Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) All petitions
shall be in the form adopted by the System. Petition forms may be obtained from
the System on or after October 1 immediately preceding the Election Date. The
petition forms may be photocopied for use by the candidates. If offered by
SURS, petition signatures can also be submitted via an independent, secure
third-party vendor selected by SURS to accept signatures
electronically.
b) A valid petition
nominating a candidate for an open contributing membership position or an open
annuitant position on the System's Board of Trustees shall meet the following
requirements:
1) On page one of the petition
the potential candidate must sign the petition as one of the nominating
signatories. The signature shall constitute the potential candidate's
confirmation that he or she is willing to be a candidate. If using the offered
third-party vendor for submitting electronic signatures, the candidates may
submit their own signatures electronically as well.
2) The petition must bear the requisite
number of original signatures of individuals eligible to nominate the
candidate, as established by Section
1600.700(b) or
(c). A valid petition may consist of multiple
pages and may contain blank signature lines; however, all valid signatures must
be original signatures unless they are submitted via an offered third-party
vendor. Each candidate must submit their own petition and/or obtain electronic
signatures on behalf of their own candidacy. Single petitions listing multiple
candidates will not be accepted.
3)
Each original or electronic signature of an eligible voter must be accompanied
by the signing person's name (printed), home address (street and city), and
SURS employer (or last SURS employer). Other eligible voter information,
including the last four digits of the signer's social security number may be
included to assist the Board Secretary in verifying petition signing
eligibility. Signatures that are not accompanied by at least a partial address
will not be accepted. The partial social security number shall remain
confidential.
4) Petitions may be
circulated for signatures commencing the October 1 immediately preceding the
applicable Election Date and ending on January 31.
5) An individual eligible to sign a petition
nominating a candidate for an open contributing membership position on the
Board may sign original and/or electronic petitions for as many contributing
membership position candidates as desired.
6) An individual eligible to sign a petition
nominating a candidate for an open annuitant position on the Board may sign
original and/or electronic petitions for as many annuitant candidates as
desired.
7) Original-hardcopy
petitions shall bear the notarized signature of the individual who circulated
the petition for signatures, verifying that the signatures contained on the
petition were signed in that individual's presence and are genuine, and that,
to the best of the circulating individual's knowledge, the persons who signed
the petition were eligible to do so under Section
1600.700(b) or
(c). These requirements do not apply to
petition signatures submitted electronically through the third-party vendor
offered by SURS.
8) Original
petitions and petitions with electronic signatures shall be filed with and must
be received by the Board Secretary by the January 31 immediately preceding the
Election Day. Petitions received after the prescribed petition-filing period
are invalid and will not be counted.
c) The Board Secretary shall determine the
validity of petitions pursuant to the Illinois Pension Code and this Part not
less than 75 days prior to the Election Day and notify all candidates in
accordance with the election calendar whether their petitions met all petition
requirements. Candidates filing conforming petitions will be added to the slate
of candidates on the respective ballot.
d) Any individual may, upon reasonable notice
to the System, examine the petitions that have been filed with the System with
respect to the election to take place; provided, however, that in order to
protect the signing participants' and annuitants' privacy and confidentiality,
the examination shall be subject to the following limitations:
1) Petitions that are examined will be
duplicate copies of the original petitions filed and/or printouts of electronic
signatures filed, with any confidential information redacted;
2) Petitions and electronic signatures may
only be examined at the System's offices after the validity of the petitions
has been verified by the Board Secretary as provided in subsection (c);
and
3) Petitions and electronic
signatures may not be removed from the System's offices, copied, or duplicated
by any means.
e)
Challenge to the Petition Validation Process
1) The challenger shall submit a written
statement identifying the specific aspects of the petition validation process
that is being challenged.
2) All
challenges shall be submitted to the Board Secretary no later than 7 days after
the petition validation notification required in subsection (c). Any challenge
submitted more than 7 days after the date of the notification shall not be
considered. The Board Secretary shall transmit any challenges to a 3 member
committee of the Board, comprised of members of the Board not running in the
contested election.
3) The
committee shall consider the written statement and proceed to make a final
determination with respect to the challenge.
4) A written notice of the final
determination shall be sent to the challenger and all candidates within 7 days
after making the determination.
5)
The determination of the committee shall constitute a final administrative
decision for purposes of the Administrative Review Law [305 ILCS 5 /Art.
III].
