(10 ILCS 5/24B‑9.1)
Sec. 24B‑9.1.
Examination of Votes by Electronic Precinct
Tabulation Optical Scan Technology Scanning Process or other authorized
electronic process; definition of a vote.
(a) Examination of Votes by Electronic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan
Technology Scanning Process. Whenever a
Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology process is used
to automatically examine and count the votes on ballot sheets,
the provisions of this Section shall apply. A voter shall cast a
proper vote on a ballot sheet by making a mark, or causing a mark to be
made, in the designated
area for the casting of a vote for any party or candidate or for
or against any proposition. For this purpose, a mark is an
intentional darkening of the designated area on the ballot,
and not an identifying mark.
(b) For any ballot sheet that does not register a vote for one or more
ballot positions on the ballot sheet on a Electronic Precinct Tabulation
Optical Scan Technology Scanning Process, the following shall constitute a vote
on the ballot sheet:
(1) The designated area for casting a vote for a |
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particular ballot position on the ballot sheet is fully darkened or shaded in;
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(2) The designated area for casting a vote for a
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particular ballot position on the ballot sheet is partially darkened or shaded in;
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(3) The designated area for casting a vote for a
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particular ballot position on the ballot sheet contains a dot or ".", a check, or a plus or "+"; or
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(4) The designated area for casting a vote for a
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particular ballot position on the ballot sheet contains some other type of mark that indicates the clearly ascertainable intent of the voter to vote based on the totality of the circumstances, including but not limited to any pattern or frequency of marks on other ballot positions from the same ballot sheet.
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(5) The designated area for casting a vote for a
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particular ballot position on the ballot sheet is not marked, but the ballot sheet contains other markings associated with a particular ballot position, such as circling a candidate's name, that indicates the clearly ascertainable intent of the voter to vote, based on the totality of the circumstances, including but not limited to, any pattern or frequency of markings on other ballot positions from the same ballot sheet.
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(c) For other electronic voting systems that use a computer as the marking
device to mark a ballot sheet, the bar code found on the ballot sheet shall
constitute the votes found on the ballot. If, however, the county clerk or
board of election commissioners determines that the votes
represented by the tally on the bar code for one or more ballot positions is
inconsistent with the votes represented by numerical ballot positions
identified on the ballot sheet produced using a computer as the marking device,
then the numerical ballot positions identified on the ballot sheet shall
constitute the votes for purposes of any official canvass or recount
proceeding. An electronic voting system that uses a computer as the marking
device to mark a ballot sheet shall be capable of producing a ballot sheet that
contains all numerical ballot positions selected by the voter,
and provides a place for the voter to cast a write‑in vote for a candidate
for a particular numerical ballot position.
(d) The election authority shall provide an envelope, sleeve or
other device to each voter so the voter can
deliver the voted ballot sheet to the counting equipment and
ballot box without the votes indicated on the ballot sheet being
visible to other persons in the polling place.
(Source: P.A. 93‑574, eff. 8‑21‑03.)
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(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
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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.
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Before the ballots of a precinct are fed to the
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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.
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The excess ballots shall be marked "Excess‑Not
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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.
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The precinct transport judges shall then examine the
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remaining ballots for write‑in votes and shall count and tabulate the write‑in vote.
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(2) A single ballot box, for the deposit of all
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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.
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All ballots to be processed and tabulated with the
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electronic Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting system shall be processed as follows:
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Immediately after the closing of the polls, the
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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.
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In case of an overvote for any office, the judges of
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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.
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The "Defective Ballots" envelope, and "Duplicated
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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.
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At the central counting location, a team of tally
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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.
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(3) A single ballot box, for the deposit of all
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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 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.
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At the central counting location there shall be one
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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.
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At the central counting location, a team of tally
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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.
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(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.)
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(10 ILCS 5/24B‑16)
Sec. 24B‑16.
Approval of Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan
Technology Voting Systems; Requisites. The State Board of
Elections shall approve all Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan
Technology voting systems provided by this Article.
No Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting system
shall be approved unless it fulfills the following requirements:
(a) It enables a voter to vote in absolute secrecy;
(b) (Blank);
(c) It enables a voter to vote a ticket selected in
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part from the nominees of one party, and in part from the nominees of any or all parties, and in part from independent candidates, and in part of candidates whose names are written in by the voter;
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(d) It enables a voter to vote a written or printed
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ticket of his or her own selection for any person for any office for whom he or she may desire to vote;
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(e) It will reject all votes for an office or upon a
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proposition when the voter has cast more votes for the office or upon the proposition than he or she is entitled to cast; and
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(f) It will accommodate all propositions to be
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submitted to the voters in the form provided by law or, where no form is provided, then in brief form, not to exceed 75 words.
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The State Board of Elections shall not approve any voting equipment or system that includes an external Infrared Data Association (IrDA) communications port.
The State Board of Elections is authorized to withdraw its
approval of a Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting
system if the system fails to fulfill the above requirements.
The vendor, person, or other private entity shall be solely responsible for the production and cost of: all ballots; additional temporary workers; and other equipment or facilities needed and used in the testing of the vendor's, person's, or other private entity's respective equipment and software.
No vendor, person, or other entity may sell, lease, or loan, or have a written contract, including a contract contingent upon State Board approval of the voting system or voting system component, to sell, lease, or loan, a
voting system or Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology
voting system component to any election jurisdiction unless the
voting system or voting system component is first approved by the
State Board of Elections pursuant to this Section.
(Source: P.A. 94‑1000, eff. 7‑3‑06.)
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