Illinois Recount Laws

This information was initially released on October 21, 2010. Note: The information on candidate- and voter-initiated recounts below for Illinois refers to its “discovery recounts.” Discovery recounts are not equivalent to the recount process in many other states. As described by local election officials, discovery recounts “will not change the results of the election. Rather, the discovery recount is just a gathering of information that a candidate can bring to a judge to request an election contest be conducted. An election contest, if granted by a judge, would normally result in a full recount of all ballots in the race.” (For more information, see the Champaign County Clerk’s document, “What is a Discovery Recount?” at http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2009/04/29/what-is-a-discovery-reco...)

Voting System Used: 

Mixed paper ballot and DREs with VVPAT For more details, visit Verified Voting.

 

Counting Method: 

No statutory guidance provided for counting method For discovery recounts, the Illinois Election Code states that the “ballots, voting machines, or ballot cards – as the case may be – shall be examined, that any automatic tabulating equipment shall be tested, and that ballots, recorded votes, or ballot cards – as the case may be – shall be counted.” The language here is unclear as to whether ballot cards are to be retabulated only on the automatic tabulating equipment or if they are to be recounted by hand. See the Illinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 10, “Elections,” Article 22, Section 5/22-9.1: http://tinyurl.com/ILart22. Similarly, no counting method is recommended or authorized for recounts ordered through the court as part of an election contest. The Election Code states that the State Supreme Court may order a “recount or partial recount of the ballots” and that they shall appoint a Circuit Court judge to “supervise the examination of the records or equipment” and to “take evidence in the same manner and upon like notice as in other civil cases,” but no further details on the conduct of the recount are provided. See Article 23, Section 5/23-1.8a: http://tinyurl.com/ILarticle23.

Initiating Mechanism: 

Candidate-initiated Voter-initiated Court-ordered Court-Ordered Recounts: Illinois has a two-tiered system for hearing election contests that may lead to a court-ordered recount: one tier for state-wide election contests, and a second for election contests in smaller jurisdictions. For both, we consider them “Court-Ordered recount,” for while a candidate or group of five voter initiates the contest through a petition to the court, the court holds a hearing to determine the necessity of a recount and it is ultimately the court's decision. See Section 23‑1.7a, “Election contest ‑ Statewide ‑ Initial procedures and rules”: http://tinyurl.com/ILarticle23. The court retains the right to “issue procedural orders or interim rulings regarding the recount or hearing, either upon motion of a party or upon its own motion.” See Section 23-1.8a, “Election contest ‑ Statewide ‑ Procedures for recount and initial hearing.” For state-wide recounts only, the court can also “issue procedural orders or interim rulings regarding the recount or hearing, either upon motion of a party or upon its own motion.” See Section 23-1.8a, “Election contest ‑ Statewide ‑ Procedures for recount and initial hearing.” [10 ILCS 5/23-1.8a] For other recounts, the powers of the court are set out in Section 23-23. Timing: Election contests must be initiated within 15 days after the election results are declared. See Section 5/23‑1.2a.

Candidate-Initiated Options: 

