Illinois State Board of Elections met Aug. 23.
Here are the minutes provided by the boiard:
PRESENT: Casandra B. Watson, Chair
Laura K. Donahue, Vice Chair
Jennifer M. Ballard Croft, Member
Cristina D. Cray, Member
Tonya L. Genovese, Member
Rick S. Terven, Sr., Member
Jack Vrett, Member
ABSENT: Catherine S. McCrory, Member
ALSO PRESENT: Bernadette M. Matthews, Executive Director
Jeremy Kirk, Assistant Executive Director
Marni M. Malowitz, General Counsel
Amy L. Calvin, Executive Administrative Assistant
The meeting convened at 10:05 a.m. via videoconference with seven Members present. Vice Chair Donahue and Members Cray, Terven and Vrett were present in the Springfield office and Member Ballard Croft was present in the Chicago office. Chair Watson and Member Genovese were present via Zoom. Member McCrory was absent and Vice Chair Donahue held her proxy. Member Genovese left the meeting at 11:55 a.m. and Member Terven held her proxy.
Vice Chair Donahue opened the meeting by leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance.
Member Cray moved to approve the minutes of the June 18 and July 9 meetings as presented. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Member Vrett moved to recess the State Board of Elections and reconvene as the State Officers Electoral Board. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 10:07 a.m. and reconvened at 12:12 p.m. with six Members present.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed the following motion for reconsideration for agenda item 3.a.1.
1) SBE v. Friends for Eva Dina Delgado, 35786, 23AS037. Ms. Malowitz recommended the motion be granted and reversal of the relevant fines according to the Rules. The late receipt of the initial notice was due to postal service delays and the basis for the appeal is meritorious. Heather Wier Vaught was present on behalf of the committee and concurred with the recommendation. Member Cray moved to grant the motion for reconsideration, which was seconded by Member Vrett and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed the following settlement offers for agenda items. 3.a.2-5.
4) SBE v. Friends of Michael V. Navarrete, 36858, 23SQ134. Ms. Malowitz recommended acceptance of the offer as it comports with the settlement guidelines as a low dollar committee. Mr. Navarrete was present on behalf of the committee and thanked the Board for their consideration. Member Ballard Croft moved to accept the settlement offer, which was seconded by Member Terven and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
2) SBE v. Macon County Democratic Central Committee, 155, 22AD255; and 3) SBE v. Friends for Alicia M. Ruiz, 34285, 23AS030. Ms. Malowitz recommended denial of the offers because they did not comport with the settlement guidelines. Member Cray moved to deny the settlement offers, which was seconded by Member Vrett and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
5) SBE v. The People for New-Man, 38887, 23DQ156. Ms. Malowitz recommended acceptance of the offer as it comports with the settlement guidelines as a low dollar committee. Member Cray moved to accept the settlement offer, which was seconded by Member Vrett and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Malowitz presented a listing of civil penalty assessments necessitating a final board order for agenda item 3.a.6. Member Terven moved to assess the civil penalties against the committees listed on pages 32-34 of the board packet. Member Vrett seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 7-0. Chair Watson voted present in the matter.
A listing of potential ballot forfeiture for 2024 and payment of civil penalty assessments were presented for informational purposes.
Member Terven moved to recess to executive session to consider complaints following closed preliminary hearing pursuant to Section 9-21 of the Election Code, 10 ILCS 5/9-21, and Section 2(c)(4) of the Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(4). Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 12:30 p.m. and reconvened at 1:10 p.m. with six Members present.
As to agenda item 3.a.9) Mohr v. Friends of Kelli Wegener, 24CD004, Member Cray moved to find that the complaint was filed on justifiable grounds and the matter be referred to staff for the imposition of civil penalties. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
As to agenda item 3.a.10) Wilson v. Shelby County United, 24CD005, Member Terven moved to find that the complaint was not filed on justifiable grounds, as supplemented by the General Counsel to remove reference to a “preponderance” of the evidence standard, and the matter be dismissed.
