Bill Text: IL SB3047 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Election Code. Provides that when a voter registration applicant's data is transferred from a designated government agency or the Office of the Secretary of State, the applicant may be required to provide a signature to the election authority before the election day or before applying for a vote by mail ballot. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB3047 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB3047-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 SB3047 Introduced 2/5/2020, by Sen. Michael E. Hastings SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
10 ILCS 5/1A-16.6
10 ILCS 5/1A-16.7
Amends the Election Code. Provides that when a voter registration applicant's data is transferred from a designated government agency or the Office of the Secretary of State, the applicant may be required to provide a signature to the election authority before the election day or before applying for a vote by mail ballot. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning elections.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
Sections 1A-16.6 and 1A-16.7 as follows:
(10 ILCS 5/1A-16.6)
Sec. 1A-16.6. Government agency voter registration.
(a) By April 1, 2016, the State Board of Elections shall
establish and maintain a portal for government agency
registration that permits an eligible person to electronically
apply to register to vote or to update his or her existing
voter registration whenever he or she conducts business, either
online or in person, with a designated government agency. The
portal shall interface with the online voter registration
system established in Section 1A-16.5 of this Code and shall be
capable of receiving and processing voter registration
application information, including electronic signatures, from
a designated government agency. The State Board of Elections
shall modify the online voter registration system as necessary
to implement this Section.
Voter registration data received from a designated
government agency through the online registration system shall
be processed as provided for in Section 1A-16.5 of this Code.

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Whenever the registration interface is accessible to the
general public, including, but not limited to, online
transactions, the interface shall allow the applicant to
complete the process as provided for in Section 1A-16.5 of this
Code. The online interface shall be capable of providing the
applicant with the applicant's voter registration status with
the State Board of Elections and, if registered, the
applicant's current registration address. The applicant shall
not be required to re-enter any registration data, such as
name, address, and birth date, if the designated government
agency already has that information on file. The applicant
shall be informed that by choosing to register to vote or to
update his or her existing voter registration, the applicant
consents to the transfer of the applicant's personal
information to the State Board of Elections.
Whenever a government employee is accessing the
registration system while servicing the applicant, the
government employee shall notify the applicant of the
applicant's registration status with the State Board of
Elections and, if registered, the applicant's current
registration address. If the applicant elects to register to
vote or to update his or her existing voter registration, the
government employee shall collect the needed information and
assist the applicant with his or her registration. The
applicant shall be informed that by choosing to register to
vote or to update his or her existing voter registration, the

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applicant consents to the transfer of the applicant's personal
information to the State Board of Elections.
In accordance with technical specifications provided by
the State Board of Elections, each designated government agency
shall maintain a data transfer mechanism capable of
transmitting voter registration application information,
including electronic signatures where available, to the online
voter registration system established in Section 1A-16.5 of
this Code. Each designated government agency shall establish
and operate a voter registration system capable of transmitting
voter registration application information to the portal as
described in this Section by July 1, 2016.
(b) Whenever an applicant's data is transferred from a
designated government agency, the agency must transmit a
signature image if available. If no signature image was
provided by the agency or if no signature image is available in
the Secretary of State's database or the statewide voter
registration database, the applicant must be notified that
their registration will remain in a pending status and the
applicant will be required to provide identification and a
signature to the election authority before or on Election Day
in the polling place or during early voting or before applying
for a vote by mail ballot.
(c) The State Board of Elections shall track registration
data received through the online registration system that
originated from a designated government agency for the purposes

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of maintaining statistics required by the federal National
Voter Registration Act of 1993, as amended.
(d) The State Board of Elections shall submit a report to
the General Assembly and the Governor by December 1, 2015
detailing the progress made to implement the government agency
voter registration portal described in this Section.
(e) The Board shall adopt rules, in consultation with the
impacted agencies.
(f) As used in this Section, a "designated government
agency" means the Secretary of State's Driver Services and
Vehicle Services Departments, the Department of Human
Services, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the
Department of Employment Security, and the Department on Aging;
however, if the designated government agency becomes a
designated automatic voter registration agency under Section
1A-16.1 or Section 1A-16.2 of this Code, that agency shall
cease to be a designated government agency under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 100-464, eff. 8-28-17.)
(10 ILCS 5/1A-16.7)
Sec. 1A-16.7. Automatic voter registration.
(a) The State Board of Elections shall establish and
maintain a portal for automatic government agency voter
registration that permits an eligible person to electronically
apply to register to vote or to update his or her existing
voter registration as provided in Section 1A-16.1 or Section

