Prairie State Wire

Illinois State Board of Elections met Oct. 16.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

PRESENT: Casandra B. Watson, Chair

Laura K. Donahue, Vice Chair

Jennifer M. Ballard Croft, Member

Tonya L. Genovese, Member

Catherine S. McCrory, Member

Rick S. Terven, Sr., Member

Jack Vrett, Member

ABSENT: Cristina D. Cray, 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 10:00 a.m. via videoconference with seven Members present. Chair Watson and Members McCrory and Terven were present in the Chicago office, Vice Chair Donahue and Member Genovese were present in the Springfield office and Members Ballard Croft and Vrett were present via Zoom. Member Cray was absent and Vice Chair Donahue held her proxy. Member Vrett left the meeting at 10:15 a.m. and Member McCrory held his proxy.

Chair Watson opened the meeting by leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance.

Member McCrory moved to approve the minutes of the September 17 meeting as presented. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 7-0. Vice Chair Donahue voted present.

Ms. Malowitz reported that agenda items 2.a.1) SBE v. 36th Ward Dems, 36448, 23AD027 and 2.a.5) SBE v. People’s Choice Party, 35135, 23SQ096 would be placed on the November meeting agenda.

Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed the following settlement offers for agenda items 2.a.2-4 & 6-8.

2) SBE v. Stephenson County Democratic Party, 136, 24AM001. Ms. Malowitz noted that the respondent was delayed due to traffic and would call the matter later in the meeting.

6) SBE v. Friends of LaTonya Ruffin, 36889, 22SQ138. Ms. Malowitz recommended acceptance of the offer because the committee was closed with a zero balance. The fines are scheduled to abate in May 2025, therefore the $700 was a reasonable offer. Jayman Avery was present on behalf of the committee and asked that the settlement offer be accepted as presented. Member Vrett moved to accept the settlement offer, which was seconded by Member Terven and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

8) SBE v. Progressive Dems for Jessie Fuentes, 39498, 23AD039. Ms. Malowitz recommended denial of the settlement offer because the balance and receipts ratios did not comport with the settlement guidelines. However, the offer of $2,190 is more than the committee’s recently reported account balance and the committee only owes $3,600 in fines. Ms. Malowitz noted that the offer as presented is approximately 60% of the total amount owed and the committee’s current fund balance was only $39.28. She said that the current fund balance was a factor that could be considered to reach a settlement. Christopher Belz was present on behalf of the committee and said he is the current treasurer. He indicated that there were some issues with the former treasurer and since then a forensic audit was completed. Mr. Belz reported that amended reports have been filed and asked the Board to accept his offer. Member Terven moved to accept the settlement offer as presented, which was seconded by Member McCrory and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

3) SBE v. Massac County Republican Central Committee, 1030, 22MQ004; and 4) SBE v. Friends of Wayne Domke, 32368, 23AM028. Ms. Malowitz recommended acceptance of the offers from the above noted committees as they comported with the settlement guidelines. Member McCrory moved to accept the settlement offers, which was seconded by Member Terven and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

7) SBE v. Citizen Farmers Combine PAC, 36919, 23AD029. Ms. Malowitz recommended denial of the offer because the committee’s balance and receipts ratios did not comport with the settlement guidelines. Member McCrory moved to deny the settlement offer, which was seconded by Member Terven and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed appeals of campaign disclosure fines where she concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to grant the appeals for agenda items 2.a.9-10.

10) SBE v. Citizens for Risa Lanier, 39560, 23AD042. Ms. Lanier was present on behalf of the committee and agreed with the recommendation. Member Terven moved to grant the appeal, which was seconded by Vice Chair Donahue and passed by roll call vote of 7-0. Member Ballard Croft abstained from the vote.

9) SBE v. Kankakee County Democratic Central Committee, 325, 23AD003. Vice Chair Donahue moved to grant the appeal, which was seconded by Member Terven and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed the following appeals of campaign disclosure fines where she concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to deny the appeals for agenda items 2.a.11-18.

12) SBE v. Committee to Elect Daniel P. Conness, 9153, 24AM015. Mr. Conness was present on behalf of the committee and explained that the failure to click the upload button was an honest mistake. Settlement offer options were discussed and Ms. Malowitz noted that the committee was not considered low dollar. After discussion and consultation with Director of Campaign Disclosure Tom Newman, Mr. Conness offered a settlement amount of $500. Member Terven moved to deny the appeal and accept the settlement offer, which was seconded by Chair Watson and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

13) SBE v. Friends of Joe Cook, 31741, 24MQ055. Mr. Cook was present on behalf of the committee and said the late filing occurred because he was on military service duty orders. He said the current fund balance is $388.60 and asked that the $200 fine be reduced. Settlement offer options were discussed and Mr. Cook offered $100 to settle the fine. Vice Chair Donahue moved to deny the appeal and accept the settlement offer, which was seconded by Member McCrory and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

