HB2951 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 14919 SMS 20274 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB2951

Introduced 2/19/2021, by Rep. Carol Ammons

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

10 ILCS 5/19-2.4 new
10 ILCS 5/19-4	from Ch. 46, par. 19-4
10 ILCS 5/19-5	from Ch. 46, par. 19-5
10 ILCS 5/24A-14	from Ch. 46, par. 24A-14

Amends the Election Code. Requires the State Board of Elections to adopt rules establishing a procedure to send vote by mail ballots via electronic transmission and enable a voter with a disability to independently and privately mark a ballot using assistive technology in order for the voter to vote by mail. Provides that if a vote by mail ballot application from a voter with a disability arrives after the election authority begins transmitting vote by mail ballots and instructions to voters, the election authority shall transmit the ballot, instructions, and balloting materials to the voter within 2 business days after receipt of the application. Requires a vote by mail ballot provided to a voter with a disability to be received and marked as required by all vote by mail ballots. Makes corresponding changes throughout the Code. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

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 19-4, 19-5, and 24A-14 and by adding Section 19-2.4 as follows:

(10 ILCS 5/19-2.4 new)

Sec. 19-2.4. Vote by mail; accommodation for voters with a disability.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Electronic transmission" includes, but is not limited to, transmission by email or the Internet.

"Voter with a disability" means a person having a temporary or permanent physical or mental impairment.

(b) The State Board of Elections shall adopt rules establishing a procedure to send vote by mail ballots via electronic transmission and enable a voter with a disability to independently and privately mark a ballot using assistive technology in order for the voter to vote by mail pursuant to this Article. The State Board of Elections' adopted rules shall include a method subject to the provisions in Sections 19-2 and 19-3 by which a voter with a disability may request an accessible vote by mail ballot.

(c) If a vote by mail ballot application from a voter with a disability arrives after the election authority begins transmitting vote by mail ballots and instructions to voters, the election authority shall transmit the ballot, instructions, and balloting materials to the voter within 2 business days after receipt of the application.

(d) Ballots received and marked pursuant to this Section must be printed by the voter and returned to the election authority as provided in Section 19-6.

(10 ILCS 5/19-4) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-4)

Sec. 19-4. Mailing or delivery of ballots; time. Immediately upon the receipt of such application either by mail or electronic means, not more than 90 days nor less than 5 days prior to such election, or by personal delivery not more than 90 days nor less than one day prior to such election, at the office of such election authority, it shall be the duty of such 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 on the official registration record card, and if found so to be entitled to vote, to post within one business day thereafter the name, street address, ward and precinct number or township and district number, as the case may be, of such applicant given on a list, the pages of which are to be numbered consecutively to be kept by such election authority for such purpose in a conspicuous, open and public place accessible to the public at the entrance of the office of such election authority, and in such a manner that such list may be viewed without necessity of requesting permission therefor. Within one day after posting the name and other information of an applicant for a vote by mail ballot, the election authority shall transmit by electronic means pursuant to a process established by the State Board of Elections that name and other posted information to the State Board of Elections, which shall maintain those names and other information in an electronic format on its website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local political committees. Within 2 business days after posting a name and other information on the list within its office, but no sooner than 40 days before an election, the election authority shall mail, postage prepaid, or deliver in person in such office, or deliver via electronic transmission pursuant to Section 19-2.4 an official ballot or ballots if more than one are to be voted at said election. Mail delivery of Temporarily Absent Student ballot applications pursuant to Section 19-12.3 shall be by nonforwardable mail. However, for the consolidated election, vote by mail ballots for certain precincts may be delivered to applicants not less than 25 days before the election if so much time is required to have prepared and printed the ballots containing the names of persons nominated for offices at the consolidated primary. The election authority shall enclose with each vote by mail ballot or application written instructions on how voting assistance shall be provided pursuant to Section 17-14 and a document, written and approved by the State Board of Elections, informing the vote by mail voter of the required postage for returning the application and ballot, and enumerating the circumstances under which a person is authorized to vote by vote by mail ballot pursuant to this Article; such document shall also include a statement informing the applicant that if he or she falsifies or is solicited by another to falsify his or her eligibility to cast a vote by mail ballot, such applicant or other is subject to penalties pursuant to Section 29-10 and Section 29-20 of the Election Code. Each election authority shall maintain a list of the name, street address, ward and precinct, or township and district number, as the case may be, of all applicants who have returned vote by mail ballots to such authority, and the name of such vote by mail voter shall be added to such list within one business day from receipt of such ballot. If the vote by mail ballot envelope indicates that the voter was assisted in casting the ballot, the name of the person so assisting shall be included on the list. The list, the pages of which are to be numbered consecutively, shall be kept by each election authority in a conspicuous, open, and public place accessible to the public at the entrance of the office of the election authority and in a manner that the list may be viewed without necessity of requesting permission for viewing.

Each election authority shall maintain a list for each election of the voters to whom it has issued vote by mail ballots. The list shall be maintained for each precinct within the jurisdiction of the election authority. Prior to the opening of the polls on election day, the election authority shall deliver to the judges of election in each precinct the list of registered voters in that precinct to whom vote by mail ballots have been issued by mail.

Each election authority shall maintain a list for each election of voters to whom it has issued temporarily absent student ballots. The list shall be maintained for each election jurisdiction within which such voters temporarily abide. Immediately after the close of the period during which application may be made by mail or electronic means for vote by mail ballots, each election authority shall mail to each other election authority within the State a certified list of all such voters temporarily abiding within the jurisdiction of the other election authority.

In the event that the return address of an application for ballot by a physically incapacitated elector is that of a facility licensed or certified under the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community Care Act, or the MC/DD Act, within the jurisdiction of the election authority, and the applicant is a registered voter in the precinct in which such facility is located, the ballots shall be prepared and transmitted to a responsible judge of election no later than 9 a.m. on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday immediately preceding the election as designated by the election authority under Section 19-12.2. Such judge shall deliver in person on the designated day the ballot to the applicant on the premises of the facility from which application was made. The election authority shall by mail notify the applicant in such facility that the ballot will be delivered by a judge of election on the designated day.

All applications for vote by mail ballots shall be available at the office of the election authority for public inspection upon request from the time of receipt thereof by the election authority until 30 days after the election, except during the time such applications are kept in the office of the election authority pursuant to Section 19-7, and except during the time such applications are in the possession of the judges of election.

(Source: P.A. 98-104, eff. 7-22-13; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 99-180, eff. 7-29-15; 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)

(10 ILCS 5/19-5) (from Ch. 46, par. 19-5)

Sec. 19-5. It shall be the duty of the election authority to fold the ballot or ballots in the manner specified by the statute for folding ballots prior to their deposit in the ballot box, and to enclose such ballot or ballots in an envelope unsealed to be furnished by him, which envelope shall bear upon the face thereof the name, official title and post office address of the election authority, and upon the other side a printed certification in substantially the following form:

I state that I am a resident of the .... precinct of the (1) *township of .... (2) *City of .... or (3) *.... ward in the city of .... residing at .... in such city or town in the county of .... and State of Illinois, that I have lived at such address for .... months last past; and that I am lawfully entitled to vote in such precinct at the .... election to be held on .....

*fill in either (1), (2) or (3).

I further state that I personally marked the enclosed ballot in secret.

Under penalties of perjury as provided by law pursuant to Section 29-10 of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the statements set forth in this certification are true and correct.

.......................

If the ballot is to go to an elector who is physically incapacitated and needs assistance marking the ballot, the envelope shall bear upon the back thereof a certification in substantially the following form:

I state that I am a resident of the .... precinct of the (1) *township of .... (2) *City of .... or (3) *.... ward in the city of .... residing at .... in such city or town in the county of .... and State of Illinois, that I have lived at such address for .... months last past; that I am lawfully entitled to vote in such precinct at the .... election to be held on ....; that I am physically incapable of personally marking the ballot for such election.

*fill in either (1), (2) or (3).

I further state that I marked the enclosed ballot in secret with the assistance of

.................................

(Individual rendering assistance)

.................................

(Residence Address)

Under penalties of perjury as provided by law pursuant to Section 29-10 of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the statements set forth in this certification are true and correct.

.......................

In the case of a voter with a physical incapacity, marking a ballot in secret includes marking a ballot with the assistance of another individual, other than a candidate whose name appears on the ballot (unless the voter is the spouse or a parent, child, brother, or sister of the candidate), the voter's employer, an agent of that employer, or an officer or agent of the voter's union, when the voter's physical incapacity necessitates such assistance.

In the case of a physically incapacitated voter, marking a ballot in secret includes marking a ballot with the assistance of another individual, other than a candidate whose name appears on the ballot (unless the voter is the spouse or a parent, child, brother, or sister of the candidate), the voter's employer, an agent of that employer, or an officer or agent of the voter's union, when the voter's physical incapacity necessitates such assistance.

Provided, that if the ballot enclosed is to be voted at a primary election, the certification shall designate the name of the political party with which the voter is affiliated.

In addition to the above, the election authority shall provide printed slips or an electronic version thereof for voters voting by mail pursuant to Section 19-2.4 giving full instructions regarding the manner of marking and returning the ballot in order that the same may be counted, and shall furnish one of such printed slips to each of such applicants at the same time the ballot is delivered to him. Such instructions shall include the following statement: "In signing the certification on the vote by mail ballot envelope, you are attesting that you personally marked this vote by mail ballot in secret. If you are physically unable to mark the ballot, a friend or relative may assist you after completing the enclosed affidavit. Federal and State laws prohibit a candidate whose name appears on the ballot (unless you are the spouse or a parent, child, brother, or sister of the candidate), your employer, your employer's agent or an officer or agent of your union from assisting voters with physical disabilities."

In addition to the above, if a ballot to be provided to an elector pursuant to this Section contains a public question described in subsection (b) of Section 28-6 and the territory concerning which the question is to be submitted is not described on the ballot due to the space limitations of such ballot, the election authority shall provide a printed copy of a notice of the public question, which shall include a description of the territory in the manner required by Section 16-7. The notice shall be furnished to the elector at the same time the ballot is delivered to the elector.

Election authorities transmitting ballots by electronic transmission pursuant to Section 19-2.4 shall, to the greatest extent possible, provide those applicants with the same instructions, certifications, and other balloting materials required when sending by mail.

(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)

(10 ILCS 5/24A-14) (from Ch. 46, par. 24A-14)

Sec. 24A-14. If any ballot is damaged, or defective, or otherwise so that it cannot properly be counted by the automatic tabulating equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be made of the damaged ballot in the presence of witnesses and substituted for the original damaged ballot. Likewise, a duplicate ballot shall be made of a defective ballot which shall not include the invalid votes. All duplicate ballots shall be clearly labeled "duplicate", shall bear a serial number which shall be registered on the damaged, or defective, or otherwise unreadable ballot, and shall be counted in lieu of the damaged, or defective, or otherwise unreadable ballot.

(Source: Laws 1965, p. 2220.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.