Illinois Recount Laws
This information was updated 10/30/2022
Note: Illinois allows “discovery recounts.” Discovery recounts are limited in scope and will not change the results of an election, but they may be used as a basis for an election contest.
Mixed paper ballot and DREs with VVPAT
For more details, visit Verified Voting.
Mix of hand count and retabulation
For discovery recounts (see Candidate Initiated Options below) on automatic tabulating equipment, “The automatic tabulating equipment shall be tested prior to the discovery recount or election contest as provided in Section 24A-9, and then the official ballots or ballot cards shall be recounted on the automatic tabulating equipment. In addition, (1) the ballot or ballot cards shall be checked for the presence or absence of judges' initials and other distinguishing marks, and (2) the ballots marked "Rejected", "Defective", "Objected to", "Vote by Mail Ballot", and "Early Ballot" shall be examined to determine the propriety of the labels, and (3) the "Duplicate Vote by Mail Ballots", "Duplicate Early Ballots", "Duplicate Overvoted Ballots", and "Duplicate Damaged Ballots" shall be compared with their respective originals to determine the correctness of the duplicates….Any person who has filed a petition for discovery recount may request that a redundant count be conducted in those precincts in which the discovery recount is being conducted. The additional costs of such a redundant count shall be borne by the requesting party." See the Illinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 10 (10 ILCS 5) Sec. 24A-15.1.
For automatic tabulating equipment, "Redundant count" means a verification of the original computer count by another count using compatible equipment or by hand as part of a discovery recount. 10 ILCS 5/24A-2 & 24B-2.
For discovery recounts on DREs, “The Direct Recording Electronic Voting System equipment shall be tested prior to the discovery recount or election contest as provided in Section 24C-9, and then the official ballots shall be audited. Any person who has filed a petition for discovery recount may request that a redundant count be conducted in those precincts in which the discovery recount is being conducted. The additional costs of a redundant count shall be borne by the requesting party.” Sec. 24C-15.1.
For DREs, "Redundant count means a verification of the original computer count of ballots by another count using compatible equipment or other means as part of a discovery recount, including a count of the permanent paper record of each ballot cast by using compatible equipment, different equipment approved by the State Board of Elections for that purpose, or by hand.” Sec. 24C-2.
For election contests, there is no guidance on counting methods for recounts ordered through the court. The statute requires 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.” Sec. 23-1.8a.
Candidate-initiated
Voter-initiated
Court-ordered
Court-Ordered Recounts:
For an office, a candidate or a voter may initiate an election contest by submitting a petition to the court. For a ballot measure, a group of five voters may initiate an election contest by submitting a petition to the court. The court will hold a hearing in which it will identify those election jurisdictions, if any, for which a recount is appropriate. 10 ILCS 5/23-1.2a, 5/23 1.7a and 5/ 23-23.2. In addition to other requirements, the petitions must include a statement “declaring that, as a consequence of the mistake, fraud or irregularity alleged, the result of the election, as officially proclaimed, was incorrect.” 10 ILCS 5/23-1.3a.
For court-ordered recounts in state-wide races the court can “issue procedural orders or interim rulings regarding the recount or hearing, either upon motion of a party or upon its own motion.” 10 ILCS 5/23-1.8a. See also the powers of the court are set out in 10 ILCS 5/23-23.
Timing: 10 ILCS 5/23‑1.2a.
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. 10 ICSL 5/22‑9.1. These recounts are considered “discovery recounts,” and the results are explicitly not binding on the outcome of the election. The statutes require that 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.
Neither candidates nor voters may petition to recount precincts “exceeding 25% of the total number of precincts within the jurisdiction of the election authority.” 10 ILCS 5/22-9.1.
As noted above in “Court-Ordered Recounts,” candidates may also 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 election 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. 10 ILCS 5/23 1.6a, 5/23 1.2a, 5/23-1.10a, 5/23-26 and 5/23-28.
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
A group of five registered voters eligible to vote on a question of public policy 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 that states: “if the results of the canvass are such that the losing side on the question would have been the prevailing side had it received an additional number of votes equal to 5% of the total number of votes cast on the question.” 10 ILCS 5/22 9.1b.
Voters may also initiate election contests for offices, constitutional amendments, and questions of public policy. For some offices, voter initiated contests require petitions supported by verified signatures. A recount in this process is not guaranteed, but the court will hold a hearing to determine the necessity of a recount. 10 ILCS 5/23-1.2a, 5/23-19 and 5/23-24.
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. 10 ILCS 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 of $50 per precinct to be examined, or $75,000, whichever is less. 10 ILCS 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. 10 ILCS 5/23 1.2a. For additional information on costs assessed for election contests see: 10 ILCS 5/23-1.8a, 5/23-1.11.a, and 5/23-23.
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. 10 ILCS 5/22 9.1.
The costs petitioning for an examination of records and equipment in voter-initiated election contests of offices are the same as the costs listed in the section above, “Cost for Candidate Initiated Recounts.”
See also the cost information in ILCS 5/23-1.8a, 5/23-1.11.a and 5/23-25.
Party/candidate or initiator has statutory authority to appoint observers
No statutory guidance for recount challengers
Candidates or their representatives are allowed to attend the recount. For recounts on ballot questions, equal numbers of “acknowledged proponents and acknowledged opponents” are allowed to attend. 10 ILCS 5/22-9.1. We found no further details on observers or challengers for the recount process, and no statute requiring that the recount be conducted publicly.
See the audit laws database at Verified Voting.
This information was updated 10/30/2022 using Illinois Compiled Statutes (accessed 10/30/22) and the Illinois Administrative Code (current through Register Vol. 46, No. 15, April 8, 2022).