause the same as if he were present and voted in person,
and the judges of the election or a majority thereof shall have
power and authority to hear and determine the legality of such
ballot; Provided, however, that if a challenge to any vote by
mail absent voter's right to vote is sustained, notice of the
same must be given by the judges of election by mail addressed
to the voter's mailing address as stated in the certification

and application for ballot.
(Source: P.A. 80-1090.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-13) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-13)
Sec. 20-13. If otherwise qualified to vote, any person not
covered by Sections 20-2, 20-2.1 or 20-2.2 of this Article who
is not registered to vote and who is temporarily absent from
his county of residence, may make special application to the
election authority having jurisdiction over his precinct of
permanent residence, not less than 5 days before a presidential
election, for a vote by mail an absentee ballot to vote for the
president and vice-president only. Such application shall be
furnished by the election authority and shall be in
substantially the following form:
SPECIAL VOTE BY MAIL ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION (For use
by non-registered Illinois residents temporarily absent from
the county to vote for the president and vice-president only)
AFFIDAVIT
1. I hereby request a vote by mail an absentee ballot to
vote for the president and vice-president only .........
(insert date of general election)
2. I am a citizen of the United States and a permanent
resident of Illinois.
3. I have maintained, and still maintain, a permanent abode
in Illinois for the past .......... years at: ..........
(House) .......... (Number) .......... (Street) ..........

(City) .......... (Village) .......... (Town)
4. I will not be able to regularly register in person as a
voter because .................... (Give reason for temporary
absence such as "Student", "Temporary job transfer", etc.)
5. I was born .......... (Month) .......... (Day)
.......... (Year) in .................... (State or County);
6. To be filled in only by a person who is foreign-born (If
answer is "yes" in either a. or b. below, fill in appropriate
information in c.):
a. One or both of my parents were United States citizens at
the time of my birth?
( ) YES ( ) NO)
b. My United States citizenship was derived through an act
of the Congress of the United States?
( ) YES ( ) NO
c. The name of the court issuing papers and the date
thereof upon which my United States citizenship was derived is
.................... located in .......... (City) ..........
(State) on .......... (Month) .......... (Day) ..........
(Year)
(For persons who derived citizenship through papers issued
through a parent or spouse, fill in the following)
(1) My parents or spouse's name is:
......... (First) .......... (Middle) .......... (Last)
(2) ........ (Month) .......... (Day) .......... (Year)
is the date of my marriage or my age at which time I

derived my citizenship.
7. I am not registered as a voter in any other county in
the State of Illinois or in any other State.
8. I am not requesting a ballot from any other place and am
not voting in any other manner in this election and I have not
voted and do not intend to vote in this election at any other
address. I request that you mail my ballot to the following
address:
(Print name and complete mailing address)
.........................................
.........................................
.........................................
9. Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Article
29 of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the
statements set forth in this application are true and correct.
......................
Signature of Applicant
The procedures set forth in Sections 20-4 through 20-12 of
this Article, insofar as they may be made applicable, shall be
applicable to vote by mail absentee voting under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 86-875.)
(10 ILCS 5/20-13.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-13.1)
Sec. 20-13.1. Any person not covered by Sections 20-2,
20-2.1 or 20-2.2 of this Article who is registered to vote but
who is disqualified from voting because he moved outside his

election precinct during the 30 days preceding a presidential
election may make special application to the election authority
having jurisdiction over his precinct of former residence by
mail, not more than 30 nor less than 5 days before a Federal
election, or in person in the office of the election authority,
not more than 30 nor less than 1 day before a Federal election,
for a vote by mail an absentee ballot to vote for the president
and vice-president only. Such application shall be furnished by
the election authority and shall be in substantially the
following form:
SPECIAL VOTER APPLICATION
(For use by registered Illinois voters disqualified for
having moved outside their precinct on or after the 30th day
preceding the election, to vote for president and
vice-president only.)
1. I hereby request a ballot to vote for president and
vice-president only on .......... (insert date of general
election).
2. I am a citizen of the United States and my present
address is: .................... (Residence Number) ..........
(Street) .................... (City/Village/Township)
.......... (County) .......... (State).
3. As of .......... (Month), .......... (Day), ..........
(Year) I was a registered voter at .......... (Residence
Number) .......... (Street) ....................
(City/Village/Township).

4. I moved to my present address on .......... (Month)
.......... (Day) .......... (Year).
5. I have not registered to vote from nor have I requested
a ballot in any other election jurisdiction in this State or in
another State.
6. (If vote by mail absentee request), I request that you
mail the ballot to the following address:
Print name and complete mailing address.
........................................
........................................
........................................
Under the penalties as provided by law pursuant to Article
29 of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the
statements set forth in this application are true and correct.
........................
(Signature of Applicant)
7. Subscribed and sworn to before me on .......... (Month)
.......... (Day) .......... (Year)
........................
(Signature of Official
Administering Oath)
The procedures set forth in Sections 20-4 through 20-12 of
this Article, insofar as they may be made applicable, shall be
applicable to vote by mail absentee voting under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)

(10 ILCS 5/20-25)
Sec. 20-25. Extraordinary procedures. In the event of a
deployment of the United States Armed Forces or the declaration
of an emergency by the President of the United States or the
Governor of Illinois, The Governor or the executive director of
the State Board of Elections may modify the registration and
voting procedures established by this Article or by rules
adopted pursuant to this Article for the duration of the
deployment or emergency in order to facilitate vote by mail
absentee voting under this Article. The Governor or executive
director, as the case may be, then promptly shall notify each
election authority of the changes in procedures. Each election
authority shall publicize the modifications and shall provide
notice of the modifications to each person under its
jurisdiction subject to this Article for whom the election
authority has contact information.
(Source: P.A. 96-1004, eff. 1-1-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/24-15) (from Ch. 46, par. 24-15)
Sec. 24-15. As soon as the polls are closed, the voting
machine or machines shall be locked in order to prevent further
voting and each machine shall be sealed against voting and
tampering, with a numbered metal seal, and the number of such
metal seal shall be recorded at once on the certificate
provided for that purpose, and the number on the protective
counter of each voting machine shall also be recorded on the

certificate in the space provided for that purpose, and the
number on the public counter shall be recorded in the space
provided for that purpose. The counting compartment shall then
be opened in the presence of all the precinct election
officials and all watchers and other persons who may be
lawfully within the room, giving full view of the numbers
announcing the votes cast for each candidate, and the vote for
and against each of the questions or other propositions.
Provided, however, when a machine is equipped with a device
which will automatically record the number on the registering
columns for each candidate, question or proposition on the back
of the machine to a paper recording sheet then the recording
sheet shall be removed and the vote cast shall be announced
from the recording sheet for each candidate and the vote for
and against each question or proposition. When voting machines
are used in an election precinct, the watchers provided by law
to be present in the polling place on election day shall be
permitted to make a record of the number on the metal seal with
which each voting machine is sealed, and to also record the
number shown on the protective counter of each voting machine,
and such watchers shall also be permitted to examine the
counters of the voting machines as the totals are being
announced for transcription to the return sheets or from the
recording sheets and also to examine the return sheets or the
recording sheets as the totals are being recorded or checked
thereon. In voting machine precincts where the voting machine

is not equipped with the automatic recording sheet the officer,
officers board or boards charged by law to furnish the ballot
labels for the voting machines shall also furnish for each
election precinct in which a voting machine is to be used, at
least two duplicate return sheets which shall be used by the
precinct election board of such election precinct for recording
the results of the election. Such return sheets shall be
printed in the form of a diagram exactly corresponding, in
arrangement, with the face of the voting machine, and such
return sheets shall also correspond, in as far as arrangement
is concerned, with the sample ballots, and each return sheet
shall provide printed instructions for the exact procedure
which the precinct election board shall follow when making the
canvass of the results of the election, and such return sheets
shall also provide the office titles, party names, candidates'
names and code letters and number, arranged in the same manner
as on the ballot labels, and there shall be provided a space
for inserting the serial number of each voting machine, so that
the totals recorded from each voting machine may be identified
as being from a certain voting machine, and there shall be
provided a space for recording such separate total for each
candidate and constitutional amendment, or other question or
proposition, from each separate voting machine, and a space for
recording the total of the vote by mail and early mail and
absentee vote in the same manner, so that the final total for
each candidate, constitutional amendment, question or other

proposition, may be totaled by adding all the figures in a
column. Totals on the return sheets shall be recorded in
figures only, in ink. The same authorities shall also furnish
to each such election precinct suitable printed forms for use
by the precinct election board, in making out the certificates
provided for in this Article. Such certificates shall be made a
part of the return sheets if practicable, or may be on separate
sheets.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 2492.)
(10 ILCS 5/24-16) (from Ch. 46, par. 24-16)
Sec. 24-16. The precinct election officers shall then
ascertain the number of votes which the candidates received
both on the machine or machines, and by the voting of irregular
ballots, if any. Except when the machine is equipped with a
device which will automatically record the registering column
on the back of the machine to sheets of paper giving the
accurate vote cast for each candidate. Two precinct election
officials, not members of the same political party, shall write
the totals in figures, in ink, for such candidate on the
duplicate return sheets provided for that purpose, while one
election officer announces in a distinct voice the total vote
cast for each candidate thus ascertained in the order of the
offices as their titles are arranged on the ballot label, and
the remaining precinct election official or officials, if any,
shall be stationed at the counter compartment of the voting

machine being canvassed and shall watch each total as it is
being called out from the registering counters. Each precinct
election official who is recording the totals on the return
sheets shall distinctly repeat each total as it is announced
from the counter of the voting machine. The totals of each
machine for each candidate shall be recorded on the return
sheets in such a manner that they may be identified by the
serial number of the voting machine. The vote both for and
against each question or other proposition shall also be
announced and recorded in the same manner as the vote for the
candidates. When the machine is equipped with a device which
will automatically record the registering column on the back of
the machine to recording sheets of paper giving the accurate
vote cast for each candidate then the totals cast for each
candidate or each question or proposition shall be called out
the same as if they were being read from the Counter
Compartment of the voting machine, provided however the paper
recording sheet shall constitute the return sheet for the
precinct or consolidated area and no return sheets shall be
required. When more than one voting machine is used in the same
election precinct, the canvass of the first machine shall be
completed before the second and so on. When the canvass of all
totals shall have been completed, the precinct election board
shall canvass all vote by mail absentee ballots in the same
manner provided by law for canvassing paper ballots. The totals
of the vote by mail absentee votes for each candidate and for

each question or other proposition shall be recorded on the
return sheets under the totals from the voting machines and the
final total of the votes received by each candidate, and each
constitutional amendment, question or other proposition, shall
be ascertained and recorded in the space provided for that
purpose on the return sheets. Upon the completion of the
canvass as hereinbefore provided, one of the precinct election
officials shall, in a loud and distinct voice announce the
total votes received by each candidate, and the total votes
cast both for and against each constitutional amendment,
question or other proposition, and such proclamation shall be
made slowly enough so as to enable anyone desiring to do so, to
record each such result as it is announced. Except where a
voting machine is equipped with an automatic recording sheet
when the proclamation is completed, the election official who
announced the totals from the counters of the machine or
machines, shall take his place at one of the return sheets and
one of the election officials of the opposite party who has
completed the recording of the returns on the return sheets
shall take his place at the counter compartment of the voting
machine first canvassed, and he shall then proceed to announce
each total on each registering counter in the same manner as it
was done for the first canvass. Before the recheck of the
voting machine is begun, the two precinct election officials
who are to recheck the totals on the return sheets shall
exchange return sheets and each election official shall then,

as the canvass proceeds, check each total as it is announced
from the registering counters of the voting machine or machines
for the second time. As each total is announced each precinct
election official who is checking the totals on the return
sheets shall repeat in a loud and distinct voice each total as
it is announced. If any errors in the original canvass are
discovered they shall be corrected at once in the presence of
all the precinct election officials and a certificate shall be
prepared and signed by each such election official, setting
forth which errors were discovered and what corrections were
made, and such certificate shall be made in duplicate and one
filed with each return sheet. During the process of rechecking
each total on the machines, the precinct election official or
officials, if any, who at the original canvass acted as watcher
or watchers at the registering counters of the machines, shall
in the same manner verify the accuracy of each total as it is
announced from the machine or machines and is repeated by the
two precinct election officials who are rechecking the totals
as written on the return sheets. When this recheck is completed
the entire precinct election board shall take one of the return
sheets and fold it in accordion pleats approximately ten inches
wide with the face of the return sheet out, in such a manner
that each pleat can easily be turned as the final recheck
proceeds. The entire precinct election board shall then begin
at the voting machine first canvassed and each such election
official shall, simultaneously with the other such election