14) SBE v. Friends of Matt Grandone, 34055, 24MQ072. Ms. Malowitz noted that the second to last sentence in the hearing officer report should be amended to provide that the stay on the $30 previous fine is lifted, not the $75 fine. Member McCrory moved to deny the appeal as modified by the general counsel, which was seconded by Member Terven and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

11) SBE v. Godrey District 1 Republicans, 7453, 24MQ014;

15) SBE v. Minooka 201 – Building for the Future, 34416, 24MQ083;

16) SBE v. Citizens for Cassandra J. Matz, 36548, 24MQ107;

17) SBE v. Citizens for Chris Watkins, 37137, 24AM039; and

18) SBE v. Lamont Robinson for Alderman, 38916, 23AM059, 23AJ045. Member Terven moved to deny the above noted appeals, which was seconded by Member McCrory and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

Ms. Malowitz presented and reviewed a complaint following public hearing for agenda item 2.a.19.

19) Lundeen v. Naperville Forward, 23CD027. Ms. Malowitz concurred with the hearing officer findings and recommendations included in the amended report following the public hearing. Ms. Malowitz also agreed with the recommendation to order the respondent to amend the March 2023 quarterly report, send notices of in-kind contributions as explained by the hearing officer and comply with the board order or face a civil penalty of up to $5,000. Jeffrey Meyer was present on behalf of the complainant and asked the board to adopt the recommendation. Vice Chair Donahue moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer and general counsel, which was seconded by Member McCrory 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 2.a.20. Vice Chair Donahue moved to assess the civil penalties against the committees listed on pages 168-174 of the board packet. Member Terven seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 7-0. Chair Watson voted present in the matter.

The Board returned to the settlement offer for agenda item 2.a.2 and Ms. Malowitz indicated that the parties have arrived at the meeting.

2) SBE v. Stephenson County Democratic Party, 136, 24AM001. Ms. Malowitz recommended the offer be rejected because the low balance ratio did not comport with the settlement guidelines. However, she noted that the offer presented represented 50% of the fine and the receipts ratio falls within the guidelines. Jodi Coss and Kevin Lamm were present on behalf of the committee and indicated that the new treasurer made an honest mistake. Ms. Coss said she would submit the payment today and asked the Board to accept the offer. Member McCrory moved to accept the settlement offer as presented, which was seconded by Member Terven and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

A listing of payment of civil penalty assessments was presented for informational purposes.

Ms. Matthews began her report with preparations for the November 5, 2024 General Election and said a memo from Brent Davis, Director of Election Operations was included on pages 176-177 of the board packet. She said that staff would be available from 5:30 a.m. to at least 10:00 p.m. on election day to provide support to members of the public, voters and election officials. Executive staff will meet throughout the day along with state and federal partners to report any issues or concerns that may arise. The election judge training school schedule was also included for informational purposes.

Ms. Matthews presented the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) 45-day ballot transmission report. All UOCAVA ballots are required to be transmitted to voters that are entitled to request one forty-five days out from the election and the agency is required to submit a report of those transmissions to the Department of Justice (DOJ). All jurisdictions, other than DuPage, timely transmitted their ballots by the 45-day deadline. DuPage transmitted their 1,618 ballots the Monday after the September 20 deadline and communicated to staff that they did so at the direction of their legal counsel because they were awaiting an updated certification following the Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. court decision. Ms. Matthews said should the DOJ follow up on one of the jurisdictions not meeting the deadline, she will continue to update and advise the board.

Ms. Matthews reported on general election public outreach efforts and said a memo from Matt Dietrich, Public Information Officer was included on pages 178-179 of the board packet. She reviewed the memo and said Mr. Dietrich began outreach with a series of press conferences in September 2023. As the election cycle got underway, public outreach has been conducted through social media accounts, statewide television and radio advertisements, League of Women Voters forums, civic group presentations, and media publications.

The next item on the agenda was voting system modification engineering change orders for the Dominion Democracy Suite 5.6-E system. Ms. Matthews noted that a report describing the de minimus changes was included on pages 180-181 of the board packet. Due to the de minimus nature of the changes, no further testing or board action was required and the memo was presented for informational purposes.

Ms. Matthews presented an informational report from Stephon Bishop, Director of Administrative Services contained on pages 182-186 of the board packet. She said the memo outlines the major activities and projects conducted by the division over the past two years..

The Cyber Navigator Annual report, voter registration activity report, grant funding update, fiscal report and two year plan of staff activity for the months of October and November were presented for informational purposes.

Ms. Matthews reminded the Board that a special meeting is scheduled for October 30, 2024 and indicated that early voting was going well with no major issues being reported to the agency as of the meeting date.

Member McCrory moved to recess to executive session to discuss the minutes of the September 17, 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 11:00 a.m. and reconvened at 11:25 a.m. with six members present.

Vice Chair Donahue moved to ratify the approval of the September 17, 2024 executive session minutes, which was seconded by Member Genovese and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.

With there being no further business before the Board, Vice Chair Donahue moved to adjourn until Wednesday, October 30, 2024. Member McCrory seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0. The meeting ended at 11:28 a.m.

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