Attorney General Lisa Madigan Deploys 160 Investigator Teams to Monitor Illinois Primary Election 2012

(Chicago) – March 17, 2012. Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced yesterday that more than 160 teams of assistant attorneys general and investigators will be working on Tuesday, March 20, to monitor the Illinois primary election 2012.

Madigan urges voters to call her office if they encounter suspected improper or illegal activity.

Chicago and northern Illinois voters can call: 1-866-536-3496 (TTY 1-800-964-3013). Downstate voters can call: 1-866-559-6812 (TTY 1-877-844-5461).

Basic Illinois voting rights:

• Voters have the right to vote if they are in line when the polls close at 7 p.m. or at any other time between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Election Day (10 ILCS 5/17-1).
• If a voter makes a mistake or “spoils” a paper ballot and the voter has not cast the ballot, the voter has the right to receive a replacement ballot (10 ILCS 5/17-11).
• If a voter cannot read, has trouble understanding English, or is disabled, that voter has the right to request assistance from anyone other than his or her employer, an agent of his or her employer, or an officer or agent of his or her union (10 ILCS 5/17-14).
• Voters have the right to take unpaid time from work to vote, but no more than two successive hours, as long as they have applied with their employer before Election Day. The employer may set the time of day (10 ILCS 5/17-15).
• No one is allowed to try to influence a voter within 100 feet of the polling place (10 ILCS 5/17-29).