Public Act 095-0872
 		





HB4588 Enrolled
LRB095 14869 JAM 40811 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 Section 
10-10 as follows:
 



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



    Sec. 10-10. Within 24 hours after the receipt of the 
certificate of
nomination or nomination papers or proposed 
question of public
policy, as the case may be, and the 
objector's petition, the chairman
of the electoral board other 
than the State Board of Elections shall
send a call by 
registered or certified mail to each of the members of the

electoral board, and to the objector who filed the objector's 
petition, and
either to the candidate whose certificate of 
nomination or nomination
papers are objected to or to the 
principal proponent or attorney for
proponents of a question of 
public policy, as the case may be, whose
petitions are objected 
to, and shall also cause the sheriff of the county
or counties 
in which such officers and persons reside to serve a copy of

such call upon each of such officers and persons, which call 
shall set out
the fact that the electoral board is required to 
meet to hear and pass upon
the objections to nominations made 
for the office, designating it, and
shall state the day, hour 
and place at which the electoral board shall meet
for the 
purpose, which place shall be in the
county court house in the 
county in the case of the County Officers
Electoral Board, the 
Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the Township
Officers 
Electoral Board or the Education Officers Electoral Board, 
except that the Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the 
Township Officers Electoral Board, and the Education Officers 
Electoral Board may meet at the location where the governing 
body of the municipality, township, or school or community 
college district, respectively, holds its regularly scheduled 
meetings, if that location is available; provided that voter 
records may be removed from the offices of an election 
authority only at the discretion and under the supervision of 
the election authority.
The Township Officers Electoral Board 
may meet in the township offices, if
they are available, rather 
than the county courthouse.
In
those cases where the State 
Board of Elections is the electoral board
designated under 
Section 10-9, the chairman of the State Board of Elections

shall, within 24 hours after the receipt of the certificate of 
nomination
or nomination papers or petitions for a proposed 
amendment to Article IV of
the Constitution or proposed 
statewide question of public policy, send a
call by registered 
or certified mail to the objector who files the
objector's 
petition, and either to the candidate whose certificate of

nomination or nomination papers are objected to or to the 
principal
proponent or attorney for proponents of the proposed 
Constitutional
amendment or statewide question of public 
policy and shall state the day,
hour and place at which the 
electoral board shall meet for the purpose,
which place may be 
in the Capitol Building or in the principal or permanent
branch 
office of the State Board. The day of the meeting shall not be 
less
than 3 nor more than 5 days after the receipt of the 
certificate of
nomination or nomination papers and the 
objector's petition by the chairman
of the electoral board.

    The electoral board shall have the power to administer 
oaths and to
subpoena and examine witnesses and at the request 
of either party the
chairman may issue subpoenas requiring the 
attendance of witnesses and
subpoenas duces tecum requiring the 
production of such books, papers,
records and documents as may 
be evidence of any matter under inquiry
before the electoral 
board, in the same manner as witnesses are
subpoenaed in the 
Circuit Court.

    Service of such subpoenas shall be made by any sheriff or 
other
person in the same manner as in cases in such court and 
the fees of such
sheriff shall be the same as is provided by 
law, and shall be paid by
the objector or candidate who causes 
the issuance of the subpoena. In
case any person so served 
shall knowingly neglect or refuse to obey any
such subpoena, or 
to testify, the electoral board shall at once file a
petition 
in the circuit court of the county in which such hearing is to

be heard, or has been attempted to be heard, setting forth the 
facts, of
such knowing refusal or neglect, and accompanying the 
petition with a
copy of the citation and the answer, if one has 
been filed, together
with a copy of the subpoena and the return 
of service thereon, and shall
apply for an order of court 
requiring such person to attend and testify,
and forthwith 
produce books and papers, before the electoral board. Any

circuit court of the state, excluding the judge who is sitting 
on the electoral
board, upon such showing shall order such 
person to appear and testify,
and to forthwith produce such 
books and papers, before the electoral board
at a place to be 
fixed by the court. If such person shall knowingly fail
or 
refuse to obey such order of the court without lawful excuse, 
the court
shall punish him or her by fine and imprisonment, as 
the nature of the case
may require and may be lawful in cases 
of contempt of court.

    The electoral board on the first day of its meeting shall 
adopt rules
of procedure for the introduction of evidence and 
the presentation of
arguments and may, in its discretion, 
provide for the filing of briefs
by the parties to the 
objection or by other interested persons.

    In the event of a State Electoral Board hearing on 
objections to a
petition for an amendment to Article IV of the 
Constitution
pursuant to Section 3 of Article XIV of the 
Constitution, or to a
petition for a question of public policy 
to be submitted to the
voters of the entire State, the 
certificates of the county clerks and boards
of election 
commissioners showing the results of the random sample of

signatures on the petition shall be prima facie valid and 
accurate, and
shall be presumed to establish the number of 
valid and invalid
signatures on the petition sheets reviewed in 
the random sample, as prescribed
in Section 28-11 and 28-12 of 
this Code.  Either party, however, may introduce
evidence at 
such hearing to dispute the findings as  to particular 
signatures.
In addition to the foregoing, in the absence of 
competent evidence presented
at such hearing by a party 
substantially challenging the results of a random
sample, or 
showing a different result obtained by an additional sample,

this certificate of a county clerk or board of election 
commissioners shall
be presumed to establish the ratio of valid 
to invalid signatures within
the particular election 
jurisdiction.

    The electoral board shall take up the question as to 
whether or not
the certificate of nomination or nomination 
papers or petitions are in
proper form, and whether or not they 
were filed within the time and
under the conditions required by 
law, and whether or not they are the
genuine certificate of 
nomination or nomination papers or petitions
which they purport 
to be, and whether or not in the case of the
certificate of 
nomination in question it represents accurately the
decision of 
the caucus or convention issuing it, and in general shall

decide whether or not the certificate of nomination or 
nominating papers
or petitions on file are valid or whether the 
objections thereto should
be sustained and the decision of a 
majority of the electoral board shall
be final subject to 
judicial review as provided in Section 10-10.1.  The
electoral 
board must state  its findings in writing and must state in

writing which objections, if any, it has sustained.

    Upon the expiration of the period within which a proceeding 
for
judicial review must be commenced under Section 10--10.1, 
the electoral
board shall, unless a proceeding for judicial 
review has been commenced
within such period, transmit, by 
registered or certified mail, a
certified copy of its ruling, 
together with the original certificate of
nomination or 
nomination papers or petitions and the original objector's

petition, to the officer or board with whom the certificate of

nomination or nomination papers or petitions, as objected to, 
were on
file, and such officer or board shall abide by and 
comply with the
ruling so made to all intents and purposes.

(Source: P.A. 91-285, eff. 1-1-00.)