Election Law
We focus on the legal technicalities so you can focus on the issues.
Ancel Glink’s election law practice delivers expert guidance for local, state, and federal candidates on campaign finance, ballot access, and election disputes. We support candidates, political committees, and governments, ensuring compliance with election laws, facilitating fair and transparent electoral processes.
Ancel Glink’s election attorneys provide advice to candidates, politicians and political parties on all aspects of election law. Our representation includes ballot access, nomination papers, campaign finance disclosures, objections, electoral boards, local election officials, election contests and recounts, campaign ethics, hearing officer and political parties.
We represent candidates for local governmental offices, including municipal, park district, township, school districts, library boards and community colleges, as well as judicial candidates and candidates for special districts. We also represent political parties, political organizations, political action committees, and referendum committees.
Our attorneys prepare nomination papers and petitions, assess potential challenges to opponents, review nomination paperwork, provide advice regarding campaign finance disclosure obligations, and create political action committees. We appear before electoral boards and serve as public members on electoral boards when appointed by chief judges of the court. Our attorneys also hold or have held elected political office, including county, municipal, library and township offices.
Ancel Glink defends candidates whose nomination papers are challenged before electoral boards. We also represent objectors challenging candidates who have filed deficient nomination papers. Our attorneys frequently represent and advise electoral boards in all aspects of their proceedings.
In addition, we represent the Municipal Clerks of Illinois, as well as municipal clerks, township clerks, school board secretaries and park district secretaries in their important roles as local election officials.
Ballot Access
Our election attorneys can assist you with all the legal requirements to get on the ballot. We can help you with your petitions, your statement of economic interests, and other campaign paperwork. We can help you form a political committee or party, word or advance your referendum, and help you with campaign finance forms. Leave the paperwork up to us so you can concentrate on the issues.
Nomination Papers
Petitions must be precise, documents must be prepared and filled out correctly and they must all be filed in the correct offices at the correct time. We can help prepare your petitions, train your circulators and help evaluate your opponent’s materials. Don’t let them knock you off the ballot for a technical defect.
Campaign Finance Disclosures
Our attorneys can assist you in understanding your reporting obligations, the guidelines for raising and expending campaign funds properly, and related rules.
Objections
We can help you defend your case to keep you on the ballot. On the other hand, if your opponent has filed defective paperwork, we can help you preserve the integrity of the electoral process by filing an objection to challenge their candidacy. Our attorneys have handled hundreds of these types of cases and we would be happy to assist you in bringing or defending an objector’s petition.
Electoral Boards
There are many special rules that must be followed and precise timelines to meet when an objection is filed. We can assist your clerk or secretary in convening an electoral board meeting, and we can assist your electoral board meetings with the conduct of the hearing. Please call us right away if we can help you with this process. Time is of the essence.
Local Election Officials
We can assist with early voting issues, ballot certification questions, procedures for convening an electoral board and other related election issues.
Election Contests and Recounts
Did you lose by 3 votes? Our attorneys can evaluate whether an election contest is feasible and we can assist you in pursuing or defending an election recount case.
Campaign Ethics
Do you understand all of the ethical rules that apply to your campaign? Ancel Glink attorneys can help you avoid an ethics complaint, or we can help you defend one if someone files one against you.
Hearing Officers
At times, electoral boards prefer to designate a hearing officer to handle technical aspects of the electoral board hearings, such as ruling on evidentiary issues, etc. Our attorneys have served on and advised a significant number of electoral boards.
Political Parties
Our attorneys represented political parties and committeemen’s organizations in drafting bylaws, interpreting bylaws, regarding vacancies and voting issues, at conventions and caucuses, and in litigation. Let us help you unite your organization.
Our Recent Case Studies
Municipalities
Park Districts
Townships
Libraries
School Districts
Special Districts
Client Reviews