officials, and in the presence of each other, examine each
registering counter on the voting machine, and immediately
examine the corresponding record for that counter, as it is
written on the return sheet, and shall satisfy himself that
both numbers are the same. Each total on each voting machine
shall be as examined and when such examination has been
completed, the entire precinct election board shall then
compare each total on such return sheet with the corresponding
total on the duplicate return sheet and each precinct election
official shall satisfy himself that all totals are the same on
both return sheets. Each precinct election official shall sign
a certificate stating that each step in the canvass of the
voting machines, as provided herein, has been carefully and
faithfully carried out in every detail. If any errors are
discovered during the final recheck of the registering counters
and comparison of the duplicate return sheets, such errors
shall be corrected at once, and each precinct election official
shall sign a certificate stating which errors were found and
what corrections were made and such corrections shall be made
in the presence of all the precinct election officials. The
precinct election board shall then canvass the irregular ballot
in substantially the same manner as the law provides for
canvassing the returns for paper ballots, and shall record the
results thereof on the return sheets in the space provided for
that purpose. Before leaving the room and before closing and
locking the counting compartment, each precinct election

official shall make and sign the certificate and written
statements and the return sheets of such election as provided
by law. In precincts where the voting machines are equipped
with the automatic recording sheet and two or more machines the
total vote cast for each candidate, question or proposition
from each machine shall be recorded separately on the statement
of votes as provided for in Section 18-14, and the grand total
of all votes appearing on the recording sheets shall be
recorded on the statement of votes and proclaimed by the judges
in the same manner as is herein provided for proclamation of
votes from the return sheets. All vote by mail absentee ballots
and irregular ballots of each voting machine shall be returned
to the proper officer together with the return sheets and
certificates and supplies and such vote by mail absentee
ballots and irregular machine ballots shall be preserved and
finally destroyed as is now provided by law when paper ballots
are used. The written statements or returns so made, after
having been properly signed, shall be distinctly and clearly
read in the hearing of all persons present in the polling
place, and ample opportunity shall be given to compare the
results so certified with the counter dials of the machine.
After such comparison and correction, if any is made, the
precinct election officials shall then close the counting
compartment and lock the same. Thereafter the voting machine
shall remain locked and sealed against voting for a period of
at least 30 days, after the results of the election have been

declared, unless otherwise ordered by the circuit court:
provided, however, upon application to the circuit court, the
circuit judge may order the said machines opened prior to the
thirty day period herein required to be closed. The circuit
court in its order shall specify the manner in which the count
recorded on the machines shall be taken and preserved:
provided, however, when the machines are equipped with any
recording or photographic device on which votes registered on
the mechanical counters will be separately recorded or
photographed, as provided in Section 24-18 hereof, and it is
necessary to use said machines at an election occurring within
said 30 days, then after the machines have remained locked for
a period of 48 hours they may be prepared for such subsequent
election as herein provided. Whenever it is necessary to reset
the machines for another election prior to the time limit for
the filing of election contests, it shall be the duty of the
proper officials to make a photographic record of the machines
involved to be used in case of an election contest, whereupon
the machines may be set back to zero and arranged for the next
election.
(Source: P.A. 80-704.)
(10 ILCS 5/24A-6) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-6)
Sec. 24A-6. The ballot information, whether placed on the
ballot or on the marking device, shall, as far as practicable,
be in the order of arrangement provided for paper ballots,

except that such information may be in vertical or horizontal
rows, or in a number of separate pages. Ballots for all
questions or propositions to be voted on must be provided in
the same manner and must be arranged on or in the marking
device or on the ballot sheet in the places provided for such
purposes.
When an electronic voting system utilizes a ballot label
booklet and ballot card, ballots for candidates, ballots
calling for a constitutional convention, constitutional
amendment ballots, judicial retention ballots, public
measures, and all propositions to be voted upon may be placed
on the electronic voting device by providing in the ballot
booklet separate ballot label pages or series of pages
distinguished by differing colors as provided below. When an
electronic voting system utilizes a ballot sheet, ballots
calling for a constitutional convention, constitutional
amendment ballots and judicial retention ballots shall be
placed on the ballot sheet by providing a separate portion of
the ballot sheet for each such kind of ballot which shall be
printed in ink of a color distinct from the color of ink used
in printing any other portion of the ballot sheet. Ballots for
candidates, public measures and all other propositions to be
voted upon shall be placed on the ballot sheet by providing a
separate portion of the ballot sheet for each such kind of
ballot. Whenever a person has submitted a declaration of intent
to be a write-in candidate as required in Sections 17-16.1 and

18-9.1, a line on which the name of a candidate may be written
by the voter shall be printed below the name of the last
candidate nominated for such office, and immediately to the
left of such line an area shall be provided for marking a vote
for such write-in candidate. The number of write-in lines for
an office shall equal the number of persons who have filed
declarations of intent to be write-in candidates plus an
additional line or lines for write-in candidates who qualify to
file declarations to be write-in candidates under Sections
17-16.1 and 18-9.1 when the certification of ballot contains
the words "OBJECTION PENDING" next to the name of the
candidate, up to the number of candidates for which a voter may
vote. More than one amendment to the constitution may be placed
on the same ballot page or series of pages or on the same
portion of the ballot sheet, as the case may be. Ballot label
pages for constitutional conventions or constitutional
amendments shall be on paper of blue color and shall precede
all other ballot label pages in the ballot label booklet. More
than one public measure or proposition may be placed on the
same ballot label page or series of pages or on the same
portion of the ballot sheet, as the case may be. More than one
proposition for retention of judges in office may be placed on
the same ballot label page or series of pages or on the same
portion of the ballot sheet, as the case may be. Ballot label
pages for candidates shall be on paper of white color, except
that in primary elections the ballot label page or pages for

the candidates of each respective political party shall be of
the color designated by the election official in charge of the
election for that political party's candidates; provided that
the ballot label pages or pages for candidates for use at the
nonpartisan and consolidated elections may be on paper of
different colors, except blue, whenever necessary or desirable
to facilitate distinguishing between the pages for different
political subdivisions. On each page of the candidate booklet,
where the election is made to list ballot information
vertically, the party affiliation of each candidate or the word
"independent" shall appear immediately to the left of the
candidate's name, and the name of candidates for the same
office shall be listed vertically under the title of that
office. If no candidate or candidates file for an office and if
no person or persons file a declaration as a write-in candidate
for that office, then below the title of that office the
election authority instead shall print "No Candidate". In the
case of nonpartisan elections for officers of political
subdivisions, unless the statute or an ordinance adopted
pursuant to Article VII of the Constitution requires otherwise,
the listing of such nonpartisan candidates shall not include
any party or "independent" designation. Ballot label pages for
judicial retention ballots shall be on paper of green color,
and ballot label pages for all public measures and other
propositions shall be on paper of some other distinct and
different color. In primary elections, a separate ballot label

booklet, marking device and voting booth shall be used for each
political party holding a primary, with the ballot label
booklet arranged to include ballot label pages of the
candidates of the party and public measures and other
propositions to be voted upon on the day of the primary
election. One ballot card may be used for recording the voter's
vote or choice on all such ballots, proposals, public measures
or propositions, and such ballot card shall be arranged so as
to record the voter's vote or choice in a separate column or
columns for each such kind of ballot, proposal, public measure
or proposition.
If the ballot label booklet includes both candidates for
office and public measures or propositions to be voted on, the
election official in charge of the election shall divide the
pages by protruding tabs identifying the division of the pages,
and printing on such tabs "Candidates" and "Propositions".
The ballot card and all of its columns and the ballot card
envelope shall be of the color prescribed for candidate's
ballots at the general or primary election, whichever is being
held. At an election where no candidates are being nominated or
elected, the ballot card, its columns, and the ballot card
envelope shall be of a color designated by the election
official in charge of the election.
The ballot cards, ballot card envelopes and ballot sheets
may, at the discretion of the election authority, be printed on
white paper and then striped with the appropriate colors.

When ballot sheets are used, the various portions thereof
shall be arranged to conform to the foregoing format.
Vote by mail Absentee ballots may consist of ballot cards,
envelopes, paper ballots, or ballot sheets voted in person in
the office of the election official in charge of the election
or voted by mail. Where a ballot card is used for voting by
mail it must be accompanied by a punching tool or other
appropriate marking device, voter instructions and a specimen
ballot showing the proper positions to vote on the ballot card
or ballot sheet for each party, candidate, proposal, public
measure or proposition, and in the case of a ballot card must
be mounted on a suitable material to receive the punched out
chip.
Any voter who spoils his ballot or makes an error may
return the ballot to the judges of election and secure another.
However, the protruding identifying tab for proposals for a
constitutional convention or constitutional amendments shall
have printed thereon "Constitutional Ballot", and the ballot
label page or pages for such proposals shall precede the ballot
label pages for candidates in the ballot label booklet.
(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07; 95-862, eff. 8-19-08.)
(10 ILCS 5/24A-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-10)
Sec. 24A-10. (1) In an election jurisdiction which has
adopted an electronic voting system, the election official in
charge of the election shall select one of the 3 following

procedures for receiving, counting, tallying, and return of the
ballots:
(a) Two ballot boxes shall be provided for each polling
place. The first ballot box is for the depositing of votes cast
on the electronic voting system; and the second ballot box is
for all votes cast on paper ballots, including any paper
ballots required to be voted other than on the electronic
voting system. Ballots deposited in the second ballot box shall
be counted, tallied, and returned as is elsewhere provided in
"The Election Code," as amended, for the counting and handling
of paper ballots. Immediately after the closing of the polls,
the judges of election shall make out a slip indicating the
number of persons who voted in the precinct at the election.
Such slip shall be signed by all the judges of election and
shall be inserted by them in the first ballot box. The judges
of election shall thereupon immediately lock each ballot box;
provided, that if such box is not of a type which may be
securely locked, such box shall be sealed with filament tape
provided for such purpose which shall be wrapped around the box
lengthwise and crosswise, at least twice each way, and in such
manner that the seal completely covers the slot in the ballot
box, and each of the judges shall sign such seal. Thereupon two
of the judges of election, of different political parties,
shall forthwith and by the most direct route transport both
ballot boxes to the counting location designated by the county
clerk or board of election commissioners.

Before the ballots of a precinct are fed to the electronic
tabulating equipment, the first ballot box shall be opened at
the central counting station by the two precinct transport
judges. Upon opening a ballot box, such team shall first count
the number of ballots in the box. If 2 or more are folded
together so as to appear to have been cast by the same person,
all of the ballots so folded together shall be marked and
returned with the other ballots in the same condition, as near
as may be, in which they were found when first opened, but
shall not be counted. If the remaining ballots are found to
exceed the number of persons voting in the precinct as shown by
the slip signed by the judges of election, the ballots shall be
replaced in the box, and the box closed and well shaken and
again opened and one of the precinct transport judges shall
publicly draw out so many ballots unopened as are equal to such
excess.
Such excess ballots shall be marked "Excess-Not Counted"
and signed by the two precinct transport judges and shall be
placed in the "After 7:00 p.m. Defective Ballots Envelope". The
number of excess ballots shall be noted in the remarks section
of the Certificate of Results. "Excess" ballots shall not be
counted in the total of "defective" ballots.
The precinct transport judges shall then examine the
remaining ballots for write-in votes and shall count and
tabulate the write-in vote; or
(b) A single ballot box, for the deposit of all votes cast,

shall be used. All ballots which are not to be tabulated on the
electronic voting system shall be counted, tallied, and
returned as elsewhere provided in "The Election Code," as
amended, for the counting and handling of paper ballots.
All ballots to be processed and tabulated with the
electronic voting system shall be processed as follows:
Immediately after the closing of the polls, the precinct
judges of election then shall open the ballot box and canvass
the votes polled to determine that the number of ballots
therein agree with the number of voters voting as shown by the
applications for ballot or if the same do not agree the judges
of election shall make such ballots agree with the applications
for ballot in the manner provided by Section 17-18 of "The
Election Code." The judges of election shall then examine all
ballot cards and ballot card envelopes which are in the ballot
box to determine whether the ballot cards and ballot card
envelopes bear the initials of a precinct judge of election. If
any ballot card or ballot card envelope is not initialed, it
shall be marked on the back "Defective," initialed as to such
label by all judges immediately under such word "Defective,"
and not counted, but placed in the envelope provided for that
purpose labeled "Defective Ballots Envelope."
When an electronic voting system is used which utilizes a
ballot card, before separating the ballot cards from their
respective covering envelopes, the judges of election shall
examine the ballot card envelopes for write-in votes. When the

voter has voted a write-in vote, the judges of election shall
compare the write-in vote with the votes on the ballot card to
determine whether such write-in results in an overvote for any
office. In case of an overvote for any office, the judges of
election, consisting in each case of at least one judge of
election of each of the two major political parties, shall make
a true duplicate ballot of all votes on such ballot card except
for the office which is overvoted, by using the ballot label
booklet of the precinct and one of the marking devices of the
precinct so as to transfer all votes of the voter except for
the office overvoted, to an official ballot card of that kind
used in the precinct at that election. The original ballot card
and envelope upon which there is an overvote shall be clearly
labeled "Overvoted Ballot", and each shall bear the same serial
number which shall be placed thereon by the judges of election,
commencing with number 1 and continuing consecutively for the
ballots of that kind in that precinct. The judges of election
shall initial the "Duplicate Overvoted Ballot" ballot cards and
shall place them in the box for return of the ballots. The
"Overvoted Ballot" ballots and their envelopes shall be placed
in the "Duplicate Ballots" envelope. Envelopes bearing
write-in votes marked in the place designated therefor and
bearing the initials of a precinct judge of election and not
resulting in an overvote and otherwise complying with the
election laws as to marking shall be counted, tallied, and
their votes recorded on a tally sheet provided by the election

official in charge of the election. The ballot cards and ballot
card envelopes shall be separated and all except any defective
or overvoted shall be placed separately in the box for return
of the ballots. The judges of election shall examine the
ballots and ballot cards to determine if any is damaged or
defective so that it cannot be counted by the automatic
tabulating equipment. If any ballot or ballot card is damaged
or defective so that it cannot properly be counted by the
automatic tabulating equipment, the judges of election,
consisting in each case of at least one judge of election of
each of the two major political parties, shall make a true
duplicate ballot of all votes on such ballot card by using the
ballot label booklet of the precinct and one of the marking
devices of the precinct. The original ballot or ballot card and
envelope shall be clearly labeled "Damaged Ballot" and the
ballot or ballot card so produced "Duplicate Damaged Ballot,"
and each shall bear the same number which shall be placed
thereon by the judges of election, commencing with number 1 and
continuing consecutively for the ballots of that kind in the
precinct. The judges of election shall initial the "Duplicate
Damaged Ballot" ballot or ballot cards, and shall place them in
the box for return of the ballots. The "Damaged Ballot" ballots
or ballot cards and their envelopes shall be placed in the
"Duplicated Ballots" envelope. A slip indicating the number of
voters voting in person shall be made out, signed by all judges
of election, and inserted in the box for return of the ballots.

