Illinois Statutes § 5/16-6.1 Separate ballot for judicial candidates seeking retention in office

In elections held pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of Article VI of the Constitution relating to retention of judges in office, the form of the proposition to be submitted for each candidate shall be as provided in paragraph (1) or (2), as the election authority may choose.

The names of all candidates thus submitting their names for retention in office in any particular judicial district or circuit shall appear on the same ballot which shall be separate from all other ballots voted on at the general election.

Propositions on Supreme Court judges, if any are seeking retention, shall appear on the ballot in the first group, for judges of the Appellate Court in the second group immediately under the first, and for circuit judges in the last group. The grouping of candidates for the same office shall be preceded by a heading describing the office and the court. If there are two or more candidates for each office, the names of such candidates in each group shall be listed in the order determined as follows: The name of the person with the greatest length of time served in the specified office of the specified court shall be listed first in each group. The rest of the names shall be listed in the appropriate order based on the same seniority standard. If two or more candidates for each office have served identical periods of time in the specified office, such candidates shall be listed alphabetically at the appropriate place in the order of names based on seniority in the office as described. Circuit judges shall be credited for the purposes of this section with service as associate judges prior to July 1, 1971 and with service on any court the judges of which were made associate judges on January 1, 1964 by virtue of Paragraph 4, subparagraphs (c) and (d) of the Schedule to Article VI of the former Illinois Constitution.

At the top of the ballot on the same side as the propositions on the candidates are listed shall be printed an explanation to read substantially as follows: "Vote on the proposition with respect to all or any of the judges listed on this ballot. No judge listed is running against any other judge. The sole question is whether each judge shall be retained in his or her present office".

Such separate ballot shall be printed on paper of sufficient size so that when folded once it shall be large enough to contain the following words, which shall be printed on the back, "Ballot for judicial candidates seeking retention in office". Such ballot shall be handed to the elector at the same time as the ballot containing the names of other candidates for the general election and shall be returned therewith by the elector to the proper officer in the manner designated by this Act. All provisions of this Act relating to ballots shall apply to such separate ballot, except as otherwise specifically provided in this section. Such separate ballot shall be printed upon paper of a green color. No other ballot at the same election shall be green in color.

In precincts in which voting machines are used, the special ballot containing the propositions on the retention of judges may be placed on the voting machines if such voting machines permit the casting of votes on such propositions.

An electronic voting system authorized by Article 24A may be used in voting and tabulating the judicial retention ballots. When an electronic voting system is used which utilizes a ballot label booklet and ballot card, there shall be used in the label booklet a separate ballot label page or pages as required for such proposition, which page or pages for such proposition shall be of a green color separate and distinct from the ballot label page or pages used for any other proposition or candidates.