Bill Text: IL HB3651 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Voting by Mail Article of the Election Code. Provides that it shall be the duty of an election authority to examine the records to ascertain whether or not such applicant is lawfully entitled to vote as requested, including a verification of the applicant's signature by comparison with the signature only on the official registration record card. Provides that within 2 days after a vote by mail ballot is received, the election judge or official shall compare the voter's signature on the certification envelope of that vote by mail ballot only with the signature of the voter on file in the office of the election authority. Provides that the election authority shall not compare the signature with the vote by mail application.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-10 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB3651 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB3651-Introduced.html


103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3651

Introduced , by Rep. Ryan Spain

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
10 ILCS 5/19-4 from Ch. 46, par. 19-4
10 ILCS 5/19-8 from Ch. 46, par. 19-8

Amends the Voting by Mail Article of the Election Code. Provides that it shall be the duty of an election authority to examine the records to ascertain whether or not such applicant is lawfully entitled to vote as requested, including a verification of the applicant's signature by comparison with the signature only on the official registration record card. Provides that within 2 days after a vote by mail ballot is received, the election judge or official shall compare the voter's signature on the certification envelope of that vote by mail ballot only with the signature of the voter on file in the office of the election authority. Provides that the election authority shall not compare the signature with the vote by mail application.
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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning elections.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
5Sections 19-4 and 19-8 as follows:
6 (10 ILCS 5/19-4) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-4)
7 Sec. 19-4. Mailing or delivery of ballots; time.
8Immediately upon the receipt of such application either by
9mail or electronic means, not more than 90 days nor less than 5
10days prior to such election, or by personal delivery not more
11than 90 days nor less than one day prior to such election, at
12the office of such election authority, it shall be the duty of
13such election authority to examine the records to ascertain
14whether or not such applicant is lawfully entitled to vote as
15requested, including a verification of the applicant's
16signature by comparison with the signature only on the
17official registration record card, and if found so to be
18entitled to vote, to post within one business day thereafter
19the name, street address, ward and precinct number or township
20and district number, as the case may be, of such applicant
21given on a list, the pages of which are to be numbered
22consecutively to be kept by such election authority for such
23purpose in a conspicuous, open and public place accessible to

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1the public at the entrance of the office of such election
2authority, and in such a manner that such list may be viewed
3without necessity of requesting permission therefor. Within
4one day after posting the name and other information of an
5applicant for a vote by mail ballot, the election authority
6shall transmit by electronic means pursuant to a process
7established by the State Board of Elections that name and
8other posted information to the State Board of Elections,
9which shall maintain those names and other information in an
10electronic format on its website, arranged by county and
11accessible to State and local political committees. Within 2
12business days after posting a name and other information on
13the list within its office, but no sooner than 40 days before
14an election, the election authority shall mail, postage
15prepaid, or deliver in person in such office, or deliver via
16electronic transmission pursuant to Section 19-2.6, an
17official ballot or ballots if more than one are to be voted at
18said election. Mail delivery of Temporarily Absent Student
19ballot applications pursuant to Section 19-12.3 shall be by
20nonforwardable mail. However, for the consolidated election,
21vote by mail ballots for certain precincts may be delivered to
22applicants not less than 25 days before the election if so much
23time is required to have prepared and printed the ballots
24containing the names of persons nominated for offices at the
25consolidated primary. The election authority shall enclose
26with each vote by mail ballot or application written

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1instructions on how voting assistance shall be provided
2pursuant to Section 17-14 and a document, written and approved
3by the State Board of Elections, informing the vote by mail
4voter of the required postage for returning the application
5and ballot, and enumerating the circumstances under which a
6person is authorized to vote by vote by mail ballot pursuant to
7this Article; such document shall also include a statement
8informing the applicant that if he or she falsifies or is
9solicited by another to falsify his or her eligibility to cast
10a vote by mail ballot, such applicant or other is subject to
11penalties pursuant to Section 29-10 and Section 29-20 of the
12Election Code. Each election authority shall maintain a list
13of the name, street address, ward and precinct, or township
14and district number, as the case may be, of all applicants who
15have returned vote by mail ballots to such authority, and the
16name of such vote by mail voter shall be added to such list
17within one business day from receipt of such ballot. If the
18vote by mail ballot envelope indicates that the voter was
19assisted in casting the ballot, the name of the person so
20assisting shall be included on the list. The list, the pages of
21which are to be numbered consecutively, shall be kept by each
22election authority in a conspicuous, open, and public place
23accessible to the public at the entrance of the office of the
24election authority and in a manner that the list may be viewed
25without necessity of requesting permission for viewing.
26 Each election authority shall maintain a list for each