Ms. Matthews began her report with the certification of the November 5, 2024 General Election ballot. In addition to the certification, she asked the Board to authorize staff to amend the certification to reflect candidates added to or removed from the ballot due to court order, candidate withdrawal or similar circumstances. Member Vrett moved to certify the November 5, 2024 General Election ballot and grant authorization to staff to amend the certification as necessary. Member Cray seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Ms. Matthews presented the consideration of Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) Testing Standards and noted a memo from Erica Christell, Voting System & Testing Team Lead was included on pages 46-47 of the board packet. Ms. Matthews reviewed the memo and said the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is responsible for development and
implementation of technical standards by which vote tabulation equipment is to be tested by an EAC accredited Voting System Testing Laboratory (VSTL). These standards are known as the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). There are currently three versions of VVSG standards which include, VVSG 1.0, VVSG 1.1, and VVSG 2.0. In 2015, VVSG 1.1 was adopted by the EAC to improve security and reliability, as well as usability and accessibility. The SBE adopted the VVSG 1.1 standards in 2018. Ms. Matthews noted that there currently are no voting systems in the US that are VVSG 1.1 certified by the EAC. Due to the requirements adopted by the SBE in 2018, no new systems (due to the inability to comply with VVSG 1.1 standards) have been certified in the state of Illinois. With aging hardware and software, Illinois jurisdictions are struggling to procure voting systems that meet their current needs. Ms. Matthews recommended that the Board consider allowing for new system certification testing to the VVSG 1.0 standards with the goal to adopt VVSG 2.0 in the near future. Ms. Christell and John Oldfield, Director of Registration and Voting Systems responded to questions from the Board. Discussion ensued as to why the SBE is not adopting VVSG 2.0 standards and is considering allowing VVSG 1.0 standards instead. Ms. Christell indicated that a VVSG testing standards working group was created and draft rules for VVSG 2.0 were sent to legal for review. She explained that this is not stepping backwards, but rather creating an opportunity for the vendors currently testing at 1.0 standards using technology that would allow their systems to upgrade to 2.0 standards upon adoption. Discussion ensued regarding the Board considering each vendor request on a case by case basis to approve testing at the 1.0 standards. Ms. Christell noted that one vendor, ES&S, will be requesting a final approval of their current 1.0 system but is waiting to submit that request until the Board decides whether it will allow a vendor to test at 1.0 standards. Member Cray moved to take each voting system on a case by case basis to allow an exemption to test to the 1.0 standards while continuing to work toward the 2.0 standards. Member Terven seconded the motion. Ms. Malowitz asked if the matter could be continued to next month to allow the legal staff to have additional time for review. Ms. Christell indicated that this would not be a hardship for ES&S to hold off their request for an additional month. Member Cray then withdrew her motion.
Ms. Matthews gave a brief update on legislative activities and noted the House and Senate veto session calendars were included in the board packet on pages 48-49. Staff will be working with the legislative sub-committee soon before presenting a proposed legislative agenda to the Board.
The voter registration activity report, grant funding update, fiscal report and two year plan of staff activity for the months of August and September were presented for informational purposes. Mr. Kirk responded to questions regarding the fiscal reports and reviewed the pending contracts. Discussion was had regarding the hourly rates of the hearing officers and it was noted that the rate was increased for FY25.
Member Cray moved to recess to executive session to discuss the minutes of the July 9, 2024 executive session meeting and pending litigation pursuant to Sections 2(c)(11) and 2(c)(21) of the Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting recessed at 1:55 p.m. and reconvened at 2:01 p.m. with six Members present.
Member Vrett moved to ratify the approval of the July 9, 2024 executive session minutes, which was seconded by Member Ballard Croft and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
With there being no further business before the Board, Member Terven moved to adjourn until Tuesday, September 17, 2024. Member Vrett seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting ended at 2:03 p.m.
https://www.elections.il.gov/AboutTheBoard/MeetingMinutesAll.aspx
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