The tally sheets recording the write-in votes shall be placed
in this box. The judges of election thereupon immediately shall
securely lock the ballot box or other suitable box furnished
for return of the ballots by the election official in charge of
the election; provided that if such box is not of a type which
may be securely locked, such box shall be sealed with filament
tape provided for such purpose which shall be wrapped around
the box lengthwise and crosswise, at least twice each way. A
separate adhesive seal label signed by each of the judges of
election of the precinct shall be affixed to the box so as to
cover any slot therein and to identify the box of the precinct;
and if such box is sealed with filament tape as provided herein
rather than locked, such tape shall be wrapped around the box
as provided herein, but in such manner that the separate
adhesive seal label affixed to the box and signed by the judges
may not be removed without breaking the filament tape and
disturbing the signature of the judges. Thereupon, 2 of the
judges of election, of different major political parties,
forthwith shall by the most direct route transport the box for
return of the ballots and enclosed ballots and returns to the
central counting location designated by the election official
in charge of the election. If, however, because of the lack of
adequate parking facilities at the central counting location or
for any other reason, it is impossible or impracticable for the
boxes from all the polling places to be delivered directly to
the central counting location, the election official in charge

of the election may designate some other location to which the
boxes shall be delivered by the 2 precinct judges. While at
such other location the boxes shall be in the care and custody
of one or more teams, each consisting of 4 persons, 2 from each
of the two major political parties, designated for such purpose
by the election official in charge of elections from
recommendations by the appropriate political party
organizations. As soon as possible, the boxes shall be
transported from such other location to the central counting
location by one or more teams, each consisting of 4 persons, 2
from each of the 2 major political parties, designated for such
purpose by the election official in charge of elections from
recommendations by the appropriate political party
organizations.
The "Defective Ballots" envelope, and "Duplicated Ballots"
envelope each shall be securely sealed and the flap or end
thereof of each signed by the precinct judges of election and
returned to the central counting location with the box for
return of the ballots, enclosed ballots and returns.
At the central counting location, a team of tally judges
designated by the election official in charge of the election
shall check the box returned containing the ballots to
determine that all seals are intact, and thereupon shall open
the box, check the voters' slip and compare the number of
ballots so delivered against the total number of voters of the
precinct who voted, remove the ballots or ballot cards and

deliver them to the technicians operating the automatic
tabulating equipment. Any discrepancies between the number of
ballots and total number of voters shall be noted on a sheet
furnished for that purpose and signed by the tally judges; or
(c) A single ballot box, for the deposit of all votes cast,
shall be used. Immediately after the closing of the polls, the
precinct judges of election shall securely lock the ballot box;
provided that if such box is not of a type which may be
securely locked, such box shall be sealed with filament tape
provided for such purpose which shall be wrapped around the box
lengthwise and crosswise, at least twice each way. A separate
adhesive seal label signed by each of the judges of election of
the precinct shall be affixed to the box so as to cover any
slot therein and to identify the box of the precinct; and if
such box is sealed with filament tape as provided herein rather
than locked, such tape shall be wrapped around the box as
provided herein, but in such manner that the separate adhesive
seal label affixed to the box and signed by the judges may not
be removed without breaking the filament tape and disturbing
the signature of the judges. Thereupon, 2 of the judges of
election, of different major political parties, shall
forthwith by the most direct route transport the box for return
of the ballots and enclosed vote by mail absentee and early
ballots and returns to the central counting location designated
by the election official in charge of the election. If however,
because of the lack of adequate parking facilities at the

central counting location or for some other reason, it is
impossible or impracticable for the boxes from all the polling
places to be delivered directly to the central counting
location, the election official in charge of the election may
designate some other location to which the boxes shall be
delivered by the 2 precinct judges. While at such other
location the boxes shall be in the care and custody of one or
more teams, each consisting of 4 persons, 2 from each of the
two major political parties, designated for such purpose by the
election official in charge of elections from recommendations
by the appropriate political party organizations. As soon as
possible, the boxes shall be transported from such other
location to the central counting location by one or more teams,
each consisting of 4 persons, 2 from each of the 2 major
political parties, designated for such purpose by the election
official in charge of the election from recommendations by the
appropriate political party organizations.
At the central counting location there shall be one or more
teams of tally judges who possess the same qualifications as
tally judges in election jurisdictions using paper ballots. The
number of such teams shall be determined by the election
authority. Each team shall consist of 5 tally judges, 3
selected and approved by the county board from a certified list
furnished by the chairman of the county central committee of
the party with the majority of members on the county board and
2 selected and approved by the county board from a certified

list furnished by the chairman of the county central committee
of the party with the second largest number of members on the
county board. At the central counting location a team of tally
judges shall open the ballot box and canvass the votes polled
to determine that the number of ballot sheets therein agree
with the number of voters voting as shown by the applications
for ballot; and, if the same do not agree, the tally judges
shall make such ballots agree with the number of applications
for ballot in the manner provided by Section 17-18 of the
Election Code. The tally judges shall then examine all ballot
sheets which are in the ballot box to determine whether they
bear the initials of the precinct judge of election. If any
ballot is not initialed, it shall be marked on the back
"Defective", initialed as to such label by all tally judges
immediately under such word "Defective", and not counted, but
placed in the envelope provided for that purpose labeled
"Defective Ballots Envelope". An overvote for one office shall
invalidate only the vote or count of that particular office.
At the central counting location, a team of tally judges
designated by the election official in charge of the election
shall deliver the ballot sheets to the technicians operating
the automatic tabulating equipment. Any discrepancies between
the number of ballots and total number of voters shall be noted
on a sheet furnished for that purpose and signed by the tally
judges.
(2) Regardless of which procedure described in subsection

(1) of this Section is used, the judges of election designated
to transport the ballots, properly signed and sealed as
provided herein, shall ensure that the ballots are delivered to
the central counting station no later than 12 hours after the
polls close. At the central counting station a team of tally
judges designated by the election official in charge of the
election shall examine the ballots so transported and shall not
accept ballots for tabulating which are not signed and sealed
as provided in subsection (1) of this Section until the judges
transporting the same make and sign the necessary corrections.
Upon acceptance of the ballots by a team of tally judges at the
central counting station, the election judges transporting the
same shall take a receipt signed by the election official in
charge of the election and stamped with the date and time of
acceptance. The election judges whose duty it is to transport
any ballots shall, in the event such ballots cannot be found
when needed, on proper request, produce the receipt which they
are to take as above provided.
(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
(10 ILCS 5/24A-15.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-15.1)
Sec. 24A-15.1. Except as herein provided, discovery
recounts and election contests shall be conducted as otherwise
provided for in "The Election Code", as amended. The automatic
tabulating equipment shall be tested prior to the discovery
recount or election contest as provided in Section 24A-9, and

then the official ballots or ballot cards shall be recounted on
the automatic tabulating equipment. In addition, (1) the ballot
or ballot cards shall be checked for the presence or absence of
judges' initials and other distinguishing marks, and (2) the
ballots marked "Rejected", "Defective", Objected to", "Vote by
Mail Absentee Ballot", and "Early Ballot" shall be examined to
determine the propriety of the labels, and (3) the "Duplicate
Vote by Mail Absentee Ballots", "Duplicate Early Ballots",
"Duplicate Overvoted Ballots" and "Duplicate Damaged Ballots"
shall be compared with their respective originals to determine
the correctness of the duplicates.
Any person who has filed a petition for discovery recount
may request that a redundant count be conducted in those
precincts in which the discovery recount is being conducted.
The additional costs of such a redundant count shall be borne
by the requesting party.
The log of the computer operator and all materials retained
by the election authority in relation to vote tabulation and
canvass shall be made available for any discovery recount or
election contest.
(Source: P.A. 98-756, eff. 7-16-14.)
(10 ILCS 5/24B-6)
Sec. 24B-6. Ballot Information; Arrangement; Electronic
Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology Voting System;
Vote by Mail Absentee Ballots; Spoiled Ballots. The ballot

information, shall, as far as practicable, be in the order of
arrangement provided for paper ballots, except that the
information may be in vertical or horizontal rows, or on a
number of separate pages or displays on the marking device.
Ballots for all questions or propositions to be voted on should
be provided in a similar manner and must be arranged on the
ballot sheet or marking device in the places provided for such
purposes. Ballots shall be of white paper unless provided
otherwise by administrative rule of the State Board of
Elections or otherwise specified.
All propositions, including but not limited to
propositions calling for a constitutional convention,
constitutional amendment, judicial retention, and public
measures to be voted upon shall be placed on separate portions
of the ballot sheet or marking device by utilizing borders or
grey screens. Candidates shall be listed on a separate portion
of the ballot sheet or marking device by utilizing borders or
grey screens. Whenever a person has submitted a declaration of
intent to be a write-in candidate as required in Sections
17-16.1 and 18-9.1, a line or lines on which the voter may
select a write-in candidate shall be printed below the name of
the last candidate nominated for such office. Such line or
lines shall be proximate to an area provided for marking votes
for the write-in candidate or candidates. The number of
write-in lines for an office shall equal the number of persons
who have filed declarations of intent to be write-in candidates

plus an additional line or lines for write-in candidates who
qualify to file declarations to be write-in candidates under
Sections 17-16.1 and 18-9.1 when the certification of ballot
contains the words "OBJECTION PENDING" next to the name of that
candidate, up to the number of candidates for which a voter may
vote. In the case of write-in lines for the offices of Governor
and Lieutenant Governor, 2 lines shall be printed within a
bracket and a single square shall be printed in front of the
bracket. More than one amendment to the constitution may be
placed on the same portion of the ballot sheet or marking
device. Constitutional convention or constitutional amendment
propositions shall be printed or displayed on a separate
portion of the ballot sheet or marking device and designated by
borders or grey screens, unless otherwise provided by
administrative rule of the State Board of Elections. More than
one public measure or proposition may be placed on the same
portion of the ballot sheet or marking device. More than one
proposition for retention of judges in office may be placed on
the same portion of the ballot sheet or marking device. Names
of candidates shall be printed in black. The party affiliation
of each candidate or the word "independent" shall appear near
or under the candidate's name, and the names of candidates for
the same office shall be listed vertically under the title of
that office, on separate pages of the marking device, or as
otherwise approved by the State Board of Elections. If no
candidate or candidates file for an office and if no person or

persons file a declaration as a write-in candidate for that
office, then below the title of that office the election
authority instead shall print "No Candidate". In the case of
nonpartisan elections for officers of political subdivisions,
unless the statute or an ordinance adopted pursuant to Article
VII of the Constitution requires otherwise, the listing of
nonpartisan candidates shall not include any party or
"independent" designation. Judicial retention questions and
ballot questions for all public measures and other propositions
shall be designated by borders or grey screens on the ballot or
marking device. In primary elections, a separate ballot, or
displays on the marking device, shall be used for each
political party holding a primary, with the ballot or marking
device arranged to include names of the candidates of the party
and public measures and other propositions to be voted upon on
the day of the primary election.
If the ballot includes both candidates for office and
public measures or propositions to be voted on, the election
official in charge of the election shall divide the ballot or
displays on the marking device in sections for "Candidates" and
"Propositions", or separate ballots may be used.
Vote by Mail Absentee ballots may consist of envelopes,
paper ballots, or ballot sheets voted in person in the office
of the election official in charge of the election or voted by
mail. Where a Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology
ballot is used for voting by mail it must be accompanied by

