Illinois Administrative Code › Title 26 - ELECTIONS › Part 217 - PROCEDURES FOR RANKED BALLOTING › Section 217.50 - Tabulation of Ranking Ballots

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) All
			 ranking ballots shall be remade on a ballot of the same type that is used by
			 in-precinct voters in the election authority's jurisdiction. Except as provided
			 in this Section, the ballots shall be processed in the same manner as those
			 processed at the central counting center (absentee, early and grace period).
			 The provisions in the Election Code allowing for poll watchers during the
			 counting of provisional ballots shall be applicable to the counting of ranking
			 ballots.
b) A single remade ballot
			 shall be used to record the voters' choices on the ranking ballot and the
			 voters' choices on the consolidated ballot that contains non-municipal and
			 township races. The remade ballot shall be marked so that the highest ranked
			 (closest to "one") candidates among those candidates who appear on the
			 consolidated election ballot shall receive the voter's votes. The remade ballot
			 shall carry an identifying mark that indicates it was remade based on the
			 corresponding ranking ballot and non-municipal and non-township ballot. The
			 election authority shall maintain the voter's absentee ballot application, or a
			 copy of the application, with its records for both the consolidated primary and
			 consolidated election. The remade ballot shall be stored with the ranking and
			 non-municipal and non-township ballots that were returned by the
			 voter.
c) All ranking ballots must
			 be received and accepted according to Article 19 or 21 of the Election Code. A
			 ranking ballot shall be deemed to have been timely received if it arrives in
			 the office of the election authority within 14 days after the consolidated
			 election.
d) The election judges
			 shall be responsible for any determination of voter intent, including but not
			 limited to interpretation of illegible or obscured numerical indications. A
			 majority vote of the judges shall be the final determination of the voter's
			 intent.
e) If the voter's intent to
			 cast a vote cannot be ascertained due to a lack of a numerical notation on the
			 blank line opposite any of the candidate's names on the ballot at the
			 consolidated election, no vote shall be cast for that candidate.
f) Ranking ballots shall be safeguarded and
			 secured, as required by Section 17-20 of the Code, by the election authority
			 during the period between the municipal primary and municipal election and will
			 not be available for any public inspection. The ranking ballots shall be
			 destroyed in accordance with Section 17-20 of the Code.
g) If the voter has the opportunity to vote
			 for multiple positions within the same race, the highest ranked candidates
			 appearing on the consolidated election ballot, up to the number of candidates
			 to be elected to that office, shall receive the votes. The highest ranking
			 shall be the ranking that is closest to the number one.
h) Ballots that are remade and cast pursuant
			 to this Part shall be attributed to the precinct in which the voter
			 resides.
i) Voter history shall be
			 recorded for the consolidated election for each individual who casts a ranked
			 ballot.
j) If the voter only
			 returns a ranking ballot, it shall be remade and counted regardless of the fact
			 that the voter did not return a consolidated primary or non-municipal or
			 non-township ballot.