* § 3-304. Board employees; conflicts of interest. 1. No board of
elections employee shall engage in or participate in any trade or
business which creates, or may tend to create, an actual or potential
conflict of interest. No board of elections employee shall maintain a
direct financial interest in or be employed by a vendor or a company
providing services to a candidate who has an election overseen by such
employee's office, including but not limited to, printing companies,
election consulting companies, direct mail companies and digital
marketing companies. No board of elections employee shall maintain a
direct financial interest in or be employed by a vendor or company that
sells to the board voting machines, electronic poll books, printers or
other technical or electronic equipment. A violation of any of the
provisions of this subdivision shall be cause for discipline by the
board of elections, including removal of the board of elections
employee.

2. No board of elections employee shall remain on the board of
elections payroll while also a candidate for an office who has an
election overseen by the board at which they are employed, without prior
authorization by a majority vote of the board of elections commissioners
and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the state board.

(a) The state board shall promulgate rules and regulations relating to
the circumstances that may permit a board of elections to authorize an
employee who is also a candidate for an office who has an election
overseen by the board at which they are employed to remain employed,
provided that such employee be restricted from working on matters
directly related to the election in the jurisdiction in which the
employee is a candidate and any other restrictions set forth by state
board rules and regulations.

(b) For the purposes of this article, a board of elections employee
shall be deemed a candidate for elective office upon the filing of a
designating or nominating petition for such office or, where nominations
for such office are made other than by petition, upon acceptance of a
nomination. Such employee may remain in "leave without pay" status until
such time as their candidacy shall cease, or upon the day following the
certification of election results for such office, whichever comes
first.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, when there are no
primary elections for the office being sought by a candidate that is
employed by the board of elections, that candidate may remain on the
board of elections payroll for no more than ninety days prior to a
general election.

(d) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to unpaid party
positions.

3. It shall not be considered a conflict of interest for a board of
elections employee who is a member of a county committee as defined in
section 2-104 of this chapter, a district leader as outlined in section
2-110 of this chapter, a member of the state committee as described in
section 2-102 of this chapter, a delegate or an alternate delegate to
judicial district nominating conventions as described in section 6-124
of this chapter, or a delegate or an alternate delegate to national
party conventions as described in section 2-122 of this chapter who, as
part of their duties in said party position, endorses or supports a
candidate for a party position or public office.

* NB Effective December 21, 2025