voter instructions.
Any voter who spoils his or her ballot, makes an error, or
has a ballot returned by the automatic tabulating equipment may
return the ballot to the judges of election and get another
ballot.
(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07; 95-862, eff. 8-19-08;
96-1018, eff. 1-1-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/24B-10)
Sec. 24B-10. Receiving, Counting, Tallying and Return of
Ballots; Acceptance of Ballots by Election Authority.
(a) In an election jurisdiction which has adopted an
electronic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting
system, the election official in charge of the election shall
select one of the 3 following procedures for receiving,
counting, tallying, and return of the ballots:
(1) Two ballot boxes shall be provided for each polling
place. The first ballot box is for the depositing of votes
cast on the electronic voting system; and the second ballot
box is for all votes cast on other ballots, including any
paper ballots required to be voted other than on the
Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology electronic
voting system. Ballots deposited in the second ballot box
shall be counted, tallied, and returned as is elsewhere
provided in this Code for the counting and handling of
paper ballots. Immediately after the closing of the polls,

the judges of election shall make out a slip indicating the
number of persons who voted in the precinct at the
election. The slip shall be signed by all the judges of
election and shall be inserted by them in the first ballot
box. The judges of election shall thereupon immediately
lock each ballot box; provided, that if the box is not of a
type which may be securely locked, the box shall be sealed
with filament tape provided for the purpose that shall be
wrapped around the box lengthwise and crosswise, at least
twice each way, and in a manner that the seal completely
covers the slot in the ballot box, and each of the judges
shall sign the seal. Two of the judges of election, of
different political parties, shall by the most direct route
transport both ballot boxes to the counting location
designated by the county clerk or board of election
commissioners.
Before the ballots of a precinct are fed to the
electronic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology
tabulating equipment, the first ballot box shall be opened
at the central counting station by the 2 precinct transport
judges. Upon opening a ballot box, the team shall first
count the number of ballots in the box. If 2 or more are
folded together to appear to have been cast by the same
person, all of the ballots folded together shall be marked
and returned with the other ballots in the same condition,
as near as may be, in which they were found when first

opened, but shall not be counted. If the remaining ballots
are found to exceed the number of persons voting in the
precinct as shown by the slip signed by the judges of
election, the ballots shall be replaced in the box, and the
box closed and well shaken and again opened and one of the
precinct transport judges shall publicly draw out so many
ballots unopened as are equal to the excess.
The excess ballots shall be marked "Excess-Not
Counted" and signed by the 2 precinct transport judges and
shall be placed in the "After 7:00 p.m. Defective Ballots
Envelope". The number of excess ballots shall be noted in
the remarks section of the Certificate of Results. "Excess"
ballots shall not be counted in the total of "defective"
ballots.
The precinct transport judges shall then examine the
remaining ballots for write-in votes and shall count and
tabulate the write-in vote.
(2) A single ballot box, for the deposit of all votes
cast, shall be used. All ballots which are not to be
tabulated on the electronic voting system shall be counted,
tallied, and returned as elsewhere provided in this Code
for the counting and handling of paper ballots.
All ballots to be processed and tabulated with the
electronic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology
voting system shall be processed as follows:
Immediately after the closing of the polls, the

precinct judges of election shall open the ballot box and
canvass the votes polled to determine that the number of
ballots agree with the number of voters voting as shown by
the applications for ballot, or if the same do not agree
the judges of election shall make such ballots agree with
the applications for ballot in the manner provided by
Section 17-18 of this Code.
In case of an overvote for any office, the judges of
election, consisting in each case of at least one judge of
election of each of the 2 major political parties, shall
make a true duplicate ballot of all votes on the ballot
except for the office which is overvoted, by using the
ballot of the precinct and one of the marking devices, or
equivalent ballot, of the precinct to transfer all votes of
the voter except for the office overvoted, to an official
ballot of that kind used in the precinct at that election.
The original ballot upon which there is an overvote shall
be clearly labeled "Overvoted Ballot", and each shall bear
the same serial number which shall be placed thereon by the
judges of election, beginning with number 1 and continuing
consecutively for the ballots of that kind in that
precinct. The judges of election shall initial the
"Duplicate Overvoted Ballot" ballots and shall place them
in the box for return of the ballots. The "Overvoted
Ballot" ballots shall be placed in the "Duplicate Ballots"
envelope. The ballots except any defective or overvoted

ballot shall be placed separately in the box for return of
the ballots. The judges of election shall examine the
ballots to determine if any is damaged or defective so that
it cannot be counted by the automatic tabulating equipment.
If any ballot is damaged or defective so that it cannot
properly be counted by the automatic tabulating equipment,
the judges of election, consisting in each case of at least
one judge of election of each of the 2 major political
parties, shall make a true duplicate ballot of all votes on
such ballot by using the ballot of the precinct and one of
the marking devices, or equivalent ballot, of the precinct.
The original ballot and ballot envelope shall be clearly
labeled "Damaged Ballot" and the ballot so produced
"Duplicate Damaged Ballot", and each shall bear the same
number which shall be placed thereon by the judges of
election, commencing with number 1 and continuing
consecutively for the ballots of that kind in the precinct.
The judges of election shall initial the "Duplicate Damaged
Ballot" ballot and shall place them in the box for return
of the ballots. The "Damaged Ballot" ballots shall be
placed in the "Duplicated Ballots" envelope. A slip
indicating the number of voters voting in person and the
total number of voters of the precinct who voted at the
election shall be made out, signed by all judges of
election, and inserted in the box for return of the
ballots. The tally sheets recording the write-in votes

shall be placed in this box. The judges of election
immediately shall securely lock the ballot box or other
suitable box furnished for return of the ballots by the
election official in charge of the election; provided that
if the box is not of a type which may be securely locked,
the box shall be sealed with filament tape provided for the
purpose which shall be wrapped around the box lengthwise
and crosswise, at least twice each way. A separate adhesive
seal label signed by each of the judges of election of the
precinct shall be affixed to the box to cover any slot
therein and to identify the box of the precinct; and if the
box is sealed with filament tape as provided rather than
locked, such tape shall be wrapped around the box as
provided, but in such manner that the separate adhesive
seal label affixed to the box and signed by the judges may
not be removed without breaking the filament tape and
disturbing the signature of the judges. Two of the judges
of election, of different major political parties, shall by
the most direct route transport the box for return of the
ballots and enclosed ballots and returns to the central
counting location designated by the election official in
charge of the election. If, however, because of the lack of
adequate parking facilities at the central counting
location or for any other reason, it is impossible or
impracticable for the boxes from all the polling places to
be delivered directly to the central counting location, the

election official in charge of the election may designate
some other location to which the boxes shall be delivered
by the 2 precinct judges. While at the other location the
boxes shall be in the care and custody of one or more
teams, each consisting of 4 persons, 2 from each of the 2
major political parties, designated for such purpose by the
election official in charge of elections from
recommendations by the appropriate political party
organizations. As soon as possible, the boxes shall be
transported from the other location to the central counting
location by one or more teams, each consisting of 4
persons, 2 from each of the 2 major political parties,
designated for the purpose by the election official in
charge of elections from recommendations by the
appropriate political party organizations.
The "Defective Ballots" envelope, and "Duplicated
Ballots" envelope each shall be securely sealed and the
flap or end of each envelope signed by the precinct judges
of election and returned to the central counting location
with the box for return of the ballots, enclosed ballots
and returns.
At the central counting location, a team of tally
judges designated by the election official in charge of the
election shall check the box returned containing the
ballots to determine that all seals are intact, and shall
open the box, check the voters' slip and compare the number

of ballots so delivered against the total number of voters
of the precinct who voted, remove the ballots and deliver
them to the technicians operating the automatic tabulating
equipment. Any discrepancies between the number of ballots
and total number of voters shall be noted on a sheet
furnished for that purpose and signed by the tally judges.
(3) A single ballot box, for the deposit of all votes
cast, shall be used. Immediately after the closing of the
polls, the precinct judges of election shall securely lock
the ballot box; provided that if such box is not of a type
which may be securely locked, the box shall be sealed with
filament tape provided for the purpose which shall be
wrapped around the box lengthwise and crosswise, at least
twice each way. A separate adhesive seal label signed by
each of the judges of election of the precinct shall be
affixed to the box to cover any slot therein and to
identify the box of the precinct; and if the box is sealed
with filament tape as provided rather than locked, such
tape shall be wrapped around the box as provided, but in a
manner that the separate adhesive seal label affixed to the
box and signed by the judges may not be removed without
breaking the filament tape and disturbing the signature of
the judges. Two of the judges of election, of different
major political parties, shall by the most direct route
transport the box for return of the ballots and enclosed
vote by mail absentee and early ballots and returns to the

central counting location designated by the election
official in charge of the election. If however, because of
the lack of adequate parking facilities at the central
counting location or for some other reason, it is
impossible or impracticable for the boxes from all the
polling places to be delivered directly to the central
counting location, the election official in charge of the
election may designate some other location to which the
boxes shall be delivered by the 2 precinct judges. While at
the other location the boxes shall be in the care and
custody of one or more teams, each consisting of 4 persons,
2 from each of the 2 major political parties, designated
for the purpose by the election official in charge of
elections from recommendations by the appropriate
political party organizations. As soon as possible, the
boxes shall be transported from the other location to the
central counting location by one or more teams, each
consisting of 4 persons, 2 from each of the 2 major
political parties, designated for the purpose by the
election official in charge of the election from
recommendations by the appropriate political party
organizations.
At the central counting location there shall be one or
more teams of tally judges who possess the same
qualifications as tally judges in election jurisdictions
using paper ballots. The number of the teams shall be

determined by the election authority. Each team shall
consist of 5 tally judges, 3 selected and approved by the
county board from a certified list furnished by the
chairman of the county central committee of the party with
the majority of members on the county board and 2 selected
and approved by the county board from a certified list
furnished by the chairman of the county central committee
of the party with the second largest number of members on
the county board. At the central counting location a team
of tally judges shall open the ballot box and canvass the
votes polled to determine that the number of ballot sheets
therein agree with the number of voters voting as shown by
the applications for ballot and, if the same do not agree,
the tally judges shall make such ballots agree with the
number of applications for ballot in the manner provided by
Section 17-18 of this Code. The tally judges shall then
examine all ballot sheets that are in the ballot box to
determine whether they bear the initials of the precinct
judge of election. If any ballot is not initialed, it shall
be marked on the back "Defective", initialed as to that
label by all tally judges immediately under the word
"Defective", and not counted, but placed in the envelope
provided for that purpose labeled "Defective Ballots
Envelope". An overvote for one office shall invalidate only
the vote or count for that particular office.
At the central counting location, a team of tally

judges designated by the election official in charge of the
election shall deliver the ballot sheets to the technicians
operating the automatic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan
Technology tabulating equipment. Any discrepancies between
the number of ballots and total number of voters shall be
noted on a sheet furnished for that purpose and signed by
the tally judges.
(b) Regardless of which procedure described in subsection
(a) of this Section is used, the judges of election designated
to transport the ballots properly signed and sealed, shall
ensure that the ballots are delivered to the central counting
station no later than 12 hours after the polls close. At the
central counting station, a team of tally judges designated by
the election official in charge of the election shall examine
the ballots so transported and shall not accept ballots for
tabulating which are not signed and sealed as provided in
subsection (a) of this Section until the judges transporting
the ballots make and sign the necessary corrections. Upon
acceptance of the ballots by a team of tally judges at the
central counting station, the election judges transporting the
ballots shall take a receipt signed by the election official in
charge of the election and stamped with the date and time of
acceptance. The election judges whose duty it is to transport
any ballots shall, in the event the ballots cannot be found
when needed, on proper request, produce the receipt which they
are to take as above provided.

(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 94-645, eff. 8-22-05;
94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
(10 ILCS 5/24B-15.1)
Sec. 24B-15.1. Discovery recounts and election contests.
Except as provided, discovery recounts and election contests
shall be conducted as otherwise provided for in this Code. The
automatic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology
tabulating equipment shall be tested prior to the discovery
recount or election contest as provided in Section 24B-9, and
then the official ballots shall be recounted on the automatic
tabulating equipment. In addition, (a) the ballots shall be
checked for the presence or absence of judges' initials and
other distinguishing marks, and (b) the ballots marked
"Rejected", "Defective", "Objected To", "Early Ballot", and
"Vote by Mail Absentee Ballot" shall be examined to determine
the propriety of the labels, and (c) the "Duplicate Vote by
Mail Absentee Ballots", "Duplicate Overvoted Ballots",
"Duplicate Early Ballot", and "Duplicate Damaged Ballots"
shall be compared with their respective originals to determine
the correctness of the duplicates.
Any person who has filed a petition for discovery recount
may request that a redundant count be conducted in those
precincts in which the discovery recount is being conducted.
The additional costs of a redundant count shall be borne by the
requesting party.