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1A-16.2. The portal shall interface with the online voter
registration system established in Section 1A-16.5 of this Code
and shall be capable of receiving and processing voter
registration application information, including electronic
signatures, from the Office of the Secretary of State and each
designated automatic voter registration agency, as defined in
Section 1A-16.2. The State Board of Elections may
cross-reference voter registration information from any
designated automatic voter registration agency, as defined
under Section 1A-16.2 of this Code, with information contained
in the database of the Secretary of State as provided under
subsection (c) of Section 1A-16.5 of this Code. The State Board
of Elections shall modify the online voter registration system
as necessary to implement this Section.
(b) Voter registration data received from the Office of the
Secretary of State or a designated automatic voter registration
agency through the online registration application system
shall be processed as provided in Section 1A-16.5 of this Code.
(c) The State Board of Elections shall establish technical
specifications applicable to each automatic government
registration program, including data format and transmission
specifications. The Office of the Secretary of State and each
designated automatic voter registration agency shall maintain
a data transfer mechanism capable of transmitting voter
registration application information, including electronic
signatures where available, to the online voter registration

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system established in Section 1A-16.5 of this Code.
(d) The State Board of Elections shall, by rule, establish
criteria and procedures for determining whether an agency of
the State or federal government seeking to become a designated
automatic voter registration agency has access to reliable
personal information, as defined under this subsection (d) and
subsection (f) of Section 1A-16.2 of this Code, and otherwise
meets the requirements to enter into an interagency contract
and to operate as a designated automatic voter registration
agency. The State Board of Elections shall approve each
interagency contract upon affirmative vote of a majority of its
members.
As used in this subsection (d), "reliable personal
information" means information about individuals obtained from
government sources that may be used to verify whether an
individual is eligible to register to vote.
(e) Whenever an applicant's data is transferred from the
Office of the Secretary of State or a designated automatic
voter registration agency, the agency must transmit a signature
image if available. If no signature image was provided by the
agency, or if no signature image is available in the Office of
the Secretary of State's database or the statewide voter
registration database, the applicant must be notified that his
or her registration will remain in a pending status, and the
applicant will be required to provide identification that
complies with the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 and a

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signature to the election authority before or on election day
in the polling place or during early voting or before applying
for a vote by mail ballot.
(f) Upon receipt of personal information collected and
transferred by the Office of the Secretary of State or a
designated automatic voter registration agency, the State
Board of Elections shall check the information against the
statewide voter registration database. The State Board of
Elections shall create and electronically transmit to the
appropriate election authority a voter registration
application for any individual who is not registered to vote in
Illinois and is not disqualified as provided in this Section or
whose information reliably indicates a more recent update to
the name or address of a person already included in the
statewide voter database. The election authority shall process
the application accordingly.
(g) The appropriate election authority shall ensure that
any applicant who is registered to vote or whose existing voter
registration is updated under this Section is promptly sent
written notice of the change. The notice required by this
subsection (g) may be sent or combined with other notices
required or permitted by law, including, but not limited to,
any notices sent pursuant to Section 1A-16.5 of this Code. Any
notice required by this subsection (g) shall contain, at a
minimum: (i) the applicant's name and residential address as
reflected on the voter registration list; (ii) a statement

