State Board of Elections met Oct. 16.
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 M. McGuffage, Member
Katherine S. O’Brien, Member
Casandra B. Watson, Member
ABSENT: William R. Haine, Member
ALSO PRESENT: Steven S. Sandvoss, Executive Director
Bernadette Matthews, Asst. Exec. Director
Kenneth R. Menzel, General Counsel
Amy L. Calvin, Administrative Assistant III
The meeting convened at 10:30 a.m. via videoconference with seven members present. Chair Scholz, Vice Chair Linnabary and Members Cadigan, McGuffage, O’Brien and Watson were present in Chicago and Member Donahue was present in Springfield. Member Haine was absent and Chair Scholz held his proxy.
Chair Scholz opened the meeting by leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance.
Member Cadigan moved to approve the minutes from the September 16 meeting as presented.
Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Mr. Menzel presented and reviewed the motions for reconsideration for agenda item 2.a.1-2:
1) SBE v. Citizens to Elect David Moore, 23127, 19AM031. Mr. Menzel recommended the motion be granted and that no fine be imposed. Member Cadigan moved to grant the motion for reconsideration and that no fine be imposed. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
2) SBE v. Friends of Ram, 34224, 19AM057. Mr. Menzel recommended the motion be granted and that the fines be stayed. Member Cadigan moved to grant the motion for reconsideration and that the fines be stayed. Member O’Brien seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Mr. Menzel presented and reviewed the settlement offers for agenda item 2.a.3-6.
3) SBE v. Godfrey Democratic Committee, 16993, 19MQ024. Mr. Menzel recommended denial of the settlement offer because it did not qualify under the Board’s settlement policy.
Member Cadigan moved to reject the settlement offer, seconded by Vice Chair Linnabary and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
4) SBE v. East St. Louis Republican Central Committee, 18551, 19DQ034. Mr. Menzel recommended acceptance of the settlement offer because it complied with the Board’s settlement policy. Member Cadigan moved to accept the settlement offer, seconded by Member O’Brien and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
5) SBE v. Friends of Tim Whelan, 24102, 19DQ062. Mr. Menzel recommended acceptance of the settlement offer because it complied with the Board’s settlement policy. Member Cadigan moved to accept the settlement offer, seconded by Member O’Brien and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
6) SBE v. Friends of Jarett Sanchez, 31958, 18JQ079. Mr. Menzel recommended acceptance of the settlement offer because it complied with the Board’s settlement policy.
Mr. Sanchez was present and concurred with the recommendation. Member Cadigan moved to accept the settlement offer, which was seconded by Vice Chair Linnabary and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Mr. Menzel presented the following appeals of campaign disclosure fines where he concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to grant the appeals for agenda item 2.a.7-8.
7) SBE v. Grassroots PAC, 27361, 19MQ068. Abbie Illenberger was present and concurred 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.
8) SBE v. Roger A. Agpawa for Mayor, 32731. Member Cadigan moved to grant the appeal, which was seconded by Member O’Brien and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Mr. Menzel presented the following appeal of campaign disclosure fines where he concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to grant the appeal and file amended report for agenda item 2.a.9.
9) SBE v. Citizens for Maggie Trevor, 34078, 19AD129. Ms. Trevor was present and concurred with the recommendation. Member Cadigan moved to grant the appeal and order the committee to file the amended report, which was seconded by Vice Chair Linnabary and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Agenda item 2.a.12) SBE v. Citizens for Derrick G. Curtis, 26217, 19AD121 was pulled and will be placed on the November meeting agenda.
Mr. Menzel presented the following appeal of campaign disclosure fines where he concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to deny the appeal for agenda item 2.a.16.
16) SBE v. Grassroots Illinois Action Campaign Committee, 34927, 19MA053. Abbie Illenberger was present on behalf of the committee and indicated that she appreciated the 10% reduction in the fine. Member Cadigan moved to deny the appeal, which was seconded by Vice Chair Linnabary and passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Mr. Menzel presented the following appeal of campaign disclosure fines where he concurred with the hearing officer recommendation to deny the appeals for agenda items 2.a.10, 11, & 13-15:
10) SBE v. United Citizen Party, 18436, 19MQ031;
11) SBE v. Citizens for Christopher Getty, 22589, 19MQ039;
13) SBE v. Parents for Student Excellence, 29458, 19MQ071;
14) SBE v. Citizens for Marty Stack, 32065, 19MQ077;
15) SBE v. Friends for Alicia Ruiz, 34285, 19MQ103.