The log of the computer operator and all materials retained
by the election authority in relation to vote tabulation and
canvass shall be made available for any discovery recount or
election contest.
(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)
(10 ILCS 5/24C-1)
Sec. 24C-1. Purpose. The purpose of this Article is to
authorize the use of Direct Recording Electronic Voting Systems
approved by the State Board of Elections. In a Direct Recording
Electronic Voting System, voters cast votes by means of a
ballot display provided with mechanical or electro-optical
devices that can be activated by the voters to mark their
choices for the candidates of their preference and for or
against public questions. Such voting devices shall be capable
of instantaneously recording such votes, storing such votes,
producing a permanent paper record and tabulating such votes at
the precinct or at one or more counting stations. This Article
authorizes the use of Direct Recording Electronic Voting
Systems for in-precinct counting applications and for early
in-person absentee voting in the office of the election
authority and in the offices of local officials authorized by
the election authority to conduct such early absentee voting.
All other early absentee ballots must be counted at the office
of the election authority.
(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03.)

(10 ILCS 5/24C-6)
Sec. 24C-6. Ballot Information; Arrangement; Direct
Recording Electronic Voting System; Vote by Mail Absentee
Ballots; Spoiled Ballots. The ballot information, shall, as far
as practicable, be in the order of arrangement provided for
paper ballots, except that the information may be in vertical
or horizontal rows, or on a number of separate pages or display
screens.
Ballots for all public questions to be voted on should be
provided in a similar manner and must be arranged on the ballot
in the places provided for such purposes. All public questions,
including but not limited to public questions calling for a
constitutional convention, constitutional amendment, or
judicial retention, shall be placed on the ballot separate and
apart from candidates. Ballots for all public questions shall
be clearly designated by borders or different color screens.
More than one amendment to the constitution may be placed on
the same portion of the ballot sheet. Constitutional convention
or constitutional amendment propositions shall be placed on a
separate portion of the ballot and designated by borders or
unique color screens, unless otherwise provided by
administrative rule of the State Board of Elections. More than
one public question may be placed on the same portion of the
ballot. More than one proposition for retention of judges in
office may be placed on the same portion of the ballot.

The party affiliation, if any, of each candidate or the
word "independent", where applicable, shall appear near or
under the candidate's name, and the names of candidates for the
same office shall be listed vertically under the title of that
office. In the case of nonpartisan elections for officers of
political subdivisions, unless the statute or an ordinance
adopted pursuant to Article VII of the Constitution requires
otherwise, the listing of nonpartisan candidates shall not
include any party or "independent" designation. If no candidate
or candidates file for an office and if no person or persons
file a declaration as a write-in candidate for that office,
then below the title of that office the election authority
shall print "No Candidate". In primary elections, a separate
ballot shall be used for each political party holding a
primary, with the ballot arranged to include names of the
candidates of the party and public questions and other
propositions to be voted upon on the day of the primary
election.
If the ballot includes both candidates for office and
public questions or propositions to be voted on, the election
official in charge of the election shall divide the ballot in
sections for "Candidates" and "Public Questions", or separate
ballots may be used.
Any voter who spoils his or her ballot, makes an error, or
has a ballot rejected by the automatic tabulating equipment
shall be provided a means of correcting the ballot or obtaining

a new ballot prior to casting his or her ballot.
Any election authority using a Direct Recording Electronic
Voting System may use voting systems approved for use under
Articles 24A or 24B of this Code in conducting vote by mail or
early absentee voting in the office of the election authority
or voted by mail.
(Source: P.A. 95-862, eff. 8-19-08.)
(10 ILCS 5/24C-11)
Sec. 24C-11. Functional requirements. A Direct Recording
Electronic Voting System shall, in addition to satisfying the
other requirements of this Article, fulfill the following
functional requirements:
(a) Provide a voter in a primary election with the means of
casting a ballot containing votes for any and all candidates of
the party or parties of his or her choice, and for any and all
non-partisan candidates and public questions and preclude the
voter from voting for any candidate of any other political
party except when legally permitted. In a general election, the
system shall provide the voter with means of selecting the
appropriate number of candidates for any office, and of voting
on any public question on the ballot to which he or she is
entitled to vote.
(b) If a voter is not entitled to vote for particular
candidates or public questions appearing on the ballot, the
system shall prevent the selection of the prohibited votes.

(c) Once the proper ballot has been selected, the system
devices shall provide a means of enabling the recording of
votes and the casting of said ballot.
(d) System voting devices shall provide voting choices that
are clear to the voter and labels indicating the names of every
candidate and the text of every public question on the voter's
ballot. Each label shall identify the selection button or
switch, or the active area of the ballot associated with it.
The system shall be able to incorporate minimal, easy-to-follow
on-screen instruction for the voter on how to cast a ballot.
(e) Voting devices shall (i) enable the voter to vote for
any and all candidates and public questions appearing on the
ballot for which the voter is lawfully entitled to vote, in any
legal number and combination; (ii) detect and reject all votes
for an office or upon a public question when the voter has cast
more votes for the office or upon the public question than the
voter is entitled to cast; (iii) notify the voter if the
voter's choices as recorded on the ballot for an office or
public question are fewer than or exceed the number that the
voter is entitled to vote for on that office or public question
and the effect of casting more or fewer votes than legally
permitted; (iv) notify the voter if the voter has failed to
completely cast a vote for an office or public question
appearing on the ballot; and (v) permit the voter, in a private
and independent manner, to verify the votes selected by the
voter, to change the ballot or to correct any error on the

ballot before the ballot is completely cast and counted. A
means shall be provided to indicate each selection after it has
been made or canceled.
(f) System voting devices shall provide a means for the
voter to signify that the selection of candidates and public
questions has been completed. Upon activation, the system shall
record an image of the completed ballot, increment the proper
ballot position registers, and shall signify to the voter that
the ballot has been cast. The system shall then prevent any
further attempt to vote until it has been reset or re-enabled
by a judge of election.
(g) Each system voting device shall be equipped with a
public counter that can be set to zero prior to the opening of
the polling place, and that records the number of ballots cast
at a particular election. The counter shall be incremented only
by the casting of a ballot. The counter shall be designed to
prevent disabling or resetting by other than authorized persons
after the polls close. The counter shall be visible to all
judges of election so long as the device is installed at the
polling place.
(h) Each system voting device shall be equipped with a
protective counter that records all of the testing and election
ballots cast since the unit was built. This counter shall be
designed so that its reading cannot be changed by any cause
other than the casting of a ballot. The protective counter
shall be incapable of ever being reset and it shall be visible

at all times when the device is configured for testing,
maintenance, or election use.
(i) All system devices shall provide a means of preventing
further voting once the polling place has closed and after all
eligible voters have voted. Such means of control shall
incorporate a visible indication of system status. Each device
shall prevent any unauthorized use, prevent tampering with
ballot labels and preclude its re-opening once the poll closing
has been completed for that election.
(j) The system shall produce a printed summary report of
the votes cast upon each voting device. Until the proper
sequence of events associated with closing the polling place
has been completed, the system shall not allow the printing of
a report or the extraction of data. The printed report shall
also contain all system audit information to be required by the
election authority. Data shall not be altered or otherwise
destroyed by report generation and the system shall ensure the
integrity and security of data for a period of at least 6
months after the polls close.
(k) If more than one voting device is used in a polling
place, the system shall provide a means to manually or
electronically consolidate the data from all such units into a
single report even if different voting systems are used to
record absentee ballots. The system shall also be capable of
merging the vote tabulation results produced by other vote
tabulation systems, if necessary.

(l) System functions shall be implemented such that
unauthorized access to them is prevented and the execution of
authorized functions in an improper sequence is precluded.
System functions shall be executable only in the intended
manner and order, and only under the intended conditions. If
the preconditions to a system function have not been met, the
function shall be precluded from executing by the system's
control logic.
(m) All system voting devices shall incorporate at least 3
memories in the machine itself and in its programmable memory
devices.
(n) The system shall include capabilities of recording and
reporting the date and time of normal and abnormal events and
of maintaining a permanent record of audit information that
cannot be turned off. Provisions shall be made to detect and
record significant events (e.g., casting a ballot, error
conditions that cannot be disposed of by the system itself,
time-dependent or programmed events that occur without the
intervention of the voter or a judge of election).
(o) The system and each system voting device must be
capable of creating, printing and maintaining a permanent paper
record and an electronic image of each ballot that is cast such
that records of individual ballots are maintained by a
subsystem independent and distinct from the main vote
detection, interpretation, processing and reporting path. The
electronic images of each ballot must protect the integrity of

the data and the anonymity of each voter, for example, by means
of storage location scrambling. The ballot image records may be
either machine-readable or manually transcribed, or both, at
the discretion of the election authority.
(p) The system shall include built-in test, measurement and
diagnostic software and hardware for detecting and reporting
the system's status and degree of operability.
(q) The system shall contain provisions for maintaining the
integrity of memory voting and audit data during an election
and for a period of at least 6 months thereafter and shall
provide the means for creating an audit trail.
(r) The system shall be fully accessible so as to permit
blind or visually impaired voters as well as physically
disabled voters to exercise their right to vote in private and
without assistance.
(s) The system shall provide alternative language
accessibility if required pursuant to Section 203 of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965.
(t) Each voting device shall enable a voter to vote for a
person whose name does not appear on the ballot.
(u) The system shall record and count accurately each vote
properly cast for or against any candidate and for or against
any public question, including the names of all candidates
whose names are written in by the voters.
(v) The system shall allow for accepting provisional
ballots and for separating such provisional ballots from

precinct totals until authorized by the election authority.
(w) The system shall provide an effective audit trail as
defined in Section 24C-2 in this Code.
(x) The system shall be suitably designed for the purpose
used, be durably constructed, and be designed for safety,
accuracy and efficiency.
(y) The system shall comply with all provisions of federal,
State and local election laws and regulations and any future
modifications to those laws and regulations.
(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)
(10 ILCS 5/24C-13)
Sec. 24C-13. Vote by Mail Absentee ballots; Early voting
ballots; Proceedings at Location for Central Counting;
Employees; Approval of List.
(a) All jurisdictions using Direct Recording Electronic
Voting Systems shall use paper ballots or paper ballot sheets
approved for use under Articles 16, 24A or 24B of this Code
when conducting vote by mail absentee voting except that Direct
Recording Electronic Voting Systems may be used for in-person
absentee voting conducted pursuant to Section 19-2.1 of this
Code. All vote by mail absentee ballots shall be counted at the
central ballot counting location of the election authority. The
provisions of Section 24A-9, 24B-9 and 24C-9 of this Code shall
apply to the testing and notice requirements for central count
tabulation equipment, including comparing the signature on the

ballot envelope with the signature of the voter on the
permanent voter registration record card taken from the master
file. Vote results shall be recorded by precinct and shall be
added to the vote results for the precinct in which the vote by
mail absent voter was eligible to vote prior to completion of
the official canvass.
(b) All proceedings at the location for central counting
shall be under the direction of the county clerk or board of
election commissioners. Except for any specially trained
technicians required for the operation of the Direct Recording
Electronic Voting System, the employees at the counting station
shall be equally divided between members of the 2 leading
political parties and all duties performed by the employees
shall be by teams consisting of an equal number of members of
each political party. Thirty days before an election the county
clerk or board of election commissioners shall submit to the
chairman of each political party, for his or her approval or
disapproval, a list of persons of his or her party proposed to
be employed. If a chairman fails to notify the election
authority of his or her disapproval of any proposed employee
within a period of 10 days thereafter the list shall be deemed
approved.
(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 94-645, eff. 8-22-05;
94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
(10 ILCS 5/24C-15)

