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Thursday, October 9, 2014

Important to Double-Check Objector Petition Filing Deadine


The 2015 Election and Campaign Finance Calendar published by the State Board of Elections says that its deadline for the filing of objections to candidate nomination papers for the upcoming April 7, 2015, election is December 30, 2014.  However, that date may not apply to all municipalities, depending on their year-end holiday schedule.  In fact, the objection-filing deadline in some municipalities may be as late as January 6, 2015.  It is, therefore, important for municipalities to calculate their objection-filing period for the April election based on the holiday schedule of their own city or village.

The Election Code states that objections to candidate nomination papers may be filed within five “business days” following the last day of the candidate petition-filing period. 10 ILCS 5/10-8. For the April 2015 election, the candidate petition-filing period ends on December 22, 2014, in all jurisdictions. However, different municipalities have different holiday schedules, and that may affect the way the “business days” are counted for the five-day objection-filing period.

For purposes of calculating election-related dates and deadlines, the Election Code defines the term “business day” as “any day in which the office of an election authority, local election official or the State Board of Elections is open to the public for a minimum of 7 hours.” 10 ILCS 5/1-3(22). So, for example, if a municipal office will be closing early on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) or New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31), in addition to being closed all day for Christmas and New Year’s Day, the objection-filing deadline will be different than the State Board’s schedule.

Below is a table showing the most common objection-filing deadlines for the April 2015 election. “Open” means open for at least 7 hours, and “Closed” means closed all day, or open for less than 7 hours (including “half days”):


Dec. 23
Dec. 24
Dec. 25
Dec. 26
Dec. 29
Dec. 30
Dec. 31
Jan.
1
Jan.
2
Objection-filing DEADLINE
Open
Open
Closed
Open
Open
Open
Dec. 30
Open
Closed
Closed
Open
Open
Open
Open
Dec. 31
Open
Closed
Closed
Open
Open
Open
Closed
Closed
Open
Jan. 2
Open
Closed
Closed
Closed
Open
Open
Closed
Closed
Closed
Jan. 6

Because the dates can vary significantly from municipality to municipality, you should check with your local attorney to confirm the objection filing deadline in your community.

Post Authored by Adam Lasker, Ancel Glink

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