§ 14-1

(a) The board of election commissioners established or existing under Article 6 shall, at the time and in the manner provided in Section 14-3.1, select and choose 5 persons, men or women, as judges of election for each precinct in such city, village or incorporated town. Where neither voting machines nor electronic, mechanical or electric voting systems are used, the board of election commissioners may, for any precinct with respect to which the board considers such action necessary or desirable in view of the number of voters, and shall for general elections for any precinct containing more than 600 registered voters, appoint in addition to the 5 judges of election a team of 5 tally judges. In such precincts the judges of election shall preside over the election during the hours the polls are open, and the tally judges, with the assistance of the holdover judges designated pursuant to Section 14-5.2, shall count the vote after the closing of the polls. The tally judges shall possess the same qualifications and shall be appointed in the same manner and with the same division between political parties as is provided for judges of election. The foregoing provisions relating to the appointment of tally judges are inapplicable in counties with a population of 1,000,000 or more. (b) To qualify as judges the persons must: (1) be citizens of the United States; (2) be of good repute and character and not subject to the registration requirement of the Sex Offender Registration Act; (3) be able to speak, read and write the English language; (4) be skilled in the 4 fundamental rules of arithmetic; (5) be of good understanding and capable; (6) not be candidates for any office at the election and not be elected committeepersons; (7) reside and be entitled to vote in the precinct in which they are selected to serve, except that in each precinct not more than one judge of each party may be appointed from outside such precinct. Any judge so appointed to serve in any precinct in which he is not entitled to vote must be entitled to vote elsewhere within the county which encompasses the precinct in which such judge is appointed and such judge must otherwise meet the qualifications of this Section, except as provided in subsection (c) or (c-5). (c) An election authority may establish a program to permit a person who is not entitled to vote to be appointed as an election judge if, as of the date of the election at which the person serves as a judge, he or she: (1) is a U.S. citizen; (2) is a junior or senior in good standing enrolled in a public or private secondary school; (3) has a cumulative grade point average equivalent to at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; (4) has the written approval of the principal of the secondary school he or she attends at the time of appointment; (5) has the written approval of his or her parent or legal guardian; (6) has satisfactorily completed the training course for judges of election described in Sections 13-2.1, 13-2.2, and 14-4.1; and (7) meets all other qualifications for appointment and service as an election judge. No more than one election judge qualifying under this subsection may serve per political party per precinct. Prior to appointment, a judge qualifying under this subsection must certify in writing to the election authority the political party the judge chooses to affiliate with. Students appointed as election judges under this subsection shall not be counted as absent from school on the day they serve as judges. (c-5) An election authority may establish a program to permit a person who is not entitled to vote in that precinct or county to be appointed as an election judge if, as of the date of the election at which the person serves as a judge, he or she: (1) is a U.S. citizen; (2) is currently enrolled in a community college, as defined in the Public Community College Act, or a public or private Illinois university or college; (3) has a cumulative grade point average equivalent to at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; (4) has satisfactorily completed the training course for judges of election described in Sections 13-2.1, 13-2.2, and 14-4.1; and (5) meets all other qualifications for appointment and service as an election judge. No more than one election judge qualifying under this subsection may serve per political party per precinct. Prior to appointment, a judge qualifying under this subsection must certify in writing to the election authority the political party the judge chooses to affiliate with. Students appointed as election judges under this subsection shall not be counted as absent from school on the day they serve as judges. (d) The board of election commissioners may select 2 additional judges of election, one from each of the major political parties, for each 200 voters in excess of 600 in any precinct having more than 600 voters as authorized by Section 11-3. These additional judges must meet the qualifications prescribed in this Section.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19 .)