Sec. 24C-15. Official Return of Precinct; Check of Totals;
Audit. The precinct return printed by the Direct Recording
Electronic Voting System tabulating equipment shall include
the number of ballots cast and votes cast for each candidate
and public question and shall constitute the official return of
each precinct. In addition to the precinct return, the election
authority shall provide the number of applications for ballots
in each precinct, the total number of ballots and vote by mail
absentee ballots counted in each precinct for each political
subdivision and district and the number of registered voters in
each precinct. However, the election authority shall check the
totals shown by the precinct return and, if there is an obvious
discrepancy regarding the total number of votes cast in any
precinct, shall have the ballots for that precinct audited to
correct the return. The procedures for this audit shall apply
prior to and after the proclamation is completed; however,
after the proclamation of results, the election authority must
obtain a court order to unseal voted ballots or voting devices
except for election contests and discovery recounts. The
certificate of results, which has been prepared and signed by
the judges of election after the ballots have been tabulated,
shall be the document used for the canvass of votes for such
precinct. Whenever a discrepancy exists during the canvass of
votes between the unofficial results and the certificate of
results, or whenever a discrepancy exists during the canvass of
votes between the certificate of results and the set of totals

reflected on the certificate of results, the ballots for that
precinct shall be audited to correct the return.
Prior to the proclamation, the election authority shall
test the voting devices and equipment in 5% of the precincts
within the election jurisdiction, as well as 5% of the voting
devices used in early voting. The precincts and the voting
devices to be tested shall be selected after election day on a
random basis by the State Board of Elections, so that every
precinct and every device used in early voting in the election
jurisdiction has an equal mathematical chance of being
selected. The State Board of Elections shall design a standard
and scientific random method of selecting the precincts and
voting devices that are to be tested. The State central
committee chairman of each established political party shall be
given prior written notice of the time and place of the random
selection procedure and may be represented at the procedure.
The test shall be conducted by counting the votes marked on
the permanent paper record of each ballot cast in the tested
precinct printed by the voting system at the time that each
ballot was cast and comparing the results of this count with
the results shown by the certificate of results prepared by the
Direct Recording Electronic Voting System in the test precinct.
The election authority shall test count these votes either by
hand or by using an automatic tabulating device other than a
Direct Recording Electronic voting device that has been
approved by the State Board of Elections for that purpose and

tested before use to ensure accuracy. The election authority
shall print the results of each test count. If any error is
detected, the cause shall be determined and corrected, and an
errorless count shall be made prior to the official canvass and
proclamation of election results. If an errorless count cannot
be conducted and there continues to be difference in vote
results between the certificate of results produced by the
Direct Recording Electronic Voting System and the count of the
permanent paper records or if an error was detected and
corrected, the election authority shall immediately prepare
and forward to the appropriate canvassing board a written
report explaining the results of the test and any errors
encountered and the report shall be made available for public
inspection.
The State Board of Elections, the State's Attorney and
other appropriate law enforcement agencies, the county
chairman of each established political party and qualified
civic organizations shall be given prior written notice of the
time and place of the test and may be represented at the test.
The results of this post-election test shall be treated in
the same manner and have the same effect as the results of the
discovery procedures set forth in Section 22-9.1 of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/25-7) (from Ch. 46, par. 25-7)
Sec. 25-7. (a) When any vacancy shall occur in the office

of representative in congress from this state more than 180
days before the next general election, the Governor shall issue
a writ of election within 5 days after the occurrence of that
vacancy to the county clerks of the several counties in the
district where the vacancy exists, appointing a day within 115
days of issuance of the writ to hold a special election to fill
such vacancy.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section or any
other law to the contrary, a special election to fill a vacancy
in the office of representative in congress occurring less than
60 days following the 2012 general election shall be held as
provided in this subsection (b). A special primary election
shall be held on February 26, 2013, and a special election
shall be held on April 9, 2013.
Except as provided in this subsection (b), the provisions
of Article 7 of this Code are applicable to petitions for the
special primary election and special election. Petitions for
nomination in accordance with Article 7 shall be filed in the
principal office of the State Board of Elections not more than
54 and not less than 50 days prior to the date of the special
primary election, excluding Saturday and Sunday. Petitions for
the nomination of independent candidates and candidates of new
political parties shall be filed in the principal office of the
State Board of Elections not more than 68 and not less than 64
days prior to the date of the special election, excluding
Saturday and Sunday.

Except as provided in this subsection, the State Board of
Elections shall have authority to establish, in conjunction
with the impacted election authorities, an election calendar
for the special election and special primary.
If an election authority is unable to have a sufficient
number of ballots printed so that ballots will be available for
mailing at least 46 days prior to the special primary election
or special election to persons who have filed an application
for a ballot under the provisions of Article 20 of this Code,
the election authority shall, no later than 45 days prior to
each election, mail to each of those persons a Special Write-in
Vote by Mail Absentee Voter's Blank Ballot in accordance with
Section 16-5.01 of this Code. The election authority shall
advise those persons that the names of candidates to be
nominated or elected shall be available on the election
authority's website and shall provide a phone number the person
may call to request the names of the candidates for nomination
or election.
(Source: P.A. 97-1134, eff. 12-3-12.)
(10 ILCS 5/28-9) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-9)
Sec. 28-9. Petitions for proposed amendments to Article IV
of the Constitution pursuant to Section 3, Article XIV of the
Constitution shall be signed by a number of electors equal in
number to at least 8% of the total votes cast for candidates
for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election. Such

petition shall have been signed by the petitioning electors not
more than 24 months preceding the general election at which the
proposed amendment is to be submitted and shall be filed with
the Secretary of State at least 6 months before that general
election.
Upon receipt of a petition for a proposed Constitutional
amendment, the Secretary of State shall, as soon as is
practicable, but no later than the close of the next business
day, deliver such petition to the State Board of Elections.
Petitions for advisory questions of public policy to be
submitted to the voters of the entire State shall be signed by
a number of voters equal in number to 8% of the total votes
cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial
election. Such petition shall have been signed by said
petitioners not more than 24 months preceding the date of the
general election at which the question is to be submitted and
shall be filed with the State Board of Elections at least 6
months before that general election.
The proponents of the proposed statewide advisory public
question shall file the original petition in bound election
jurisdiction sections. Each section shall be composed of
consecutively numbered petition sheets containing only the
signatures of registered voters of a single election
jurisdiction and, at the top of each petition sheet, the name
of the election jurisdiction shall be typed or printed in block
letters; provided that, if the name of the election

jurisdiction is not so printed, the election jurisdiction of
the circulator of that petition sheet shall be controlling with
respect to the signatures on that sheet. Any petition sheets
not consecutively numbered or which contain duplicate page
numbers already used on other sheets, or are photocopies or
duplicates of the original sheets, shall not be considered part
of the petition for the purpose of the random sampling
verification and shall not be counted toward the minimum number
of signatures required to qualify the proposed statewide
advisory public question for the ballot.
Within 7 business days following the last day for filing
the original petition, the proponents shall also file copies of
the sectioned election jurisdiction petition sheets with each
proper election authority and obtain a receipt therefor.
For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be
defined and construed as follows:
1. "Board" means the State Board of Elections.
2. "Election Authority" means a county clerk or city or
county board of election commissioners.
3. (Blank). "Election Jurisdiction" means (a) an entire
county, in the case of a county in which no city board of
election commissioners is located or which is under the
jurisdiction of a county board of election commissioners; (b)
the territorial jurisdiction of a city board of election
commissioners; and (c) the territory in a county outside of the
jurisdiction of a city board of election commissioners. In each

instance election jurisdiction shall be determined according
to which election authority maintains the permanent
registration records of qualified electors.
4. "Proponents" means any person, association, committee,
organization or other group, or their designated
representatives, who advocate and cause the circulation and
filing of petitions for a statewide advisory question of public
policy or a proposed constitutional amendment for submission at
a general election and who has registered with the Board as
provided in this Act.
5. "Opponents" means any person, association, committee,
organization or other group, or their designated
representatives, who oppose a statewide advisory question of
public policy or a proposed constitutional amendment for
submission at a general election and who have registered with
the Board as provided in this Act.
(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/29-5) (from Ch. 46, par. 29-5)
Sec. 29-5. Voting more than once. Any person who, having
voted once, knowingly on the same election day where the ballot
or machine lists any of the same candidates and issues listed
on the ballot or machine previously used for voting by that
person, (a) files an application to vote in the same or another
polling place, or (b) accepts a ballot or enters a voting
machine (except to legally give assistance pursuant to the

provisions of this Code), shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony;
however, if a person has delivered a ballot or ballots to an
election authority as a vote by mail an absentee voter and due
to a change of circumstances is able to and does vote in the
precinct of his residence on election day, shall not be deemed
to be in violation of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 83-755.)
(10 ILCS 5/29-20) (from Ch. 46, par. 29-20)
Sec. 29-20. Vote by Mail Absentee ballots - violations. A
person is guilty of a Class 3 felony who knowingly:
(1) Solicits another person, knowing that the person is
not legally qualified to vote as a vote by mail an absent
voter, to apply for a vote by mail an absentee ballot;
(2) Solicits another person, knowing that the person is
not legally qualified to vote as a vote by mail an absent
voter, to cast a ballot as a vote by mail an absent voter;
(3) Intimidates or unduly influences another person to
cast a vote by mail an absentee ballot in a manner
inconsistent with the voter's intent; or
(4) Marks or tampers with a vote by mail an absentee
ballot of another person or takes a vote by mail an
absentee ballot of another person in violation of Section
19-6 so that an opportunity for fraudulent marking or
tampering is created.
(Source: P.A. 89-653, eff. 8-14-96.)

(10 ILCS 5/19-2.1 rep.)
(10 ILCS 5/19-2.2 rep.)
(10 ILCS 5/28-10 rep.)
Section 10. The Election Code is amended by repealing
Sections 19-2.1, 19-2.2, and 28-10.
Section 15. The Illinois Identification Card Act is amended
by changing Section 11 as follows:
(15 ILCS 335/11) (from Ch. 124, par. 31)
Sec. 11. The Secretary may make a search of his records and
furnish information as to whether a person has a current
Standard Illinois Identification Card or an Illinois Person
with a Disability Identification Card then on file, upon
receipt of a written application therefor accompanied with the
prescribed fee. However, the Secretary may not disclose medical
information concerning an individual to any person, public
agency, private agency, corporation or governmental body
unless the individual has submitted a written request for the
information or unless the individual has given prior written
consent for the release of the information to a specific person
or entity. This exception shall not apply to: (1) offices and
employees of the Secretary who have a need to know the medical
information in performance of their official duties, or (2)
orders of a court of competent jurisdiction. When medical

information is disclosed by the Secretary in accordance with
the provisions of this Section, no liability shall rest with
the Office of the Secretary of State as the information is
released for informational purposes only.
The Secretary may release personally identifying
information or highly restricted personal information only to:
(1) officers and employees of the Secretary who have a
need to know that information;
(2) other governmental agencies for use in their
official governmental functions;
(3) law enforcement agencies that need the information
for a criminal or civil investigation;
(3-5) the State Board of Elections for the sole purpose
of providing the signatures required by a local election
authority to register a voter through an online voter
registration system or as may be required by an agreement
the State Board of Elections has entered into with a
multi-state voter registration list maintenance system; or
(4) any entity that the Secretary has authorized, by
rule, to receive this information.
The Secretary may not disclose an individual's social
security number or any associated information obtained from the
Social Security Administration without the written request or
consent of the individual except: (i) to officers and employees
of the Secretary who have a need to know the social security
number in the performance of their official duties; (ii) to law

enforcement officials for a lawful civil or criminal law
enforcement investigation if the head of the law enforcement
agency has made a written request to the Secretary specifying
the law enforcement investigation for which the social security
number is being sought; (iii) under a lawful court order signed
by a judge; or (iv) to the Illinois Department of Veterans'
Affairs for the purpose of confirming veteran status.
(Source: P.A. 97-739, eff. 1-1-13; 97-1064, eff. 1-1-13;
98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-463, eff. 8-16-13.)
Section 20. The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended by
changing Section 4.02 as follows:
(20 ILCS 105/4.02) (from Ch. 23, par. 6104.02)
Sec. 4.02. Community Care Program. The Department shall
establish a program of services to prevent unnecessary
institutionalization of persons age 60 and older in need of
long term care or who are established as persons who suffer
from Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder under the
Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Act, thereby enabling them to
remain in their own homes or in other living arrangements. Such
preventive services, which may be coordinated with other
programs for the aged and monitored by area agencies on aging
in cooperation with the Department, may include, but are not
limited to, any or all of the following:
(a) (blank);