Close vote margin required Candidate determines how many/which precincts to recount Contested election Candidates “nominated, elected, or declared eligible for a runoff election” for any office may petition for a recount. However, a close vote margin is required: candidates must have received “at least 95% of the number of votes cast for any successful candidate for the same office” to be eligible for a recount. See Article 22, “Canvassing Votes,” Section 5/22‑9.1, Subsection (a): http://tinyurl.com/ILart22. While Illinois uses the term “recount” to describe this process, the process does not carry the same weight as in many other states. All candidate-initiated recounts are considered “discovery recounts,” and the results are explicitly not binding on the outcome of the election. Illinois' statutes state: The results of the examination and count shall not be certified, used to amend or change the abstracts of the votes previously completed, used to deny the successful candidate for the same office his certificate of nomination or election, nor used to change the previously declared result of the vote on a question of public policy. Such count shall not be binding in an election contest brought about under the provisions of the Election Code, shall not be a prerequisite to bringing such an election contest, shall not prevent the bringing of such an election contest, nor shall it affect the results of the canvass previously proclaimed. (Section 5/22‑9.1, Subsection (b), last paragraph.) Illinois further limits the scope and effectiveness of these discovery recounts by limiting the number of precincts in which they may occur. Candidates may not petition to recount precincts “exceeding 25% of the total number of precincts within the jurisdiction of the election authority.” As noted under “Court-Ordered Recounts” above, candidates may also seek to initiate a recount through the election contest process, in which the judge overseeing the contest may hold a hearing to determine if a recount is warranted. For contests, any candidate on the ballot and any write-in candidate in any election may contest the election. Candidates may also specifically request an “examination of records and equipment” as part of the contest. Unlike “discovery recounts,” the ruling resulting from an election contest is binding upon the election results. See Section 5/23‑1.6a, “Election contest ‑ Statewide ‑ Examination of records ‑ Procedure,” and Section 5/23‑1.2a., "Election contest ‑ Statewide offices ‑ Who may contest ‑ Time and place for filing ‑ Fee.” For state-wide election contests, see also Section 5/23‑1.6a, “Election contest ‑ Statewide ‑ Examination of records ‑ Procedure,” and Section 5/23‑1.2a, "Election contest ‑ Statewide offices ‑ Who may contest ‑ Time and place for filing ‑ Fee.” For other election contests, see Sections 23-23 and 23-26. Timing: Petitions for discovery recounts must be made within five days after the announcement of the canvass results. See Section 5/23‑19. Election contests involving elections to state-wide offices must be initiated within 15 days after the election results are declared; those for all other offices must be initiated within 30 days after the election results are declared. See Sections 5/23‑1.2a and 5/23‑20.

Voter-Initiated Options: 

Close vote margin required Voters determine how many/which precincts to recount Voters may request recounts for offices Voters may request recounts for initiatives/questions Any five voters may petition for a discovery recount on a question of public policy. As with candidate-initiated recounts, the process is not binding and is limited in scope. (See “Candidate-Initiated Options” above for more details.) Similarly, there is a close vote margin requirement of 5% or less of the total number of votes cast on the question. See Section 5/22‑9.1, Subsection (b). Voters may also initiate election contests for certain offices and for constitutional amendments. A recount in this process is not guaranteed, but the court will hold a hearing to determine the necessity of a recount. See Sections 5/23‑19 and 5/23-24. Timing: Petitions for discovery recounts must be made within five days after the announcement of the canvass results. See Section 5/22‑9.1. Election contests involving public questions must be initiated within thirty days after the election results are declared. See Section 5/23-20.

Cost for Candidate-Initiated Recounts: 

Initiator pays set or per jurisdiction fee Initiator pays deposit or bond before recount Initiators pay a set $10 per precinct fee for discovery recounts. See Section 5/22‑9.1. For state-wide election contests, petitions for an examination of records and equipment (to be filed after the initial contest proceedings are initiated) must be accompanied by a bond for $50 per precinct to be examined, or $75,000, whichever is less. See Section 5/23‑1.6a. The original petition to initiate the election contest in a state-wide race must also be accompanied by a filing fee of $10,000. See Section 5/23‑1.2a. There are no statutory provision establishing a separate and distinct filing fee for election contests.

Cost for Voter-Initiated Recounts: 

Initiator pays set or per jurisdiction fee Initiator pays deposit or bond before recount Initiators pay a set $10 per precinct fee for discovery recounts. See Section 5/22‑9.1. For election contests, while mention is made of a security deposit made by the contestant, no specific amounts or details are provided. See Section 5/23-20.

Challengers and Observers: 

No statutory guidance for recount observers No statutory guidance for recount challengers Candidates or their representatives are allowed to attend the recount. For recounts on ballot questions, “acknowledged proponents and acknowledged opponents” are allowed to attend. See Section 5/22-9.1. We found no further details on observers or challengers for the recount process provided in the election code, and no statute requiring that the recount be conducted publicly.

Rules for Determining Voter Intent: 

Statutory guidance provided Section 5/23-50 of the Election Code serves as a reference to all other statutes in the code that pertain to definition of valid votes and voter intent for recounts.

Audit Laws: 

State has audit laws See: http://www.ceimn.org/state-audit-legislation-reference-guide/illinois.

Additional Resources: 
Illinois Compiled Statutes - Election Code
Illinois State Board of Elections
Champaign County Clerk - What is a Discovery Recount?
Illinois Audit Info from CEI