Illinois State Board of Elections Met April 20.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
PRESENT: Charles W. Scholz, Chair
Ian K. Linnabary, Vice Chair
William J. Cadigan, Member
Laura K. Donahue, Member
William R. Haine, Member
William M. McGuffage, Member
Katherine S. O’Brien, Member
Casandra B. Watson, Member
ALSO PRESENT: Bernadette M. Matthews, Acting Exec. Director
Marni M. Malowitz, General Counsel
Amy L. Calvin, Administrative Assistant III
The meeting convened at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom videoconference with seven members present. Member McGuffage was delayed and Chair Scholz held his proxy until his arrival at 10:40 a.m.
Chair Scholz opened the meeting by leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance.
Member Watson moved to approve the March 15 meeting minutes with a small typographical revision. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed the motions for reconsideration for agenda items 2.a.1-2.
1) SBE v. The Illinois Chamber PAC, 107, 19AS001. Ms. Malowitz recommended that the motion be denied as it did not contain any facts to warrant a statutory basis for appeal. Member Haine moved to adopt the recommendation of the general counsel, which was seconded by Member Cadigan and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
2) SBE v. Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership Training Academy, 34210, 19AS022. Ms. Malowitz recommended that both the motion and appeal be granted. Vice Chair Linnabary moved to adopt the recommendation of the general counsel, which was seconded by Member Watson and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed a settlement offer for agenda item 2.a.3. SBE v. Edwards County Republicans, 36158, 19DQ009. She recommended the offer be denied. Sherrill Funkhouser was present on behalf of the committee and explained that the committee had recently reorganized its officers. After discussion, Member Cadigan moved to place the matter on the May board meeting agenda to allow time to confer with staff regarding the settlement offer policy. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed an appeal for agenda item 2.a.4. SBE v. Lightfoot for Chicago, 34589, 19AS023 and concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to grant the appeal. Michael Dorf was present on behalf of the committee and agreed with the recommendation. Member Cadigan moved to grant the appeal, which was seconded by Vice Chair Linnabary and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed an appeal for agenda item 2.a.5. SBE v. Illinois Liberty PAC, 23677, 20AD021. She concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to grant the appeal and order the committee to file the amended reports as stated in the hearing officer’s report. Member Cadigan moved to grant the appeal and order the committee to file the amended reports. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed an appeal for agenda item 2.a.6. SBE v. Friends of Danny O’Toole, 35579, 20AM037. She concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to grant the appeal and order the committee to file the amended reports as stated in the hearing officer’s report. Ms. Malowitz explained that due to COVID restrictions and the stay at home order, the board previously approved to grant amnesty to fines incurred as a result of late filings during the period of March 18, 2020 through June 30, 2020. Floyd Perkins was present on behalf of the committee and said the violations were unintentional. Member McGuffage moved to grant the appeal and order the committee to file the amended reports. Member Watson seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed an appeal for agenda item 2.a.7. SBE v. The Republican Central Committee of Hamilton County, 248, 19MA094. She concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to deny the appeal for lack of a statutory basis and suggested the committee refer to the settlement officer policy to handle the matter. James VanWinkle was present on behalf of the committee along with John Chapman, James Sullivan and Laura Middendorf and reviewed the basis for the appeal. After discussion, Vice Chair Linnabary moved to place the matter on the May board meeting agenda for consideration to allow time to confer with staff regarding the settlement offer policy. Member Cadigan seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed an appeal for agenda item 2.a.8. SBE v. Illinois Road Builders PAC, 372, 19AS005. She concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to deny the appeal for lack of a statutory basis but noted the fine will be stayed as a first violation. Michael Sturino was present on behalf of the committee and explained that it was an honest mistake. Member Cadigan moved to deny the appeal and stay the fine as a first violation. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented the following appeals of campaign disclosure fines where she concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to deny the appeals for agenda items 2.a.9, 11 & 12:
9) SBE v. Republican Women of Park Ridge, Inc, 655, 20AD006;
11) SBE v. Friends of Amara Enyia, 25819, 20DQ056;
12) SBE v. Friends of Tom Phelan, 32626, 20AM022.
Member Cadigan moved to deny the above noted appeals, which was seconded by Vice Chair Linnabary and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented an appeal of campaign disclosure fines where she concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to deny the appeal for agenda item 2.a.10. SBE v. Friends for Larry Walsh, Jr, 24392, 20AM016. Michael Kasper was present on behalf of the committee and explained that the unopposed candidate was not aware of the two day requirement but did file within the five day requirement. He then asked that the single deposit rule be applied and reduce the fine to 25% of the assessment. Member Watson moved to deny the appeal and the matter be referred to staff to negotiate a settlement offer. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
A listing of payment of civil penalty assessments was presented for informational purposes.
Member Cadigan moved to recess to executive session to consider complaints following closed preliminary hearing. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 11:20 a.m. and reconvened at 11:35 a.m.