(b) (blank);
(c) home care aide services;
(d) personal assistant services;
(e) adult day services;
(f) home-delivered meals;
(g) education in self-care;
(h) personal care services;
(i) adult day health services;
(j) habilitation services;
(k) respite care;
(k-5) community reintegration services;
(k-6) flexible senior services;
(k-7) medication management;
(k-8) emergency home response;
(l) other nonmedical social services that may enable
the person to become self-supporting; or
(m) clearinghouse for information provided by senior
citizen home owners who want to rent rooms to or share
living space with other senior citizens.
The Department shall establish eligibility standards for
such services. In determining the amount and nature of services
for which a person may qualify, consideration shall not be
given to the value of cash, property or other assets held in
the name of the person's spouse pursuant to a written agreement
dividing marital property into equal but separate shares or
pursuant to a transfer of the person's interest in a home to

his spouse, provided that the spouse's share of the marital
property is not made available to the person seeking such
services.
Beginning January 1, 2008, the Department shall require as
a condition of eligibility that all new financially eligible
applicants apply for and enroll in medical assistance under
Article V of the Illinois Public Aid Code in accordance with
rules promulgated by the Department.
The Department shall, in conjunction with the Department of
Public Aid (now Department of Healthcare and Family Services),
seek appropriate amendments under Sections 1915 and 1924 of the
Social Security Act. The purpose of the amendments shall be to
extend eligibility for home and community based services under
Sections 1915 and 1924 of the Social Security Act to persons
who transfer to or for the benefit of a spouse those amounts of
income and resources allowed under Section 1924 of the Social
Security Act. Subject to the approval of such amendments, the
Department shall extend the provisions of Section 5-4 of the
Illinois Public Aid Code to persons who, but for the provision
of home or community-based services, would require the level of
care provided in an institution, as is provided for in federal
law. Those persons no longer found to be eligible for receiving
noninstitutional services due to changes in the eligibility
criteria shall be given 45 days notice prior to actual
termination. Those persons receiving notice of termination may
contact the Department and request the determination be

appealed at any time during the 45 day notice period. The
target population identified for the purposes of this Section
are persons age 60 and older with an identified service need.
Priority shall be given to those who are at imminent risk of
institutionalization. The services shall be provided to
eligible persons age 60 and older to the extent that the cost
of the services together with the other personal maintenance
expenses of the persons are reasonably related to the standards
established for care in a group facility appropriate to the
person's condition. These non-institutional services, pilot
projects or experimental facilities may be provided as part of
or in addition to those authorized by federal law or those
funded and administered by the Department of Human Services.
The Departments of Human Services, Healthcare and Family
Services, Public Health, Veterans' Affairs, and Commerce and
Economic Opportunity and other appropriate agencies of State,
federal and local governments shall cooperate with the
Department on Aging in the establishment and development of the
non-institutional services. The Department shall require an
annual audit from all personal assistant and home care aide
vendors contracting with the Department under this Section. The
annual audit shall assure that each audited vendor's procedures
are in compliance with Department's financial reporting
guidelines requiring an administrative and employee wage and
benefits cost split as defined in administrative rules. The
audit is a public record under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Department shall execute, relative to the nursing home
prescreening project, written inter-agency agreements with the
Department of Human Services and the Department of Healthcare
and Family Services, to effect the following: (1) intake
procedures and common eligibility criteria for those persons
who are receiving non-institutional services; and (2) the
establishment and development of non-institutional services in
areas of the State where they are not currently available or
are undeveloped. On and after July 1, 1996, all nursing home
prescreenings for individuals 60 years of age or older shall be
conducted by the Department.
As part of the Department on Aging's routine training of
case managers and case manager supervisors, the Department may
include information on family futures planning for persons who
are age 60 or older and who are caregivers of their adult
children with developmental disabilities. The content of the
training shall be at the Department's discretion.
The Department is authorized to establish a system of
recipient copayment for services provided under this Section,
such copayment to be based upon the recipient's ability to pay
but in no case to exceed the actual cost of the services
provided. Additionally, any portion of a person's income which
is equal to or less than the federal poverty standard shall not
be considered by the Department in determining the copayment.
The level of such copayment shall be adjusted whenever
necessary to reflect any change in the officially designated

federal poverty standard.
The Department, or the Department's authorized
representative, may recover the amount of moneys expended for
services provided to or in behalf of a person under this
Section by a claim against the person's estate or against the
estate of the person's surviving spouse, but no recovery may be
had until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any, and
then only at such time when there is no surviving child who is
under age 21, blind, or permanently and totally disabled. This
paragraph, however, shall not bar recovery, at the death of the
person, of moneys for services provided to the person or in
behalf of the person under this Section to which the person was
not entitled; provided that such recovery shall not be enforced
against any real estate while it is occupied as a homestead by
the surviving spouse or other dependent, if no claims by other
creditors have been filed against the estate, or, if such
claims have been filed, they remain dormant for failure of
prosecution or failure of the claimant to compel administration
of the estate for the purpose of payment. This paragraph shall
not bar recovery from the estate of a spouse, under Sections
1915 and 1924 of the Social Security Act and Section 5-4 of the
Illinois Public Aid Code, who precedes a person receiving
services under this Section in death. All moneys for services
paid to or in behalf of the person under this Section shall be
claimed for recovery from the deceased spouse's estate.
"Homestead", as used in this paragraph, means the dwelling

house and contiguous real estate occupied by a surviving spouse
or relative, as defined by the rules and regulations of the
Department of Healthcare and Family Services, regardless of the
value of the property.
The Department shall increase the effectiveness of the
existing Community Care Program by:
(1) ensuring that in-home services included in the care
plan are available on evenings and weekends;
(2) ensuring that care plans contain the services that
eligible participants need based on the number of days in a
month, not limited to specific blocks of time, as
identified by the comprehensive assessment tool selected
by the Department for use statewide, not to exceed the
total monthly service cost maximum allowed for each
service; the Department shall develop administrative rules
to implement this item (2);
(3) ensuring that the participants have the right to
choose the services contained in their care plan and to
direct how those services are provided, based on
administrative rules established by the Department;
(4) ensuring that the determination of need tool is
accurate in determining the participants' level of need; to
achieve this, the Department, in conjunction with the Older
Adult Services Advisory Committee, shall institute a study
of the relationship between the Determination of Need
scores, level of need, service cost maximums, and the

development and utilization of service plans no later than
May 1, 2008; findings and recommendations shall be
presented to the Governor and the General Assembly no later
than January 1, 2009; recommendations shall include all
needed changes to the service cost maximums schedule and
additional covered services;
(5) ensuring that homemakers can provide personal care
services that may or may not involve contact with clients,
including but not limited to:
(A) bathing;
(B) grooming;
(C) toileting;
(D) nail care;
(E) transferring;
(F) respiratory services;
(G) exercise; or
(H) positioning;
(6) ensuring that homemaker program vendors are not
restricted from hiring homemakers who are family members of
clients or recommended by clients; the Department may not,
by rule or policy, require homemakers who are family
members of clients or recommended by clients to accept
assignments in homes other than the client;
(7) ensuring that the State may access maximum federal
matching funds by seeking approval for the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services for modifications to the

State's home and community based services waiver and
additional waiver opportunities, including applying for
enrollment in the Balance Incentive Payment Program by May
1, 2013, in order to maximize federal matching funds; this
shall include, but not be limited to, modification that
reflects all changes in the Community Care Program services
and all increases in the services cost maximum;
(8) ensuring that the determination of need tool
accurately reflects the service needs of individuals with
Alzheimer's disease and related dementia disorders;
(9) ensuring that services are authorized accurately
and consistently for the Community Care Program (CCP); the
Department shall implement a Service Authorization policy
directive; the purpose shall be to ensure that eligibility
and services are authorized accurately and consistently in
the CCP program; the policy directive shall clarify service
authorization guidelines to Care Coordination Units and
Community Care Program providers no later than May 1, 2013;
(10) working in conjunction with Care Coordination
Units, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services,
the Department of Human Services, Community Care Program
providers, and other stakeholders to make improvements to
the Medicaid claiming processes and the Medicaid
enrollment procedures or requirements as needed,
including, but not limited to, specific policy changes or
rules to improve the up-front enrollment of participants in

the Medicaid program and specific policy changes or rules
to insure more prompt submission of bills to the federal
government to secure maximum federal matching dollars as
promptly as possible; the Department on Aging shall have at
least 3 meetings with stakeholders by January 1, 2014 in
order to address these improvements;
(11) requiring home care service providers to comply
with the rounding of hours worked provisions under the
federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and as set forth in
29 CFR 785.48(b) by May 1, 2013;
(12) implementing any necessary policy changes or
promulgating any rules, no later than January 1, 2014, to
assist the Department of Healthcare and Family Services in
moving as many participants as possible, consistent with
federal regulations, into coordinated care plans if a care
coordination plan that covers long term care is available
in the recipient's area; and
(13) maintaining fiscal year 2014 rates at the same
level established on January 1, 2013.
By January 1, 2009 or as soon after the end of the Cash and
Counseling Demonstration Project as is practicable, the
Department may, based on its evaluation of the demonstration
project, promulgate rules concerning personal assistant
services, to include, but need not be limited to,
qualifications, employment screening, rights under fair labor
standards, training, fiduciary agent, and supervision

requirements. All applicants shall be subject to the provisions
of the Health Care Worker Background Check Act.
The Department shall develop procedures to enhance
availability of services on evenings, weekends, and on an
emergency basis to meet the respite needs of caregivers.
Procedures shall be developed to permit the utilization of
services in successive blocks of 24 hours up to the monthly
maximum established by the Department. Workers providing these
services shall be appropriately trained.
Beginning on the effective date of this Amendatory Act of
1991, no person may perform chore/housekeeping and home care
aide services under a program authorized by this Section unless
that person has been issued a certificate of pre-service to do
so by his or her employing agency. Information gathered to
effect such certification shall include (i) the person's name,
(ii) the date the person was hired by his or her current
employer, and (iii) the training, including dates and levels.
Persons engaged in the program authorized by this Section
before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991 shall
be issued a certificate of all pre- and in-service training
from his or her employer upon submitting the necessary
information. The employing agency shall be required to retain
records of all staff pre- and in-service training, and shall
provide such records to the Department upon request and upon
termination of the employer's contract with the Department. In
addition, the employing agency is responsible for the issuance

of certifications of in-service training completed to their
employees.
The Department is required to develop a system to ensure
that persons working as home care aides and personal assistants
receive increases in their wages when the federal minimum wage
is increased by requiring vendors to certify that they are
meeting the federal minimum wage statute for home care aides
and personal assistants. An employer that cannot ensure that
the minimum wage increase is being given to home care aides and
personal assistants shall be denied any increase in
reimbursement costs.
The Community Care Program Advisory Committee is created in
the Department on Aging. The Director shall appoint individuals
to serve in the Committee, who shall serve at their own
expense. Members of the Committee must abide by all applicable
ethics laws. The Committee shall advise the Department on
issues related to the Department's program of services to
prevent unnecessary institutionalization. The Committee shall
meet on a bi-monthly basis and shall serve to identify and
advise the Department on present and potential issues affecting
the service delivery network, the program's clients, and the
Department and to recommend solution strategies. Persons
appointed to the Committee shall be appointed on, but not
limited to, their own and their agency's experience with the
program, geographic representation, and willingness to serve.
The Director shall appoint members to the Committee to

represent provider, advocacy, policy research, and other
constituencies committed to the delivery of high quality home
and community-based services to older adults. Representatives
shall be appointed to ensure representation from community care
providers including, but not limited to, adult day service
providers, homemaker providers, case coordination and case
management units, emergency home response providers, statewide
trade or labor unions that represent home care aides and direct
care staff, area agencies on aging, adults over age 60,
membership organizations representing older adults, and other
organizational entities, providers of care, or individuals
with demonstrated interest and expertise in the field of home
and community care as determined by the Director.
Nominations may be presented from any agency or State
association with interest in the program. The Director, or his
or her designee, shall serve as the permanent co-chair of the
advisory committee. One other co-chair shall be nominated and
approved by the members of the committee on an annual basis.
Committee members' terms of appointment shall be for 4 years
with one-quarter of the appointees' terms expiring each year. A
member shall continue to serve until his or her replacement is
named. The Department shall fill vacancies that have a
remaining term of over one year, and this replacement shall
occur through the annual replacement of expiring terms. The
Director shall designate Department staff to provide technical
assistance and staff support to the committee. Department

representation shall not constitute membership of the
committee. All Committee papers, issues, recommendations,
reports, and meeting memoranda are advisory only. The Director,
or his or her designee, shall make a written report, as
requested by the Committee, regarding issues before the
Committee.
The Department on Aging and the Department of Human
Services shall cooperate in the development and submission of
an annual report on programs and services provided under this
Section. Such joint report shall be filed with the Governor and
the General Assembly on or before September 30 each year.
The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall
be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker,
the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as
required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
Act and filing such additional copies with the State Government
Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is
required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library
Act.
Those persons previously found eligible for receiving
non-institutional services whose services were discontinued
under the Emergency Budget Act of Fiscal Year 1992, and who do
not meet the eligibility standards in effect on or after July
1, 1992, shall remain ineligible on and after July 1, 1992.

Those persons previously not required to cost-share and who
were required to cost-share effective March 1, 1992, shall
continue to meet cost-share requirements on and after July 1,
1992. Beginning July 1, 1992, all clients will be required to
meet eligibility, cost-share, and other requirements and will
have services discontinued or altered when they fail to meet
these requirements.
For the purposes of this Section, "flexible senior
services" refers to services that require one-time or periodic
expenditures including, but not limited to, respite care, home
modification, assistive technology, housing assistance, and
transportation.
The Department shall implement an electronic service
verification based on global positioning systems or other
cost-effective technology for the Community Care Program no
later than January 1, 2014.
The Department shall require, as a condition of
eligibility, enrollment in the medical assistance program
under Article V of the Illinois Public Aid Code (i) beginning
August 1, 2013, if the Auditor General has reported that the
Department has failed to comply with the reporting requirements
of Section 2-27 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; or (ii)
beginning June 1, 2014, if the Auditor General has reported
that the Department has not undertaken the required actions
listed in the report required by subsection (a) of Section 2-27
of the Illinois State Auditing Act.

