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Public Act 101-0641
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| HB2238 Enrolled | LRB101 08064 RJF 53126 b |
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. If and only if Senate Bill 1863 of the 101st |
General Assembly becomes law in the form in which it passed the |
House of Representatives on May 21, 2020, then the Election |
Code is amended by changing Section 2B-20 as follows:
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(10 ILCS 5/2B-20) |
Sec. 2B-20. Changes for vote by mail official ballot |
mailing and processing. |
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the |
contrary, an election authority shall mail official ballots to |
any elector requesting an official ballot no earlier than |
September 24, 2020. Except for electors applying under Article |
20, any elector submitting an application for a vote by mail |
ballot on or before October 1, 2020 shall receive a ballot no |
later than October 6, 2020. An election authority shall mail |
official ballots to any elector requesting an official ballot |
after October 1, 2020 no later than 2 business days after |
receipt of the application. |
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the |
contrary, any vote by mail ballot received by an election |
authority shall be presumed to meet the requirements of |
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Articles 17, 18, and 19 and the voter shall be deemed otherwise |
qualified to cast a vote by mail ballot unless deemed invalid |
as provided in this Section. |
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the |
contrary, within 2 days after a vote by mail ballot is |
received, but in all cases before the close of the period for |
counting provisional ballots, the election authority shall |
appoint a panel or panels as needed of 3 election judges, of |
which no more than 2 shall be from the same political party, |
from the list of election judges submitted by the county |
parties for this specific purpose to compare the voter's |
signature on the certification envelope of the vote by mail |
ballot with the signature of the voter on file in the office of |
the election authority. The signature shall be presumed to |
match unless 3 out of 3 election judges determine that the 2 |
signatures do not match. By a vote of 3 of 3 election judges, a |
vote by mail ballot may only be rejected because the signature |
on the certification envelope and the signature used by the |
election authority for verification purposes do not match or |
the certification envelope contains a signature but not in the |
proper location. A vote by mail ballot may only be rejected by |
a majority vote of the 3 of 3 election judges and only for the |
following reasons: (1) the signature on the certification |
envelope and the signature used by the election authority for |
verification purposes do not match or the certification |
envelope contains no signature; (2) the ballot envelope was |
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delivered opened; (3) the voter has already cast a ballot; (4) |
if the voter voted in person on election day; or (5) the voter |
is not a duly registered voter in the precinct. If 3 of 3 |
election judges determine the ballot should be rejected for any |
reasons stated in this subsection (c), the judges shall mark |
across the face of the certification envelope the word |
"rejected" and the date and names of the judges voting to |
reject the ballot. |
(d) If a vote by mail ballot is rejected, the election |
authority shall notify the voter within 2 days after the |
rejection or within one day if the rejection occurs after |
election day and in all cases before the close of the period |
for counting provisional ballots. The voter shall be notified |
through mail or email, or both, and the notice shall inform the |
voter of the reason or reasons the ballot was rejected. If the |
ballot was rejected based on the signature or lack of a |
signature, the voter shall be permitted to submit a statement |
the voter cast the ballot, and upon receipt the ballot shall be |
determined valid and counted before the close of the period for |
counting provisional ballots. If the ballot was rejected |
because the envelope was delivered opened, the voter shall be |
permitted to vote in person or request to receive another vote |
by mail ballot, provided the voter submits an application and |
casts a new ballot prior to the close of polls on election day. |
(e) Election authorities shall accept any vote by mail |
ballot returned, including ballots returned with insufficient |
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or no postage, and may establish secure collection sites for |
the postage-free return of vote by mail ballots. Any election |
authority establishing such a collection site pursuant to this |
subsection (c) shall collect all ballots submitted each day at |
close of business and process them as required by this Code, |
including noting the day on which the ballot was submitted. |
Ballots submitted to such collection sites after close of |
business shall be dated as delivered the next day, with the |
exception of ballots delivered on election day, which shall be |
dated as received on election day. Election authorities shall |
permit electors to return vote by mail ballots on election day |
up until the close of the polls. All collection sites shall be |
secured by locks that may be opened only by election authority |
personnel. The State Board of Elections shall establish |
additional guidelines for the security of collection sites. |
(f) In accordance with Section 19-7, within one day after |
receipt of a vote by mail ballot, the election authority shall |
transmit notification of receipt to the State Board of |
Elections. If a vote by mail ballot is rejected, the election |
authority must notify the State Board of Elections within one |
day. Upon request by a state or local political committee, |
within 2 days an election authority must electronically provide |
the names and addresses of any vote by mail ballots received |
and any vote by mail ballots marked rejected.
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(Source: 10100SB1863ham005; 10100SB1863ham006.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |