102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB2459

 

Introduced 2/19/2021, by Rep. Deanne M. Mazzochi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/19-3  from Ch. 46, par. 19-3
10 ILCS 5/19-8  from Ch. 46, par. 19-8
10 ILCS 5/20-2  from Ch. 46, par. 20-2
10 ILCS 5/20-2.1  from Ch. 46, par. 20-2.1

    Amends the Election Code. Requires a vote by mail ballot to be postmarked 3 days before election day (rather than by election day) to be counted. Requires a ballot that is mailed using an intelligent mail barcode tracking system to an election authority absent a postmark be counted if the intelligent mail barcode tracking system verifies the envelope was mailed no later than 3 days before election day (rather than by election day). Makes conforming changes throughout the Code.


LRB102 10985 SMS 16317 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2459LRB102 10985 SMS 16317 b

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 19-3, 19-8, 20-2, and 20-2.1 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/19-3)  (from Ch. 46, par. 19-3)
7    Sec. 19-3. The application for vote by mail ballot shall
8be substantially in the following form:
9
APPLICATION FOR VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT
10    To be voted at the .... election in the County of .... and
11State of Illinois, in the .... precinct of the (1) *township of
12.... (2) *City of .... or (3) *.... ward in the City of ....
13    I state that I am a resident of the .... precinct of the
14(1) *township of .... (2) *City of .... or (3) *.... ward in
15the city of .... residing at .... in such city or town in the
16county of .... and State of Illinois; that I have lived at such
17address for .... month(s) last past; that I am lawfully
18entitled to vote in such precinct at the .... election to be
19held therein on ....; and that I wish to vote by vote by mail
20ballot.
21    I hereby make application for an official ballot or
22ballots to be voted by me at such election, and I agree that I
23shall return such ballot or ballots to the official issuing

 

 

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1the same prior to the closing of the polls on the date of the
2election or, if returned by mail, postmarked no later than 3
3days before election day, for counting no later than during
4the period for counting provisional ballots, the last day of
5which is the 14th day following election day.
6    I understand that this application is made for an official
7vote by mail ballot or ballots to be voted by me at the
8election specified in this application and that I must submit
9a separate application for an official vote by mail ballot or
10ballots to be voted by me at any subsequent election.
11    Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Section
1229-10 of the Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the
13statements set forth in this application are true and correct.
14
....
15
*fill in either (1), (2) or (3).
16
Post office address to which ballot is mailed:
17...............
18    However, if application is made for a primary election
19ballot, such application shall require the applicant to
20designate the name of the political party with which the
21applicant is affiliated.
22    If application is made electronically, the applicant shall
23mark the box associated with the above described statement
24included as part of the online application certifying that the
25statements set forth in this application are true and correct,
26and a signature is not required.

 

 

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1    Any person may produce, reproduce, distribute, or return
2to an election authority the application for vote by mail
3ballot. If applications are sent to a post office box
4controlled by any individual or organization that is not an
5election authority, those applications shall (i) include a
6valid and current phone number for the individual or
7organization controlling the post office box and (ii) be
8turned over to the appropriate election authority within 7
9days of receipt or, if received within 2 weeks of the election
10in which an applicant intends to vote, within 2 days of
11receipt. Failure to turn over the applications in compliance
12with this paragraph shall constitute a violation of this Code
13and shall be punishable as a petty offense with a fine of $100
14per application. Removing, tampering with, or otherwise
15knowingly making the postmark on the application unreadable by
16the election authority shall establish a rebuttable
17presumption of a violation of this paragraph. Upon receipt,
18the appropriate election authority shall accept and promptly
19process any application for vote by mail ballot submitted in a
20form substantially similar to that required by this Section,
21including any substantially similar production or reproduction
22generated by the applicant.
23(Source: P.A. 99-522, eff. 6-30-16; 100-623, eff. 7-20-18.)
 
24    (10 ILCS 5/19-8)  (from Ch. 46, par. 19-8)
25    Sec. 19-8. Time and place of counting ballots.

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1shall not be reviewable either administratively or judicially.
2    A vote by mail ballot subject to this subsection that is
3determined to be valid shall be counted before the close of the
4period for counting provisional ballots.
5    (g-10) All vote by mail ballots determined to be valid
6shall be added to the vote totals for the precincts for which
7they were cast in the order in which the ballots were opened.
8    (h) Each political party, candidate, and qualified civic
9organization shall be entitled to have present one pollwatcher
10for each panel of election judges therein assigned.
11(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)
 
12    (10 ILCS 5/20-2)  (from Ch. 46, par. 20-2)
13    Sec. 20-2. Any member of the United States Service,
14otherwise qualified to vote, who expects in the course of his
15duties to be absent from the county in which he resides on the
16day of holding any election may make application for a vote by
17mail ballot to the election authority having jurisdiction over
18his precinct of residence on the official postcard or on a form
19furnished by the election authority as prescribed by Section
2020-3 of this Article not less than 10 days before the election.
21A request pursuant to this Section shall entitle the applicant
22to a vote by mail ballot for every election in one calendar
23year. The original application for ballot shall be kept in the
24office of the election authority for one year as authorization
25to send a ballot to the voter for each election to be held

 

 

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1within that calendar year. A certified copy of such
2application for ballot shall be sent each election with the
3vote by mail ballot to the election authority's central ballot
4counting location to be used in lieu of the original
5application for ballot. No registration shall be required in
6order to vote pursuant to this Section.
7    Ballots under this Section shall be mailed by the election
8authority in the manner prescribed by Section 20-5 of this
9Article and not otherwise. Ballots voted under this Section
10must be returned postmarked no later than 3 days before
11election day and received for counting at the central ballot
12counting location of the election authority during the period
13for counting provisional ballots, the last day of which is the
1414th day following election day.
15(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)
 
16    (10 ILCS 5/20-2.1)  (from Ch. 46, par. 20-2.1)
17    Sec. 20-2.1. Citizens of the United States temporarily
18residing outside the territorial limits of the United States
19who are not registered but otherwise qualified to vote and who
20expect to be absent from their county of residence during the
21periods of voter registration provided for in Articles 4, 5 or
226 of this Code and on the day of holding any election, may make
23simultaneous application to the election authority having
24jurisdiction over their precinct of residence for registration
25by mail and vote by mail ballot not less than 30 days before

 

 

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1the election. Such application may be made on the official
2postcard or on a form furnished by the election authority as
3prescribed by Section 20-3 of this Article or by facsimile or
4electronic transmission. A request pursuant to this Section
5shall entitle the applicant to a vote by mail ballot for every
6election in one calendar year. The original application for
7ballot shall be kept in the office of the election authority
8for one year as authorization to send a ballot to the voter for
9each election to be held within that calendar year. A
10certified copy of such application for ballot shall be sent
11each election with the vote by mail ballot to the election
12authority's central ballot counting location to be used in
13lieu of the original application for ballot.
14    Registration shall be required in order to vote pursuant
15to this Section. However, if the election authority receives
16one of such applications after 30 days but not less than 10
17days before a Federal election, said applicant shall be sent a
18ballot containing the Federal offices only and registration
19for that election shall be waived.
20    Ballots under this Section shall be delivered by the
21election authority in the manner prescribed by Section 20-5 of
22this Article in person, by mail, or, if requested by the
23applicant and the election authority has the capability, by
24facsimile transmission or by electronic transmission.
25    Ballots voted under this Section must be returned
26postmarked no later than 3 days before election day and

 

 

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1received for counting at the central ballot counting location
2of the election authority during the period for counting
3provisional ballots, the last day of which is the 14th day
4following election day.
5(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)