The Department shall delay Community Care Program services
until an applicant is determined eligible for medical
assistance under Article V of the Illinois Public Aid Code (i)
beginning August 1, 2013, if the Auditor General has reported
that the Department has failed to comply with the reporting
requirements of Section 2-27 of the Illinois State Auditing
Act; or (ii) beginning June 1, 2014, if the Auditor General has
reported that the Department has not undertaken the required
actions listed in the report required by subsection (a) of
Section 2-27 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.
The Department shall implement co-payments for the
Community Care Program at the federally allowable maximum level
(i) beginning August 1, 2013, if the Auditor General has
reported that the Department has failed to comply with the
reporting requirements of Section 2-27 of the Illinois State
Auditing Act; or (ii) beginning June 1, 2014, if the Auditor
General has reported that the Department has not undertaken the
required actions listed in the report required by subsection
(a) of Section 2-27 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.
The Department shall provide a bi-monthly report on the
progress of the Community Care Program reforms set forth in
this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly to the
Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the President
of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the Senate.
The Department shall conduct a quarterly review of Care

Coordination Unit performance and adherence to service
guidelines. The quarterly review shall be reported to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of
the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and
the Minority Leader of the Senate. The Department shall collect
and report longitudinal data on the performance of each care
coordination unit. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed
to require the Department to identify specific care
coordination units.
In regard to community care providers, failure to comply
with Department on Aging policies shall be cause for
disciplinary action, including, but not limited to,
disqualification from serving Community Care Program clients.
Each provider, upon submission of any bill or invoice to the
Department for payment for services rendered, shall include a
notarized statement, under penalty of perjury pursuant to
Section 1-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure, that the provider
has complied with all Department policies.
The Director of the Department on Aging shall make
information available to the State Board of Elections as may be
required by an agreement the State Board of Elections has
entered into with a multi-state voter registration list
maintenance system.
(Source: P.A. 97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 98-8, eff. 5-3-13.)
Section 25. The Revised Cities and Villages Act of 1941 is

amended by changing Section 21-28 as follows:
(65 ILCS 20/21-28) (from Ch. 24, par. 21-28)
Sec. 21-28. Nomination by petition.
(a) All nominations for alderman of any ward in the city
shall be by petition. Each petition for nomination of a
candidate shall be signed by at least 473 legal voters of the
ward. All petitions for nominations of candidates shall be
signed by such a number of legal voters of the ward as will
aggregate not less than 4% of all the votes cast for alderman
in such ward at the last preceding general election. For the
election following the redistricting of wards petitions for
nominations of candidates shall be signed by the number of
legal voters of the ward as will aggregate not less than 4% of
the total number of votes cast for mayor at the last preceding
municipal election divided by the number of wards.
(b) All nominations for mayor, city clerk, and city
treasurer in the city shall be by petition. Each petition for
nomination of a candidate must be signed by at least 12,500
legal voters of the city.
(c) All such petitions, and procedure with respect thereto,
shall conform in other respects to the provisions of the
election and ballot laws then in force in the city of Chicago
concerning the nomination of independent candidates for public
office by petition. The method of nomination herein provided is
exclusive of and replaces all other methods heretofore provided

by law.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)
Section 30. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
adding Section 1-12 as follows:
(305 ILCS 5/1-12 new)
Sec. 1-12. Providing information to the State Board of
Elections. The Secretary of the Department of Human Services
and the Director of the Department of Healthcare and Family
Services shall make information available, except where
prohibited by federal law or regulation, to the State Board of
Elections as may be required by an agreement the State Board of
Elections has entered into with a multi-state voter
registration list maintenance system.
Section 35. The Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons
Property Tax Relief Act is amended by changing Section 8a as
follows:
(320 ILCS 25/8a) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 408.1)
Sec. 8a. Confidentiality.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, all
information received by the Department of Revenue or its
successors, the Department on Aging and the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services, from claims filed under this

Act, or from any investigation conducted under the provisions
of this Act, shall be confidential, except for official
purposes within those Departments or pursuant to official
procedures for collection of any State tax or enforcement of
any civil or criminal penalty or sanction imposed by this Act
or by any statute imposing a State tax, and any person who
divulges any such information in any manner, except for such
purposes and pursuant to order of the Director of one of those
Departments or in accordance with a proper judicial order,
shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(b) Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the
Director of Aging from publishing or making available
reasonable statistics concerning the operation of the grant
programs contained in this Act wherein the contents of claims
are grouped into aggregates in such a way that information
contained in any individual claim shall not be disclosed.
(c) The Department on Aging shall furnish to the Secretary
of State such information as is reasonably necessary for the
administration of reduced vehicle registration fees pursuant
to Section 3-806.3 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code".
(d) The Director of the Department on Aging shall make
information available to the State Board of Elections as may be
required by an agreement the State Board of Elections has
entered into with a multi-state voter registration list
maintenance system.
(Source: P.A. 96-804, eff. 1-1-10.)

Section 40. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by
changing Section 1900 as follows:
(820 ILCS 405/1900) (from Ch. 48, par. 640)
Sec. 1900. Disclosure of information.
A. Except as provided in this Section, information obtained
from any individual or employing unit during the administration
of this Act shall:
1. be confidential,
2. not be published or open to public inspection,
3. not be used in any court in any pending action or
proceeding,
4. not be admissible in evidence in any action or
proceeding other than one arising out of this Act.
B. No finding, determination, decision, ruling or order
(including any finding of fact, statement or conclusion made
therein) issued pursuant to this Act shall be admissible or
used in evidence in any action other than one arising out of
this Act, nor shall it be binding or conclusive except as
provided in this Act, nor shall it constitute res judicata,
regardless of whether the actions were between the same or
related parties or involved the same facts.
C. Any officer or employee of this State, any officer or
employee of any entity authorized to obtain information
pursuant to this Section, and any agent of this State or of

such entity who, except with authority of the Director under
this Section, shall disclose information shall be guilty of a
Class B misdemeanor and shall be disqualified from holding any
appointment or employment by the State.
D. An individual or his duly authorized agent may be
supplied with information from records only to the extent
necessary for the proper presentation of his claim for benefits
or with his existing or prospective rights to benefits.
Discretion to disclose this information belongs solely to the
Director and is not subject to a release or waiver by the
individual. Notwithstanding any other provision to the
contrary, an individual or his or her duly authorized agent may
be supplied with a statement of the amount of benefits paid to
the individual during the 18 months preceding the date of his
or her request.
E. An employing unit may be furnished with information,
only if deemed by the Director as necessary to enable it to
fully discharge its obligations or safeguard its rights under
the Act. Discretion to disclose this information belongs solely
to the Director and is not subject to a release or waiver by
the employing unit.
F. The Director may furnish any information that he may
deem proper to any public officer or public agency of this or
any other State or of the federal government dealing with:
1. the administration of relief,
2. public assistance,

3. unemployment compensation,
4. a system of public employment offices,
5. wages and hours of employment, or
6. a public works program.
The Director may make available to the Illinois Workers'
Compensation Commission information regarding employers for
the purpose of verifying the insurance coverage required under
the Workers' Compensation Act and Workers' Occupational
Diseases Act.
G. The Director may disclose information submitted by the
State or any of its political subdivisions, municipal
corporations, instrumentalities, or school or community
college districts, except for information which specifically
identifies an individual claimant.
H. The Director shall disclose only that information
required to be disclosed under Section 303 of the Social
Security Act, as amended, including:
1. any information required to be given the United
States Department of Labor under Section 303(a)(6); and
2. the making available upon request to any agency of
the United States charged with the administration of public
works or assistance through public employment, the name,
address, ordinary occupation and employment status of each
recipient of unemployment compensation, and a statement of
such recipient's right to further compensation under such
law as required by Section 303(a)(7); and

3. records to make available to the Railroad Retirement
Board as required by Section 303(c)(1); and
4. information that will assure reasonable cooperation
with every agency of the United States charged with the
administration of any unemployment compensation law as
required by Section 303(c)(2); and
5. information upon request and on a reimbursable basis
to the United States Department of Agriculture and to any
State food stamp agency concerning any information
required to be furnished by Section 303(d); and
6. any wage information upon request and on a
reimbursable basis to any State or local child support
enforcement agency required by Section 303(e); and
7. any information required under the income
eligibility and verification system as required by Section
303(f); and
8. information that might be useful in locating an
absent parent or that parent's employer, establishing
paternity or establishing, modifying, or enforcing child
support orders for the purpose of a child support
enforcement program under Title IV of the Social Security
Act upon the request of and on a reimbursable basis to the
public agency administering the Federal Parent Locator
Service as required by Section 303(h); and
9. information, upon request, to representatives of
any federal, State or local governmental public housing

agency with respect to individuals who have signed the
appropriate consent form approved by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development and who are applying for or
participating in any housing assistance program
administered by the United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development as required by Section 303(i).
I. The Director, upon the request of a public agency of
Illinois, of the federal government or of any other state
charged with the investigation or enforcement of Section 10-5
of the Criminal Code of 2012 (or a similar federal law or
similar law of another State), may furnish the public agency
information regarding the individual specified in the request
as to:
1. the current or most recent home address of the
individual, and
2. the names and addresses of the individual's
employers.
J. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to interfere
with the disclosure of certain records as provided for in
Section 1706 or with the right to make available to the
Internal Revenue Service of the United States Department of the
Treasury, or the Department of Revenue of the State of
Illinois, information obtained under this Act.
K. The Department shall make available to the Illinois
Student Assistance Commission, upon request, information in
the possession of the Department that may be necessary or

useful to the Commission in the collection of defaulted or
delinquent student loans which the Commission administers.
L. The Department shall make available to the State
Employees' Retirement System, the State Universities
Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement System of the State
of Illinois, and the Department of Central Management Services,
Risk Management Division, upon request, information in the
possession of the Department that may be necessary or useful to
the System or the Risk Management Division for the purpose of
determining whether any recipient of a disability benefit from
the System or a workers' compensation benefit from the Risk
Management Division is gainfully employed.
M. This Section shall be applicable to the information
obtained in the administration of the State employment service,
except that the Director may publish or release general labor
market information and may furnish information that he may deem
proper to an individual, public officer or public agency of
this or any other State or the federal government (in addition
to those public officers or public agencies specified in this
Section) as he prescribes by Rule.
N. The Director may require such safeguards as he deems
proper to insure that information disclosed pursuant to this
Section is used only for the purposes set forth in this
Section.
O. Nothing in this Section prohibits communication with an
individual or entity through unencrypted e-mail or other

unencrypted electronic means as long as the communication does
not contain the individual's or entity's name in combination
with any one or more of the individual's or entity's social
security number; driver's license or State identification
number; account number or credit or debit card number; or any
required security code, access code, or password that would
permit access to further information pertaining to the
individual or entity.
P. Within 30 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1993 and annually thereafter, the Department
shall provide to the Department of Financial Institutions a
list of individuals or entities that, for the most recently
completed calendar year, report to the Department as paying
wages to workers. The lists shall be deemed confidential and
may not be disclosed to any other person.
Q. The Director shall make available to an elected federal
official the name and address of an individual or entity that
is located within the jurisdiction from which the official was
elected and that, for the most recently completed calendar
year, has reported to the Department as paying wages to
workers, where the information will be used in connection with
the official duties of the official and the official requests
the information in writing, specifying the purposes for which
it will be used. For purposes of this subsection, the use of
information in connection with the official duties of an
official does not include use of the information in connection

with the solicitation of contributions or expenditures, in
money or in kind, to or on behalf of a candidate for public or
political office or a political party or with respect to a
public question, as defined in Section 1-3 of the Election
Code, or in connection with any commercial solicitation. Any
elected federal official who, in submitting a request for
information covered by this subsection, knowingly makes a false
statement or fails to disclose a material fact, with the intent
to obtain the information for a purpose not authorized by this
subsection, shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
R. The Director may provide to any State or local child
support agency, upon request and on a reimbursable basis,
information that might be useful in locating an absent parent
or that parent's employer, establishing paternity, or
establishing, modifying, or enforcing child support orders.
S. The Department shall make available to a State's
Attorney of this State or a State's Attorney's investigator,
upon request, the current address or, if the current address is
unavailable, current employer information, if available, of a
victim of a felony or a witness to a felony or a person against
whom an arrest warrant is outstanding.
T. The Director shall make available to the Department of
State Police, a county sheriff's office, or a municipal police
department, upon request, any information concerning the
current address and place of employment or former places of
employment of a person who is required to register as a sex

offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act that may be
useful in enforcing the registration provisions of that Act.
U. The Director shall make information available to the
Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department
of Human Services for the purpose of determining eligibility
for public benefit programs authorized under the Illinois
Public Aid Code and related statutes administered by those
departments, for verifying sources and amounts of income, and
for other purposes directly connected with the administration
of those programs.
V. The Director shall make information available to the
State Board of Elections as may be required by an agreement the
State Board of Elections has entered into with a multi-state
voter registration list maintenance system.
(Source: P.A. 96-420, eff. 8-13-09; 97-621, eff. 11-18-11;
97-689, eff. 6-14-12; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)