Member Cadigan moved to deny the above appeals, which was seconded by Vice Chair Linnabary and 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 10:48 a.m. and reconvened at 11:25 a.m. with the same attendance as noted in the initial roll call.
As to agenda item 2.a.18) McQuillan v. Geneva Educators 4 Students, 19CD086, Member Cadigan moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer and General Counsel that the complaint was not filed on justifiable grounds and the matter not proceed to a public hearing. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
As to agenda item 2.a.19) Williams v. Friends to Elect Michael Glotz, 19CD090, Member Cadigan moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer and General Counsel that the complaint was not filed on justifiable grounds, the matter not proceed to a public hearing and the committee be ordered to file the amended reports within thirty days. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
As to agenda item 2.a.20) Williams v. One Tinley Park, 19CD091, Member Cadigan moved to adopt the recommendation of the hearing officer and General Counsel that the complaint was not filed on justifiable grounds and the matter not proceed to a public hearing. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Executive Director Sandvoss began his report with a request for modification of Election Systems & Software EVS 5.5.0.2. Kyle Thomas, Director of Voting and Registrations reviewed his memo and explained that the Engineering Change Order is a patch to the Verizon 4G modem used in some of the DS200 Tabulators. The modification was reviewed and approved by the VSTL Pro V&V and was also tested by VRS staff without any issues. Mr. Thomas recommended a two year interim approval. Member Cadigan moved to grant a two year approval of the system as outlined in Mr. Thomas’ memo on page 66 of the board packet. Vice Chair Linnabary seconded the motion, which passed by roll call vote of 8-0.
Mr. Sandvoss presented a memo from Brent Davis, Director of Election Operations regarding the upcoming established party candidate petition filing plan contained on pages 67-74 of the board packet. He noted that this process occurs every other year and that approximate 300 candidates, or their representatives will file on the first day, which is November 25. Discussion ensued regarding the set-up of filing stations, office hours and filing procedures. Mr. Sandvoss also invited the board to attend and observe the activities in Springfield on the first day of petition filing.
Angela Ryan, Director of Legislation, presented the Veto Session calendars that were included on pages 75-77 of the board packet. She indicated that one of the proposals for veto session was an exemption from the Procurement Code for census and redistricting related matters.
Because it is a very specialized field for consulting, staff would like to be able to complete the requirements in a timely manner to meet the deadlines set forth by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The voter registration activity for the month of September was presented for informational purposes. However, Chair Scholz asked that staff give a brief Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) update to benefit an individual that signed in under Public Comment regarding the AVR Rules.
Dustin Schultz, AVR Coordinator, noted that the registrations numbers have reached in excess of !00,000 and that the Secretary of State’s office implemented the Real ID requirements in July, 2019. The SOS is fully compliant with the true AVR and opt-in process and the other agencies affected are still in the process of opt-in implementation. Mr. Schultz indicated that the other agencies were experiencing funding and/or technology issues, which has delayed their connection to the system.
The Cyber Navigator Program update was presented for informational purposes.
Mr. Sandvoss presented reports on staff attendance at the New Jersey Election Security & Preparedness TTX. He noted that the SBE also conducts statewide TTX sessions and that board members are invited to attend a regional session at any time.
The fiscal reports and two year plan of staff activity for the months of October and November were presented for informational purposes.
Member McGuffage discussed the previous Legislative Sub-Committee and suggested that Members Donahue and Haine would be an asset to the committee because of their previous senate experience. Chair Scholz said that with their agreement, he would like to appoint Members Donahue and Hanie to the Legislative Sub-Committee to work with Ms. Ryan on legislative initiatives.
Chair Scholz noted that a few individuals signed in to speak under the public comments portion of the meeting. Jenny Terrell, Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, offered her comments regarding the implementation of the Automatic Voter Registration System. Sandra Ellis and Robert McQuillan spoke as to their observations of the McQuillan v. Geneva Educators 4 Students, 19CD086 matter.
With there being no further business before the board, they unanimously agreed to adjourn until Monday, November 18, 2019 in Springfield. The meeting adjourned at 12:20 p.m.
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