Bill Text: IL SB2240 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Election Code. Provides that the State Board of Elections (now only local election authorities) can issue pollwatcher credentials. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2015-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB2240 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2013-SB2240-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning elections.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing Section | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | 17-23 as follows:
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6 | (10 ILCS 5/17-23) (from Ch. 46, par. 17-23)
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7 | Sec. 17-23. Pollwatchers in a general election shall be | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | authorized in
the following manner:
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9 | (1) Each established political party shall be entitled to | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | appoint
two pollwatchers per precinct. Such pollwatchers must | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | be affiliated
with the political party for which they are | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | pollwatching. For all
elections, the pollwatchers must be
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13 | registered to vote in Illinois.
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14 | (2) Each candidate shall be entitled to appoint two | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | pollwatchers per
precinct. For all elections, the pollwatchers | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | must be
registered to vote
in Illinois.
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17 | (3) Each organization of citizens within the county or | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | political
subdivision, which has among its purposes or | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | interests the investigation
or prosecution of election frauds, | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | and which shall have registered its
name and address and the | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | name and addresses of its principal officers
with the proper | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | election authority at least 40 days before the election,
shall | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | be entitled to appoint one pollwatcher per precinct. For all
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1 | elections, the pollwatcher must be registered to vote in
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2 | Illinois.
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3 | (3.5) Each State nonpartisan civic organization within the | ||||||
4 | county or political subdivision shall be entitled to appoint | ||||||
5 | one pollwatcher per precinct, provided that no more than 2 | ||||||
6 | pollwatchers appointed by State nonpartisan civic | ||||||
7 | organizations shall be present in a precinct polling place at | ||||||
8 | the same time. Each organization shall have registered the | ||||||
9 | names and addresses of its principal officers with the proper | ||||||
10 | election authority at least 40 days before the election. The | ||||||
11 | pollwatchers must be registered to vote in Illinois. For the | ||||||
12 | purpose of this paragraph, a "State nonpartisan civic | ||||||
13 | organization" means any corporation, unincorporated | ||||||
14 | association, or organization that: | ||||||
15 | (i) as part of its written articles of incorporation, | ||||||
16 | bylaws, or charter or by separate written declaration, has | ||||||
17 | among its stated purposes the provision of voter | ||||||
18 | information and education, the protection of individual | ||||||
19 | voters' rights, and the promotion of free and equal | ||||||
20 | elections; | ||||||
21 | (ii) is organized or primarily conducts its activities | ||||||
22 | within the State of Illinois; and | ||||||
23 | (iii) continuously maintains an office or business | ||||||
24 | location within the State of Illinois, together with a | ||||||
25 | current listed telephone number (a post office box number | ||||||
26 | without a current listed telephone number is not |
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1 | sufficient).
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2 | (4) In any general election held to elect candidates for | ||||||
3 | the offices of
a municipality of less than 3,000,000 population | ||||||
4 | that is situated in 2 or
more counties, a pollwatcher who is a | ||||||
5 | resident of Illinois shall be eligible to serve as a
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6 | pollwatcher in any poll located within such
municipality, | ||||||
7 | provided that such pollwatcher otherwise complies with the
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8 | respective requirements of subsections (1) through (3) of this | ||||||
9 | Section and
is a registered voter in Illinois.
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10 | (5) Each organized group of proponents or opponents of a | ||||||
11 | ballot
proposition, which shall have registered the name and | ||||||
12 | address of its
organization or committee and the name and | ||||||
13 | address of its chairman with the
proper election authority at | ||||||
14 | least 40 days before the election, shall be
entitled to appoint | ||||||
15 | one pollwatcher per precinct. The pollwatcher
must be
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16 | registered to vote in Illinois.
