REPORT DIGEST

STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS

COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION
FOR THE TWO YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

Release Date:  MAY 3, 2018

FINDINGS THIS AUDIT:  4

CATEGORY:  NEW -- REPEAT -- TOTAL
Category 1:  0 -- 0 -- 0
Category 2:  4 -- 0 -- 4
Category 3:  0 -- 0 -- 0
TOTAL:  4 -- 0 -- 4

FINDINGS LAST AUDIT: 3

Category 1: Findings that are material
weaknesses in internal control and/or a
qualification on compliance with State laws
and regulations (material noncompliance).
Category 2: Findings that are significant
deficiencies in internal control and
noncompliance with State laws and
regulations.
Category 3: Findings that have no internal
control issues but are in noncompliance with
State laws and regulations.

State of Illinois, Office of the Auditor
General
FRANK J. MAUTINO, AUDITOR GENERAL

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:
Office of the Auditor General, Iles Park
Plaza, 740 E. Ash Street, Springfield, IL
62703
(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887

This Report Digest and Full Report are also
available on the worldwide web at
www.auditor.illinois.gov

SYNOPSIS

• (17-01) The Board did not comply with
certain requirements of the Election Code (10
ILCS 5).
• (17-02) The Board could not demonstrate
compliance with all restrictions of the
Raffles and Poker Runs Act (230 ILCS 15) when
granting raffle licenses.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

NONCOMPLIANCE WITH ELECTION CODE

The State Board of Elections (Board) did not
comply with certain requirements of the
Election Code (10 ILCS 5) (Code) during the
examination period.

As of the end of fieldwork, we noted the
Board had not established monitoring
mechanisms to determine whether business
entities were updating their registrations as
needed and, therefore, is not assessing the
requisite civil penalty.  Section 9-35(e) of
the Code states the Board shall impose a
civil penalty of $1,000 per business day for
failure to update a registration by a
business entity as required by Section 20-160
of the Illinois Procurement Code (30 ILCS
500).

Further, we noted 3 of 9 (33%) Board actions
tested were entered on the Board’s online
database from 3 to 15 days beyond the 5
business days after action was taken or the
penalty was imposed on the complaint. Section
9-23.5 of the Code requires the Board to
update its online database of all complaints
filed with the Board within five business
days after action is taken or a penalty
imposed on a complaint. (Finding 1, pages
9-10)

We recommended the Board comply with the
requirements of the Election Code.  If the
requirements of the Code require monitoring
or enforcement resources beyond the present
capabilities of the Board, we recommended the
Board seek assistance from outside parties to
perform these duties as presently prescribed
in the Election Code.  Otherwise, we
suggested the Board seek legislative remedies
from the requirements.  In addition, we
recommended the Board ensure its actions and
penalties are entered into its online
database within five business days after
action is taken or a penalty is imposed on a
complaint.

Board officials partially agreed with the
auditors. They agreed the Board did not
comply with both provisions of the Code noted
above, but disagreed with the part of the
finding relating to Section 9-35(e) of the
Code in that they believed it is not possible
to effectively enforce that section of the
Code.

NONCOMPLIANCE WITH RAFFLES AND POKER RUNS ACT

The Board could not demonstrate compliance
with all restrictions of the Raffles and
Poker Runs Act (Act) when granting raffle
licenses.

The Act (230 ILCS 15/8.1(c)) restricts the
raffle licenses issued by the Board and
states the following are ineligible entities
for licenses:

i. Any political committee which has an
officer who has been convicted of a felony;

ii. Any political committee which has an
officer who is or has been a professional
gambler or gambling promoter;

iii. Any political committee which has an
officer who is not of good moral character;

iv. Any political committee which has an
officer who is also an officer of a firm or
corporation in which a person defined in (i),
(ii), (iii) has a proprietary, equitable, or
credit interest, or in which such a person is
active or employed;

v. Any political committee in which a person
defined in (i), (ii) or (iii) is an officer,
director, or employee, whether compensated or
not;

vi. Any political committee in which a person
defined in (i), (ii) or (iii) is to
participate in the management or operation of
a raffle as defined in this Section.

We tested 40 raffle applications received
from political action committees and acted
upon by the Board during the examination
period.  We were not able to determine
whether or not the Board issued raffle
licenses during the examination period to
entities ineligible for licenses based upon
the criteria prescribed in the Act because
the Board had not established a monitoring
mechanism to vet this information. (Finding
2, pages 11-12)

We recommended the Board establish,
implement, and document procedures for
tracking and monitoring raffle licenses to
ensure compliance under the Raffles and Poker
Runs Act.  If those specific requirements of
the Act require monitoring or enforcement
resources beyond the present capabilities of
the Board, we recommended the Board seek
assistance from outside parties to perform
these duties as presently prescribed in the
Act.  Otherwise, we recommended the Board
seek legislative remedies from the
requirement.

Board officials partially agreed with the
auditors, in that they are not enforcing the
listed provisions, but disagrees as they do
not believe it is possible to effectively
enforce the section of the Act.

OTHER FINDINGS

The remaining findings pertain to inadequate
controls over grant agreements and untimely
performance evaluations.  We will review the
Board’s progress towards the implementation
of our recommendations in our next compliance
examination.

ACCOUNTANT’S OPINION

The accountants conducted a compliance
examination of the Board for the two years
ended June 30, 2017, as required by the
Illinois State Auditing Act.  The accountants
stated the Board complied, in all material
respects, with the requirements described in
the report.

The compliance examination was conducted by
Sikich LLP.

JANE CLARK
Division Director

This report is transmitted in accordance with
Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing
Act.

FRANK J. MAUTINO
Auditor General

FJM:jv