Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Illinois

Re: Online petitions

Under the Illinois Election Code, candidates must submit nominating petitions with the original signatures of registered voters. As of yet, this must be done on paper, with the signatures made by hand with pen and ink. (Of course, exceptions can be made for people with disabilities; for example, people with no hands can sign with their teeth and illiterate people can merely place their customary "mark" on the petition and it will still be considered valid.)

But, for purposes of a candidate getting his or her name placed on a ballot, online petitions would not suffice, as there is no provision in the election code that allows for electronic signatures for this purpose. Other states may have different laws that allow electronic signatures on nominating petitions, but I doubt it.

In recent years, online petitions have become popular for the purpose of urging legislative action by an elected official. Such petitions have no real lawful purpose -- they do not require or mandate that an elected official actually take any action. Rather, they merely inform the official of his or her consituents' interests. These kinds of petitions can use online, electronic "signatures," but the elected official has broad freedom to accept or reject the validity of those signatures as he or she sees fit.