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17 | All pollwatchers shall be required to have proper | ||||||
18 | credentials. Such
credentials shall be printed in sufficient | ||||||
19 | quantities, shall be issued
by and under the facsimile | ||||||
20 | signature(s) of the election authority or the State Board of | ||||||
21 | Elections and
shall be available for distribution by the | ||||||
22 | election authority and State Board of Elections at least 2 | ||||||
23 | weeks prior to the
election. Such credentials shall be | ||||||
24 | authorized by the real or facsimile
signature of the State or | ||||||
25 | local party official or the candidate or the
presiding officer | ||||||
26 | of the civic organization or the chairman of the
proponent or |
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1 | opponent group, as the case may be. The election authority or | ||||||
2 | the State Board of Elections may not require any such party | ||||||
3 | official or the candidate or the presiding officer of the civic | ||||||
4 | organization or the chairman of the proponent or opponent group | ||||||
5 | to submit the names or other information concerning | ||||||
6 | pollwatchers before making credentials available to such | ||||||
7 | persons or organizations.
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8 | Pollwatcher credentials shall be in substantially the | ||||||
9 | following form:
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10 | POLLWATCHER CREDENTIALS
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11 | TO THE JUDGES OF ELECTION:
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12 | In accordance with the provisions of the Election
Code, the | ||||||
13 | undersigned hereby appoints .......... (name of pollwatcher)
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14 | who resides at ........... (address) in the county
of | ||||||
15 | ..........., .......... (township or municipality)
of | ||||||
16 | ........... (name), State of Illinois and who is duly | ||||||
17 | registered
to vote from this address, to act as a pollwatcher | ||||||
18 | in the
........... precinct of the ........... ward (if | ||||||
19 | applicable)
of the ........... (township or municipality) of | ||||||
20 | ........... at the
........... election to be held on (insert | ||||||
21 | date).
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22 | ........................ (Signature of Appointing Authority)
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23 | ......................... TITLE (party official, candidate,
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24 | civic organization president,
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25 | proponent or opponent group chairman)
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1 | Under penalties provided by law pursuant to Section 29-10 | ||||||
2 | of the
Election Code, the undersigned pollwatcher certifies | ||||||
3 | that he or she resides
at ................ (address) in the | ||||||
4 | county of ............, .........
(township or municipality) | ||||||
5 | of ........... (name), State of Illinois, and is
duly | ||||||
6 | registered to vote in Illinois.
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7 | .......................... .......................
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8 | (Precinct and/or Ward in (Signature of Pollwatcher)
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9 | Which Pollwatcher Resides)
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10 | Pollwatchers must present their credentials to the Judges | ||||||
11 | of Election
upon entering the polling place. Pollwatcher | ||||||
12 | credentials properly
executed and signed shall be proof of the | ||||||
13 | qualifications of the
pollwatcher authorized thereby. Such | ||||||
14 | credentials are retained by the
Judges and returned to the | ||||||
15 | Election Authority at the end of the day of
election with the | ||||||
16 | other election materials. Once a pollwatcher has
surrendered a | ||||||
17 | valid credential, he may leave and reenter the polling place
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18 | provided that such continuing action does not disrupt the | ||||||
19 | conduct of the
election. Pollwatchers may be substituted during | ||||||
20 | the course of the day, but
established political parties, | ||||||
21 | candidates and qualified civic organizations
can have only as | ||||||
22 | many pollwatchers at any given time as are authorized in
this | ||||||
23 | Article. A substitute must present his signed credential to the
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24 | judges of election upon entering the polling place. Election |
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1 | authorities
must provide a sufficient number of credentials to | ||||||
2 | allow for substitution
of pollwatchers. After the polls have | ||||||
3 | closed pollwatchers shall be allowed
to remain until the | ||||||
4 | canvass of votes is completed; but may leave and
reenter only | ||||||
5 | in cases of necessity, provided that such action is not so
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6 | continuous as to disrupt the canvass of votes.
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7 | Candidates seeking office in a district or municipality | ||||||
8 | encompassing 2
or more counties shall be admitted to any and | ||||||
9 | all polling places throughout
such district or municipality | ||||||
10 | without regard to the counties in which such
candidates are | ||||||
11 | registered to vote. Actions of such candidates shall be
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12 | governed in each polling place by the same privileges and | ||||||
13 | limitations that
apply to pollwatchers as provided in this | ||||||
14 | Section. Any such candidate who
engages in an activity in a | ||||||
15 | polling place which could reasonably be
construed by a majority | ||||||
16 | of the judges of election as campaign activity
shall be removed | ||||||
17 | forthwith from such polling place.
