Archive for the ‘Article 3 - Elections’ Category
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
Every United States citizen who has attained the age of 18 or any other voting age required by the United States for voting in State elections and who has been a permanent resident of this State for at least 30 days next preceding any election shall have the right to vote at such election. The General Assembly by law may establish registration requirements and require permanent residence in an election district not to exceed thirty days prior to an election. The General Assembly by law may establish shorter residence requirements for voting for President and Vice-President of the United States.
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
(a) Any person convicted of any form of vote fraud shall permanently lose the right to vote in the state of Illinois. The General Assembly shall, with in 90 days of the ratification of this Article, promulgate a clear and concise definition of what offences constitute vote fraud, the minimum penalty for which shall not be lower than $500 per offense and the permanent loss of the right to vote.
(b) A person convicted of a felony, or otherwise under sentence in a correctional institution or jail, shall lose the right to vote, which right shall be restored upon completion of his sentence.
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
All elections shall be free and equal, and accessible for any political party or candidate that meets requirements set forth in this Constitution and by the General Assembly.
Any laws or regulations that operate to favor one party or parties, by definition, deprive citizens that are not members of those parties of the equal protection of the laws. Any law or regulation that favors or hinders an individual to run for elected office based on political affiliation or non-affiliation is prohibited.
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
The General Assembly by law shall define permanent residence for voting purposes, insure secrecy of voting and the integrity of the election process, and facilitate registration and voting by all qualified persons. Laws governing voter registration and conduct of elections shall be general and uniform.
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
A State Board of Elections shall have general supervision over the administration of the registration and election laws throughout the State. The General Assembly by law shall determine the size, manner of selection and compensation of the Board. No political party shall have a majority of members of the Board.
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
As used in all articles of this Constitution except Article VII, “general election” means the biennial election at which members of the General Assembly are elected. Such election shall be held on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November in even-numbered years or on such other day as provided by law.
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
All Referenda questions, as well as the election of municipal executive and legislative officers and all other elected offices for units of local government and school boards, must take place during a biennial “general election” as defined in SECTION 6 of this Article.
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
(a) This section shall apply to all elections except the primary election for President of the United States and the delegates to the national party committees for the selection of a presidential candidate.
(b) Any candidate who meets the criteria for being listed as a candidate for election for office in a general election shall be listed on the ballot for the general election. A candidate may elect to drop out of an election no later than 30 days prior to the date of the general election.
(c) Political parties, at their own expense, may conduct primaries or caucuses to determine which candidate is the designated candidate for the party in an election for elected office. Parties may restrict such designation to only one candidate but are not required to do so.
(d) No later than 60 days prior to an election, the political party will certify to the election officials responsible for the election in question which candidate or candidates are designated to represent the party in the general election. Those candidates will have a designation after their name on the ballot indicating their partisan affiliation.
(e) No candidate may be a designated candidate of multiple political parties.
(f) Any candidate not designated by a political party as that parties’ candidate shall be listed as an independent on the general election ballot.
(g) In the case of more than 2 candidates running for the same office, any candidate receiving a majority vote shall be certified the winner of the election. If no candidate receives a majority vote, the top 2 vote recipients shall compete in a run-off election 21 days after the general election. The highest vote recipient in the run-off election shall be certified the winner in the run-off election. In the case of only one or two candidates running for the same office, the highest vote recipient shall be certified the winner of the election.
(h) In races where more than one seat for the same office is open (i.e. multi-member districts, school boards, etc), the highest vote recipients shall be certified as the winners of the elections. There shall be no run-off elections in these races.
(i) “Slating” of candidates by political parties is prohibited.
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
(a) Any elected official in the state of Illinois may be subjected to a recall election upon petition from the voters. A petition to recall an elected official must state a reason for the recall.
(b) For statewide officials, a recall petition must be signed by 10% of the number of voters for that official in the last election. Additionally, the petition must contain signatures of 10% of the voters for that office in the election in a given county for 10 different counties in the state.
(c) For officials not elected state-wide, the number of signatures must amount to 10% of the number of voters for that official in the last general election from voters within the jurisdiction of that office.
(d) Any interested voter may submit an affidavit stating they intend to circulate petitions for recall of a particular official and the reason for the recall. Such affidavit shall be filed with the State Board of Elections and the individual has no more than 90 days to circulate petitions and gather the required amount of signatures.
(e) Signatures and petitions may be challenged as provided by law, however, the reason given for recalling an official shall not be subject to adjudication.
(f) No later than 90 days after receiving the required number of signatures, the Secretary of State shall schedule a special election for the recall of the official in question. Where possible and reasonable, the Secretary of State shall schedule such a recall election simultaneously with another scheduled primary or general election.
(g) The question of recalling a particular elected official shall appear in plain language with the given reason stated in the recall petitions. Upon a majority vote, the official shall be immediately removed from office.
(h) The method for replacing a successfully recalled official shall be provided by law.
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