10 ILCS 5/10-2
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 10 - ELECTIONS|10 ILCS 5/ - Election Code.|Article 10 - Making of Nominations in Certain Other Cases

 (from Ch. 46, par. 10-2)Sec. 10-2.   The term "political party", as hereinafter used in this  Article 10, shall mean any "established political party", as hereinafter  defined and shall also mean any political group which shall hereafter  undertake to form an established political party in the manner provided  for in this Article 10: Provided, that no political organization or  group shall be qualified as a political party hereunder, or given a  place on a ballot, which organization or group is associated, directly  or indirectly, with Communist, Fascist, Nazi or other un-American  principles and engages in activities or propaganda designed to teach  subservience to the political principles and ideals of foreign nations  or the overthrow by violence of the established constitutional form of  government of the United States and the State of Illinois.A political party which, at the last general election for State and  county officers, polled for its candidate for Governor more than 5% of  the entire vote cast for Governor, is hereby declared to be an  "established political party" as to the State and as to any district or  political subdivision thereof.A political party which, at the last election in any congressional  district, legislative district, county, township, municipality or other  political subdivision or district in the State, polled more than 5% of  the entire vote cast within such territorial area or political  subdivision, as the case may be, has voted as a unit for the election of  officers to serve the respective territorial area of such district or  political subdivision, is hereby declared to be an "established  political party" within the meaning of this Article as to such district  or political subdivision.Any group of persons hereafter desiring to form a new political party  throughout the State, or in any congressional, legislative or judicial  district, or in any other district or in any political subdivision  (other than a municipality) not entirely within a single county, shall  file with the State Board of Elections a petition, as hereinafter  provided; and any such group of persons hereafter desiring to form a new  political party within any county shall file such petition with the  county clerk; and any such group of persons hereafter desiring to form a  new political party within any municipality or township or within any  district of a unit of local government other than a county shall file  such petition with the local election official or Board of Election  Commissioners of such municipality, township or other unit of local  government, as the case may be. Any such petition for the formation of a  new political party throughout the State, or in any such district or  political subdivision, as the case may be, shall declare as concisely as  may be the intention of the signers thereof to form such new political  party in the State, or in such district or political subdivision; shall  state in not more than 5 words the name of such new political party;  shall at the time of filing  contain a complete list of candidates of  such party for all offices to be filled in the State, or such district  or political subdivision as the case may be, at the next ensuing  election then to be held; and, if such new political party shall be  formed for the entire State, shall be signed by 1% of the number of voters  who voted at the next preceding Statewide general election or 25,000  qualified voters, whichever is less. If such new political party shall be  formed for any district  or political subdivision less than the entire State, such petition shall  be signed by qualified voters equaling in number not less than 5% of the  number of voters who voted at the next preceding regular election in  such district or political subdivision in which such district or  political subdivision voted as a unit for the election of officers to  serve its respective territorial area.  However, whenever the minimum signature  requirement for a district or political subdivision new political  party petition shall exceed the minimum number of signatures for State-wide  new political party petitions at the next preceding State-wide general  election, such State-wide petition signature requirement shall be the  minimum for such district or political subdivision new political party petition.For the first election following a redistricting of congressional districts,  a petition to form a new political party in a congressional district shall  be signed by at least 5,000 qualified voters of the congressional district.  For the first election following a redistricting of legislative districts,  a petition to form a new political party in a legislative district shall  be signed by at least 3,000 qualified voters of the legislative district.  For the first election following a redistricting of representative  districts, a petition to form a new political party in a representative  district shall be signed by at least 1,500 qualified voters of the  representative district.For the first election following redistricting of county board districts,  or of municipal wards or districts, or for the first election following  the initial establishment of such districts or wards in a county or  municipality, a petition to form a new political party in a county board  district or in a municipal ward or district shall be signed by qualified  voters of the district or ward equal to not less than 5% of the total  number of votes cast at the preceding general or municipal election, as the  case may be, for the county or municipal office voted on throughout the  county or municipality for which the greatest total number of votes were  cast for all candidates, divided by the number of districts or wards, but  in any event not less than 25 qualified voters of the district or ward.In the case of a petition to form a new political party within a political  subdivision in which officers are to be elected from  districts and at-large, such petition shall consist  of separate components for each district from which an officer  is to be elected.  