Legislation
State: Illinois
Signed: November 17, 2023
Effective: November 17, 2023
Chapter: Public Act 103-0562
Summary
House Bill 351 clarifies that Notaries and Electronic Notaries are not required to record in their journals notarial acts performed on certain electoral documents.
Affects
Amends 5 ILCS 312/3-107
Changes
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Provides that neither a Notary nor an Electronic Notary is required to keep or otherwise record in a journal a notarial act or an electronic notarial act performed on specified electoral documents to be filed by or on behalf of a candidate for public office.
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Provides that the specific electoral documents exempt from the journaling requirement are: (1) nominating petitions; (2) petitions of candidacy; (3) petitions for nomination; (4) nominating papers; and (5) nomination papers.
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Provides that failure of a Notary or Electronic Notary to keep a journal of or otherwise record such a notarial act does not affect the validity of the notarial act on that document and is not a violation of the Illinois Notary Public Act.
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Provides that this exemption applies without regard to whether the notarial act is performed before, on, or after the effective date of Public Act 102-160.
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Clarifies that "public office” means any elective office or judicial office subject to retention, as the term is defined in 10 ILCS 5/9-1.10.
AnalysisIllinois amends its newly implemented journal requirement, by clarifying that Notaries and Electronic Notaries are not required to record certain electoral documents in a journal. It is important to point out that this new law does not prohibit a Notary or Electronic Notary from recording these elections documents in their journals. Continuing to do so is just as permissible as not recording them, and in the case of the former, the NNA would continue to recommend that Illinois Notaries make journal entries of these documents. Matters related to elections are such an important part of our democracy and documenting these notarial acts protects everyone invested in the integrity of the elections process.
Read House Bill 351.