---
type: "Bill"
title: "ELEC CD-NOMINATION PETITIONS"
description: "Amends the Election Code. Provides that 2 or more petitions filed within the last hour of the filing deadline shall be deemed filed simultaneously."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "97th"
identifier: "HB 5203"
citation: "Illinois HB 5203 (97th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 27
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2012-02-08"
last_action: "2012-08-21"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b7d4bf8e-49f9-480f-9f9d-0e651e61088e"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=5203&GAID=11&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=65341&SessionID=84&GA=97"
source_hash: "c439715fbe9b82f21453820265091a15ce5acd38dae2855b02e88f29ba732e53"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-il"]
---

# Illinois HB 5203 (97th) — ELEC CD-NOMINATION PETITIONS

Amends the Election Code. Provides that 2 or more petitions filed within the last hour of the filing deadline shall be deemed filed simultaneously.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700HB5203&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=65341&DocNum=5203&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700HB5203eng&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=65341&DocNum=5203&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09700HB5203enr&GA=97&SessionId=84&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=65341&DocNum=5203&GAID=11&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **54–2** (pass) · upper
- Third Reading — **106–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Mike Fortner — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2012-02-08** Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Mike Fortner `filing`
- **2012-02-08** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2012-02-08** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2012-02-27** Assigned to Elections & Campaign Reform Committee `referral-committee`
- **2012-03-06** Do Pass / Short Debate Elections & Campaign Reform Committee; 007-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2012-03-07** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2012-03-09** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2012-03-09** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2012-03-21** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 106-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2012-03-21** Arrive in Senate `introduction`
- **2012-03-21** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading March 22, 2012 `reading-1`
- **2012-03-22** Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Kirk W. Dillard
- **2012-03-23** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2012-03-23** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2012-04-11** Assigned to Executive `referral-committee`
- **2012-05-02** Postponed - Executive
- **2012-05-04** Rule 2-10 Committee Deadline Established As May 25, 2012
- **2012-05-16** Do Pass Executive; 008-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2012-05-16** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 17, 2012
- **2012-05-22** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2012-05-22** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 23, 2012
- **2012-05-25** Third Reading - Passed; 054-002-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2012-05-25** Passed Both Houses
- **2012-06-22** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2012-08-21** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2012-08-21** Effective Date January 1, 2013
- **2012-08-21** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 97-1044 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/b7d4bf8e-49f9-480f-9f9d-0e651e61088e`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).