Each component shall be circulated only within a  district of the political subdivision and signed only by qualified electors  who are residents of such district.  Each sheet of such petition must  contain a complete list of the names of the candidates of the party for all  offices to be filled in the political subdivision at large, but the sheets  comprising each component shall also contain the names of those candidates  to be elected from the particular district.  Each component of the petition  for each district from which an officer is to be elected must be signed by  qualified voters of the district equalling in number not less than 5% of  the number of voters who voted at the next preceding regular election in  such district at which an officer was elected to serve the district. The  entire petition, including all components, must be signed by a total of  qualified voters of the entire political subdivision equalling in number  not less than 5% of the number of voters who voted at the next preceding  regular election in such political subdivision at which an officer was  elected to serve the political subdivision at large.The filing of such petition shall constitute the political group a  new political party, for the purpose only of placing upon the ballot at  such next ensuing election such list or an adjusted list in accordance  with Section 10-11, of party candidates for offices to be voted for  throughout the State, or for offices to be voted for in such district or  political subdivision less than the State, as the case may be, under the  name of and as the candidates of such new political party.If, at such ensuing election, the new political party's candidate for  Governor shall receive more than 5% of the entire votes cast for  Governor, then such new political party shall become an "established  political party" as to the State and as to every district or political  subdivision thereof. If, at such ensuing election, the other candidates  of the new political party, or any other candidate or candidates of the  new political party shall receive more than 5% of all the votes cast for  the office or offices for which they were candidates at such election,  in the State, or in any district or political subdivision, as the case  may be, then and in that event, such new political party shall become an  "established political party" within the State or within such district  or political subdivision less than the State, as the case may be, in  which such candidate or candidates received more than 5% of the votes  cast for the office or offices for which they were candidates. It shall  thereafter nominate its candidates for public offices to be filled in  the State, or such district or political subdivision, as the case may  be, under the provisions of the laws regulating the nomination of  candidates of established political parties at primary elections and  political party conventions, as now or hereafter in force.A political party which continues to receive for its candidate for  Governor more than 5% of the entire vote cast for Governor, shall remain  an "established political party" as to the State and as to every  district or political subdivision thereof. But if the political party's  candidate for Governor fails to receive more than 5% of the entire vote  cast for Governor, or if the political party does not nominate a  candidate for Governor, the political party shall remain an "established  political party" within the State or within such district or political  subdivision less than the State, as the case may be, only so long as,  and only in those districts or political subdivisions in which, the  candidates of that political party, or any candidate or candidates of  that political party, continue to receive more than 5% of all the votes  cast for the office or offices for which they were candidates at  succeeding general or consolidated elections within the State or within  any district or political subdivision, as the case may be.Any such petition shall be filed at the same time and shall be  subject to the same requirements and to the same provisions in respect  to objections thereto and to any hearing or hearings upon such  objections that are hereinafter in this Article 10 contained in regard  to the nomination of any other candidate or candidates by petition. If  any such new political party shall become an "established political  party" in the manner herein provided, the candidate or candidates of  such new political party nominated by the petition hereinabove referred  to for such initial election, shall have power to select any such party committeeperson   or committeepersons as shall be necessary for the creation of a  provisional party organization and provisional managing committee or  committees for such party within the State, or in any district or  political subdivision in which the new political party has become  established; and the party committeeperson or committeepersons so selected  shall constitute a provisional party organization for the new political  party and shall have and exercise the powers conferred by law upon any  party committeeperson or committeepersons to manage and control the affairs of  such new political party until the next ensuing primary election at  which the new political party shall be entitled to nominate and elect  any party committeeperson or committeepersons in the State, or in such district  or political subdivision under any parts of this Act relating to the  organization of political parties.A candidate for whom a nomination paper has been filed as a partisan  candidate at a primary election, and who is defeated for his or her  nomination at the primary election, is ineligible for nomination as a  candidate of a new political party for election in that general election.  (Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)