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The date for the Special Primary Election is July 7th, and
the date for the Special General Election is September 10th. The
writs have been modified from their original filing after a
federal judge approved a consent decree to comply with the
federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
As prescribed by Illinois law, the first day for candidates of
established political parties to file original nomination papers
with the State Board of Elections will be Wednesday, April 15,
2015. The last day to file nomination papers will be Monday,
April 20, 2015. Those dates are not modified by the consent
decree.
Additional Background
For years, the Illinois Election Code has prescribed a timeline
for conducting special elections for U.S. Representative that is
not compliant with federal law. The Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) is intended to protect the
voting rights of citizens residing abroad, including in
particular military men and women stationed overseas. Illinois
law, however, does not provide sufficient time for ballots to be
mailed abroad.
For that reason, the State of Illinois entered into a consent
decree with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2013 to bring the
State temporarily into compliance with UOCAVA for the last
special election for U.S. Representative. Governor Rauner,
Attorney General Madigan, and the Illinois State Board of
Elections are now working cooperatively with the Department of
Justice to enter into a similar consent decree for the special
election caused by former Rep. Schock’s resignation.
This problem has persisted without a permanent solution for too
long. Governor Rauner is working with the General Assembly
leadership to pass legislation to protect the voting rights of our
military men and women serving overseas, while still providing that
any vacancy is filled as expeditiously as possible to ensure full
representation in Congress for the people of Illinois.
[Office of the Governor Bruce Rauner]
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