For only this election cycle, petition signatures may be collected remotely, Pallmeyer ordered. Candidates may mail voters a petition or share a digital file online or by email. Voters then are able to print it out, sign it and either send a hard copy to the candidate through the mail or electronically in an emailed attachment or as a photograph.

Voters can also electronically sign the forms from their smartphone, with a computer mouse or using a laptop’s trackpad.

The deadline for candidates to submit signatures to the Board of Elections was pushed by Pallmeyer to Aug. 7, more than six weeks after the deadline established by law.

Also, number of signatures that candidates with third parties are required to gather was cut by 90 percent.

Independents or those in a “new” party needed at least 25,000 signatures to run for president or a seat in the U.S. Senate. Under Pallmeyer’s terms, the minimum required number signatures is 2,500.

In addition, Libertarian and Green candidates who were successfully placed on Illinois’ general election ballot either in 2016 or 2018 immediately qualify for inclusion on the 2020 ballot.