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18 | Candidates seeking office in a district or municipality | ||||||
19 | encompassing 2 or
more counties who desire to be admitted to | ||||||
20 | polling places on election day
in such district or municipality | ||||||
21 | shall be required to have proper
credentials. Such credentials | ||||||
22 | shall be printed in sufficient quantities,
shall be issued by | ||||||
23 | and under the facsimile signature of the
election authority of | ||||||
24 | the election jurisdiction where the polling place in
which the | ||||||
25 | candidate seeks admittance is located, and shall be available | ||||||
26 | for
distribution at least 2 weeks prior to the election. Such |
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1 | credentials shall
be signed by the candidate.
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2 | Candidate credentials shall be in substantially the | ||||||
3 | following form:
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4 | CANDIDATE CREDENTIALS
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5 | TO THE JUDGES OF ELECTION:
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6 | In accordance with the provisions of the Election Code, I | ||||||
7 | ...... (name of
candidate) hereby certify that I am a candidate | ||||||
8 | for ....... (name of
office) and seek admittance to ....... | ||||||
9 | precinct of the ....... ward (if
applicable) of the ....... | ||||||
10 | (township or municipality) of ....... at the
....... election | ||||||
11 | to be held on (insert date).
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12 | ......................... .......................
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13 | (Signature of Candidate) OFFICE FOR WHICH
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14 | CANDIDATE SEEKS
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15 | NOMINATION OR
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16 | ELECTION
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17 | Pollwatchers shall be permitted to observe all proceedings | ||||||
18 | and view all reasonably requested records relating
to the | ||||||
19 | conduct of the election, provided the secrecy of the ballot is | ||||||
20 | not impinged, and to station themselves in a position
in the | ||||||
21 | voting room as will enable them to observe the judges making | ||||||
22 | the
signature comparison between the voter application and the | ||||||
23 | voter
registration record card; provided, however, that such | ||||||
24 | pollwatchers
shall not be permitted to station themselves in |
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1 | such close proximity to
the judges of election so as to | ||||||
2 | interfere with the orderly conduct of
the election and shall | ||||||
3 | not, in any event, be permitted to handle
election materials. | ||||||
4 | Pollwatchers may challenge for cause the voting
qualifications | ||||||
5 | of a person offering to vote and may call to the
attention of | ||||||
6 | the judges of election any incorrect procedure or apparent
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7 | violations of this Code.
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8 | If a majority of the judges of election determine that the | ||||||
9 | polling
place has become too overcrowded with pollwatchers so | ||||||
10 | as to interfere
with the orderly conduct of the election, the | ||||||
11 | judges shall, by lot,
limit such pollwatchers to a reasonable | ||||||
12 | number, except that each
established or new political party | ||||||
13 | shall be permitted to have at least
one pollwatcher present.
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14 | Representatives of an election authority, with regard to an | ||||||
15 | election
under its jurisdiction, the State Board of Elections, | ||||||
16 | and law
enforcement agencies, including but not limited to a | ||||||
17 | United States
Attorney, a State's attorney, the Attorney | ||||||
18 | General, and a State, county,
or local police department, in | ||||||
19 | the performance of their official
election duties, shall be | ||||||
20 | permitted at all times to enter and remain in
the polling | ||||||
21 | place. Upon entering the polling place, such
representatives | ||||||
22 | shall display their official credentials or other
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23 | identification to the judges of election.
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24 | Uniformed police officers assigned to polling place duty | ||||||
25 | shall follow
all lawful instructions of the judges of election.
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26 | The provisions of this Section shall also apply to |
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1 | supervised casting of
absentee ballots as provided in Section | ||||||
2 | 19-12.2 of this Act.
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3 | (Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 95-267, eff. 8-17-07; | ||||||
4 | 95-699, eff. 11-9-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)
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5 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
6 | becoming law.
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