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1election of the voters to whom it has issued vote by mail
2ballots. The list shall be maintained for each precinct within
3the jurisdiction of the election authority. Prior to the
4opening of the polls on election day, the election authority
5shall deliver to the judges of election in each precinct the
6list of registered voters in that precinct to whom vote by mail
7ballots have been issued by mail.
8 Each election authority shall maintain a list for each
9election of voters to whom it has issued temporarily absent
10student ballots. The list shall be maintained for each
11election jurisdiction within which such voters temporarily
12abide. Immediately after the close of the period during which
13application may be made by mail or electronic means for vote by
14mail ballots, each election authority shall mail to each other
15election authority within the State a certified list of all
16such voters temporarily abiding within the jurisdiction of the
17other election authority.
18 In the event that the return address of an application for
19ballot by a physically incapacitated elector is that of a
20facility licensed or certified under the Nursing Home Care
21Act, the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013,
22the ID/DD Community Care Act, or the MC/DD Act, within the
23jurisdiction of the election authority, and the applicant is a
24registered voter in the precinct in which such facility is
25located, the ballots shall be prepared and transmitted to a
26responsible judge of election no later than 9 a.m. on the

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1Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday immediately preceding the
2election as designated by the election authority under Section
319-12.2. Such judge shall deliver in person on the designated
4day the ballot to the applicant on the premises of the facility
5from which application was made. The election authority shall
6by mail notify the applicant in such facility that the ballot
7will be delivered by a judge of election on the designated day.
8 All applications for vote by mail ballots shall be
9available at the office of the election authority for public
10inspection upon request from the time of receipt thereof by
11the election authority until 30 days after the election,
12except during the time such applications are kept in the
13office of the election authority pursuant to Section 19-7, and
14except during the time such applications are in the possession
15of the judges of election.
16 Notwithstanding any provision of this Section to the
17contrary, pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 30 of the
18Address Confidentiality for Victims of Domestic Violence,
19Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking, or Stalking Act, neither
20the name nor the address of a program participant under that
21Act shall be included in any list of registered voters
22available to the public, including the lists referenced in
23this Section.
24(Source: P.A. 102-292, eff. 1-1-22; 102-819, eff. 5-13-22.)
25 (10 ILCS 5/19-8) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-8)

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1 Sec. 19-8. Time and place of counting ballots.
2 (a) (Blank.)
3 (b) Each vote by mail voter's ballot returned to an
4election authority, by any means authorized by this Article,
5and received by that election authority before the closing of
6the polls on election day shall be endorsed by the receiving
7election authority with the day and hour of receipt and may be
8processed by the election authority beginning on the day it is
9received by the election authority in the central ballot
10counting location of the election authority, but the results
11of the processing may not be counted until the day of the
12election after 7:00 p.m., except as provided in subsections
13(g) and (g-5).
14 (c) Each vote by mail voter's ballot that is mailed to an
15election authority and postmarked no later than election day,
16but that is received by the election authority after the polls
17close on election day and before the close of the period for
18counting provisional ballots cast at that election, shall be
19endorsed by the receiving authority with the day and hour of
20receipt and shall be counted at the central ballot counting
21location of the election authority during the period for
22counting provisional ballots.
23 Each vote by mail voter's ballot that is mailed to an
24election authority absent a postmark or a barcode usable with
25an intelligent mail barcode tracking system, but that is
26received by the election authority after the polls close on

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1election day and before the close of the period for counting
2provisional ballots cast at that election, shall be endorsed
3by the receiving authority with the day and hour of receipt,
4opened to inspect the date inserted on the certification, and,
5if the certification date is election day or earlier and the
6ballot is otherwise found to be valid under the requirements
7of this Section, counted at the central ballot counting
8location of the election authority during the period for
9counting provisional ballots. Absent a date on the
10certification, the ballot shall not be counted.
11 If an election authority is using an intelligent mail
12barcode tracking system, a ballot that is mailed to an
13election authority absent a postmark may be counted if the
14intelligent mail barcode tracking system verifies the envelope
15was mailed no later than election day.
16 (d) Special write-in vote by mail voter's blank ballots
17returned to an election authority, by any means authorized by
18this Article, and received by the election authority at any
19time before the closing of the polls on election day shall be
20endorsed by the receiving election authority with the day and
21hour of receipt and shall be counted at the central ballot
22counting location of the election authority during the same
23period provided for counting vote by mail voters' ballots
24under subsections (b), (g), and (g-5). Special write-in vote
25by mail voter's blank ballots that are mailed to an election
26authority and postmarked no later than election day, but that

