Illinois Administrative Code › Title 26 - ELECTIONS › Part 218 - COUNTING OF PROVISIONAL BALLOTS › Section 218.10 - General Provisions

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
This Part implements Article 18A of the Election Code, setting
				forth procedures to be followed when counting provisional ballots (see Section
				18A-5 of the Code) that were voted and cast in a precinct other than the
				precinct in which the provisional voter is registered.
a) Definitions
"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/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/Trustees, Assessor, Board of Review Members in
				those counties that elect those officers countywide, and Treasurer. Some of the
				above offices are not elected offices in certain counties as they are appointed
				or simply do not exist in the county.
"Election Authority" means either the County Clerk, County
				Board of Election Commissioners or Municipal Board of Election Commissioners,
				as the case may be.
"Election Code" or "Code" means 10 ILCS 5.
"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. In each instance, election jurisdiction 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/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 the Code to vote a provisional ballot under the following
				circumstances:
The person's name does not appear on the official list of
				eligible voters for the precinct in which the person seeks to vote;
The person's voting status has been successfully challenged by
				an election judge, a pollwatcher or any legal voter;
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;
The voter registered to vote by mail and is required by law to
				present identification when voting either in person or by absentee ballot, but
				fails to do so;
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
The voter received an absentee ballot but did not return the
				absentee ballot to the election authority, and failed to surrender it to the
				election judges. (Section 18A-5 of the Code)
"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 6 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 (and/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. (Section 18A-5(b)(1) of the
			 Code)
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
			 (see Section 18A-5(b)(2) of the Code), 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 Section 18A-10(a) of the Election 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, the following Section shall apply. (This is a
			 situation in which the voter believed he/she registered in the precinct in
			 which he/she voted provisionally, and the election judges should have, but did
			 not direct the voter to vote in the correct precinct.)