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notifying the applicant to contact the appropriate election
authority if his or her voter registration has been updated in
error; (iii) the qualifications to register to vote in
Illinois; (iv) a statement notifying the applicant that he or
she may opt out of voter registration or request a change to
his or her registration information at any time by contacting
an election official; and (v) contact information for the
appropriate election authority, including a phone number,
address, electronic mail address, and website address.
(h) The appropriate election authority shall ensure that
any applicant whose voter registration application is not
accepted or deemed incomplete is promptly sent written notice
of the application's status. The notice required by this
subsection may be sent or combined with other notices required
or permitted by law, including, but not limited to, any notices
sent pursuant to Section 1A-16.5 of this Code. Any notice
required by this subsection (h) shall contain, at a minimum,
the reason the application was not accepted or deemed
incomplete and contact information for the appropriate
election authority, including a phone number, address,
electronic mail address, and website address.
(i) If the Office of the Secretary of State or a designated
automatic voter registration agency transfers information, or
if the State Board of Elections creates and transmits a voter
registration application, for a person who does not qualify as
an eligible voter, then it shall not constitute a completed

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voter registration form, and the person shall not be considered
to have registered to vote.
(j) If the registration is processed by any election
authority, then it shall be presumed to have been effected and
officially authorized by the State, and that person shall not
be found on that basis to have made a false claim to
citizenship or to have committed an act of moral turpitude, nor
shall that person be subject to penalty under any relevant
laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 29-10 and 29-19
of this Code. This subsection (j) does not apply to a person
who knows that he or she is not entitled to register to vote
and who willfully votes, registers to vote, or attests under
penalty of perjury that he or she is eligible to register to
vote or willfully attempts to vote or to register to vote.
(k) The State Board of Elections, the Office of the
Secretary of State, and each designated automatic voter
registration agency shall implement policies and procedures to
protect the privacy and security of voter information as it is
acquired, stored, and transmitted among agencies, including
policies for the retention and preservation of voter
information. Information designated as confidential under this
Section may be recorded and shared among the State Board of
Elections, election authorities, the Office of the Secretary of
State, and designated automatic voter registration agencies,
but shall be used only for voter registration purposes, shall
not be disclosed to the public except in the aggregate as

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required by subsection (m) of this Section, and shall not be
subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The following
information shall be designated as confidential:
(1) any portion of an applicant's Social Security
number;
(2) any portion of an applicant's driver's license
number or State identification number;
(3) an applicant's decision to decline voter
registration;
(4) the identity of the person providing information
relating to a specific applicant; and
(5) the personal residence and contact information of
any applicant for whom notice has been given by an
appropriate legal authority.
This subsection (k) shall not apply to information the
State Board of Elections is required to share with the
Electronic Registration Information Center.
(l) The voter registration procedures implemented under
this Section shall comport with the federal National Voter
Registration Act of 1993, as amended, and shall specifically
require that the State Board of Elections track registration
data received through the online registration system that
originated from a designated automatic voter registration
agency for the purposes of maintaining statistics.
Nothing in this Code shall require designated voter
registration agencies to transmit information that is

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confidential client information under State or federal law
without the consent of the applicant.
(m) The State Board of Elections, each election authority
that maintains a website, the Office of the Secretary of State,
and each designated automatic voter registration agency that
maintains a website shall provide information on their websites
informing the public about the new registration procedures
described in this Section. The Office of the Secretary of State
and each designated automatic voter registration agency shall
display signage or provide literature for the public containing
information about the new registration procedures described in
this Section.
(n) No later than 6 months after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the State Board
of Elections shall hold at least one public hearing on
implementing this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly
at which the public may provide input.
(o) The State Board of Elections shall submit an annual
public report to the General Assembly and the Governor
detailing the progress made to implement this Section. The
report shall include all of the following: the number of
records transferred under this Section by agency, the number of
voters newly added to the statewide voter registration list
because of records transferred under this Section by agency,
the number of updated registrations under this Section by
agency, the number of persons who opted out of voter

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registration, and the number of voters who submitted voter
registration forms using the online procedure described in
Section 1A-16.5 of this Code. The 2018 and 2019 annual reports
may include less detail if election authorities are not
equipped to provide complete information to the State Board of
Elections. Any report produced under this subsection (o) shall
exclude any information that identifies any individual
personally.
(p) The State Board of Elections, in consultation with
election authorities, the Office of the Secretary of State,
designated automatic voter registration agencies, and
community organizations, shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement the provisions of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 100-464, eff. 8-28-17.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.