Digital Petition Signatures Bill Could Stamp Out Campaign Fraud

(Berwyn, IL) – Legislation introduced in the Illinois General Assembly to authorize digital candidate petition signatures could weed out an element of campaign fraud and frivolous candidacy challenges, says a top election attorney.

The measure, House Bill 4966, sponsored by State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), directs the Illinois State Board of Elections to adopt rules authorizing local election officials to establish procedures under which digital voter signatures may be collected for nominating, candidate, and referendum petitions.

“Forging voter signatures on candidate nominating petitions for elected office remains, unfortunately, one of the most common illegal tactics of unscrupulous campaigns or individual petition passers,” said election attorney Michael Del Galdo, managing partner of the Berwyn-based Del Galdo Law Group, LLC. “Rep. Cassidy’s legislation could go a long way to eliminating that practice.”

Del Galdo, who advises municipal and state legislative campaigns in Cook County on election law, also argues that digital petition signatures could also diminish frivolous challenges to a candidate’s petitions.

“Historically, many campaigns have frivolously challenged the validity of an opponent’s petition signatures to force the opponent to spend precious time and money defending their petitions,” said Del Galdo. “Verified digital petition signatures could render obsolete those type of challenges or, at least, diminish their frequency.”

If approved, Cassidy’s legislation, which also applies to referendum petitions, would have the Illinois elections board have the rules in place by January 1, 2024.

davidormsby@davidormsby.com