As to agenda item 2.a.14. Eberhardt v. Glotz, 21CD038, Member Cadigan moved to dismiss the complaint as the board lacked jurisdiction over the matter. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
As to the complaints following closed preliminary hearing for agenda items 2.a.15-28:
15) SBE v. Friends of Robin Rue, 32253, 21CD009;
16) SBE v. Friends of Michelle Hagy for Fayette County Treasurer, 34115, 21CD014;
17) SBE v. Friends of Ebonie S. Davis, 34127, 21CD015;
18) SBE v. The People for Johnae Strong, 34222, 21CD016;
19) SBE v. Aaron4Science, 34301, 21CD017;
20) SBE v. Citizens to Elect Daniel Trujillo, 34522, 21CD019;
21) SBE v. Friends for Paul Villareal, 34586, 21CD021;
21) SBE v. Friends of Anthony L. McCaskill Inc., 34590, 21CD022;
22) SBE v. Friends of Jason Honig for the Common Good, 34660, 21CD023;
23) SBE v. Citizens for Francis Frye, 34664, 21CD024;
24) SBE v. Renne Tex Chavez for 31st Ward, 34984, 21CD028;
25) SBE v. People for Price, 35028, 21CD030;
26) SBE v. Friends of Betty Ibarra, 35060, 21CD031;
27) SBE v. Wheeling Residents for Deborah L Wilson, 35273, 21CD033;
28) SBE v. Citizens to Elect Gregory Thomas, 35399, 21CD037;
Member Cadigan moved to find that the complaints were filed on justifiable grounds and the matters proceed to a public hearing. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
As to the complaints following closed preliminary hearing for agenda items 2.a.29-32:
29) SBE v. Palka for Sheriff 2014, 24771, 21CD008;
30) SBE v. Green for Chicago, 34534, 21CD020;
31) SBE v. Neighbors for Joe Rico, 34730, 21CD025;
32) SBE v. Friends of Courtney Hoffman II for Mayor, 34807, 21CD026; Member Cadigan moved to find that the complaints were filed on justifiable grounds, however, no further action was ordered beyond referral to staff for imposition of civil penalties.
As to the complaints following closed preliminary hearing for agenda items 2.a.33-34:
33) SBE v. Team Coulter, 32805, 21CD011;
34) SBE v. Slaney 4 District 202, 35385, 21CD036;
Member Watson moved to find that no further action is necessary for the complaints. Member Cadigan seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Matthews began her report with an update on the April 6, 2021 Consolidated Election. She noted that a post-election report was included on page 6 of the board packet and reviewed the memo. Staff in both offices were available from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and a very low volume of calls were received. Brent Davis, Director of Election Operations informed the board that in McHenry County, several candidates ended up with zero votes. It was found that McHenry County submitted an incorrect proof of their ballots to the vendor and the ovals did not line up with the positions programmed in the tabulator. On April 8, a recount was conducted with the revised programming to correct the problem. Mr. Davis noted that the final canvasses are due within the following week.
Ms. Matthews indicated that an authorization was necessary for staff to certify the results of the Fox Waterway Agency and Fox Water Reclamation District in lieu of a special board meeting. Member Watson moved to grant authorization for staff to certify those results upon receipt, which was seconded by Vice Chair Linnabary and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
A report on late precinct reporting and voting system pre-election testing were presented for informational purposes. Kyle Thomas, Director of Voting and Registration Systems indicated that McHenry County would be placed on the list for the next round of pre-election testing.
Mr. Thomas presented a request for voting system approval from Hart InterCivic, Inc. for their Verity Voting 3.1 Vote Tabulation System and said that report was distributed under separate cover. He noted that staff found two issues related to security and one matter related to programming which were outlined in the report. The first issue related to the adjustment of the parameters that notify the voter. Staff recommended that as part of the 5% re-tabulation process, the user review the individual tabulator logs to identify if the parameters were adjusted. The second issue related to the read head on the individual tabulators that allowed some ballots to be entered without being scanned. Staff recommended those ballots be placed with tamper evident seals and asked for a future remedy for the issue. The third issue related to programming of the ovals and number of candidates to vote. Upon review of the system, Hart was able to comply with the eCanvas requirements and those areas of the statute that clearly dictate the requirement for reporting of no candidates and reporting of offices with fewer votes and the number of votes. It is recommended that this be addressed in a future release. Mr. Thomas recommended a one year interim approval with the additional suggestion that Hart will return with the modifications to address the issues before the 2022 general primary election. Pam Geppert was present on behalf of Hart InterCivic and thanked the board for the opportunity to speak. She said that they have partnered with Illinois jurisdictions for the past fifteen years and look forward to bringing forth future improvements to their system. Member Cadigan moved to adopt the recommendation of Mr. Thomas as set forth in his report and grant a one year interim approval for the Verity Voting 3.1 Vote Tabulation System. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Matthews presented the legislative update contained on pages 95-105 of the board packet for informational purposes. Discussion ensued regarding the elections related legislation and Ms. Matthews noted that there was no action regarding those bills at this time.
The IVRS update and voter registration activity reports contained on pages 106-116 were presented for informational purposes.
The FY22 Board Meeting Schedule was presented and Ms. Matthews noted that the December meeting would be held one week earlier than usual because of the call of cases for the State Officers Electoral Board. Member Cadigan moved to approve the FY22 Board Meeting Scheduled as presented. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Next on the agenda was an update on the relocation of the Chicago office and Ms. Matthews said that the Intergovernmental Agreement was adopted at the April 15 meeting of the Cook County Board. It is now anticipated that the relocation will take place closer to July 1, 2021.
The fiscal status reports and two year plan of staff activity for the months of April and June were presented for informational purposes.
Member Cadigan moved to recess to executive session for a cyber-security update, litigation and personnel matters. Member Watson seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 12:15 p.m. and reconvened at 1:05 p.m.
Chair Scholz informed the board that Steve Sandvoss submitted a letter which indicated his intent to retire on June 30, 2021 and commended him for his thirty-two years of service.
With there being no further business before the board, Vice Chair Linnabary moved to adjourn until Monday, May 17, 2021. Member Watson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 1:05 p.m.
https://www.elections.il.gov/AboutTheBoard/MeetingMinutes.aspx?MID=BGqTEwpgS6M%3d&T=637602089547446659
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