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1are received by the election authority after the polls close
2on election day and before the closing of the period for
3counting provisional ballots cast at that election, shall be
4endorsed by the receiving authority with the day and hour of
5receipt and shall be counted at the central ballot counting
6location of the election authority during the same periods
7provided for counting vote by mail voters' ballots under
8subsection (c).
9 (e) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, vote by
10mail voters' ballots and special write-in vote by mail voter's
11blank ballots received by the election authority after the
12closing of the polls on an election day shall be endorsed by
13the election authority receiving them with the day and hour of
14receipt and shall be safely kept unopened by the election
15authority for the period of time required for the preservation
16of ballots used at the election, and shall then, without being
17opened, be destroyed in like manner as the used ballots of that
18election.
19 (f) Counting required under this Section to begin on
20election day after the closing of the polls shall commence no
21later than 8:00 p.m. and shall be conducted by a panel or
22panels of election judges appointed in the manner provided by
23law. The counting shall continue until all vote by mail
24voters' ballots and special write-in vote by mail voter's
25blank ballots required to be counted on election day have been
26counted.

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1 (g) The procedures set forth in Articles 17 and 18 of this
2Code shall apply to all ballots counted under this Section. In
3addition, within 2 days after a vote by mail ballot is
4received, but in all cases before the close of the period for
5counting provisional ballots, the election judge or official
6shall compare the voter's signature on the certification
7envelope of that vote by mail ballot only with the signature of
8the voter on file in the office of the election authority. The
9election authority shall not compare the signature with the
10vote by mail application. If the election judge or official
11determines that the 2 signatures match, and that the vote by
12mail voter is otherwise qualified to cast a vote by mail
13ballot, the election authority shall cast and count the ballot
14on election day or the day the ballot is determined to be
15valid, whichever is later, adding the results to the precinct
16in which the voter is registered. If the election judge or
17official determines that the signatures do not match, or that
18the vote by mail voter is not qualified to cast a vote by mail
19ballot, then without opening the certification envelope, the
20judge or official shall mark across the face of the
21certification envelope the word "Rejected" and shall not cast
22or count the ballot.
23 In addition to the voter's signatures not matching, a vote
24by mail ballot may be rejected by the election judge or
25official:
26 (1) if the ballot envelope is open or has been opened

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1 and resealed;
2 (2) if the voter has already cast an early or grace
3 period ballot;
4 (3) if the voter voted in person on election day or the
5 voter is not a duly registered voter in the precinct; or
6 (4) on any other basis set forth in this Code.
7 If the election judge or official determines that any of
8these reasons apply, the judge or official shall mark across
9the face of the certification envelope the word "Rejected" and
10shall not cast or count the ballot.
11 (g-5) If a vote by mail ballot is rejected by the election
12judge or official for any reason, the election authority
13shall, within 2 days after the rejection but in all cases
14before the close of the period for counting provisional
15ballots, notify the vote by mail voter that his or her ballot
16was rejected. The notice shall inform the voter of the reason
17or reasons the ballot was rejected and shall state that the
18voter may appear before the election authority, on or before
19the 14th day after the election, to show cause as to why the
20ballot should not be rejected. The voter may present evidence
21to the election authority supporting his or her contention
22that the ballot should be counted. The election authority
23shall appoint a panel of 3 election judges to review the
24contested ballot, application, and certification envelope, as
25well as any evidence submitted by the vote by mail voter. No
26more than 2 election judges on the reviewing panel shall be of

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1the same political party. The reviewing panel of election
2judges shall make a final determination as to the validity of
3the contested vote by mail ballot. The judges' determination
4shall not be reviewable either administratively or judicially.
5 A vote by mail ballot subject to this subsection that is
6determined to be valid shall be counted before the close of the
7period for counting provisional ballots.
8 (g-10) All vote by mail ballots determined to be valid
9shall be added to the vote totals for the precincts for which
10they were cast in the order in which the ballots were opened.
11 (h) Each political party, candidate, and qualified civic
12organization shall be entitled to have present one pollwatcher
13for each panel of election judges therein assigned.
14(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)
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