Section 216.40  Maintaining Voter Records

a)         This Section implements Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sections 1973gg-5 and gg-6) and the order of the Circuit Court of Cook County entered May 1, 1996 in Orr, et al. v. Edgar, et al., 95-CO-246 and 95-CO-248 (Consolidated).

b)         Each election authority shall enter any Voter Registration Application it acknowledges into its master file of registered voters.

c)         Each election authority shall make a copy of each Voter Registration Application it acknowledges and place such copy in the precinct binder of the precinct in which the applicant resides, or, where voter registration data is kept by signature digitization systems, enter such data into the signature digitization system.

d)         At each election it conducts, each election authority shall send to each precinct polling place in its jurisdiction the precinct binder for that precinct or such list of eligible voters prepared by a signature digitization system as may be allowed by statute and rule of the State Board of Elections.

e)         Beginning January 1, 1998, each election authority shall, at each election it conducts, prepare for each precinct polling place in its jurisdiction, a list or file of all Voter Registration Applications and Voter Registration Cards that have been transferred to inactive status in that precinct. Such list shall either, in the discretion of the election authority, include or be entirely composed of a computer-generated list of the electronically stored Voter Registration Applications and Voter Registration Cards of that precinct. The information to be included in the computer stored data shall be the name, address, date of birth, last four digits of the social security number and a computer-generated duplicate of the signature of the applicant.  Such list, to the extent that it is not composed of a list generated from electronically stored data, shall consist of copies of Voter Registration Applications and duplicate Voter Registration Cards.

f)         Each election authority shall keep all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted to maintain the accuracy and currency of voter registration files for at least two years.  Such records shall be made available to the public for inspection and where facilities permit, copies shall be provided at reasonable cost.  However, nothing in this Section or any other to the contrary withstanding, information that relates to a voter's declination to register or identifies the agency through which a voter registered shall remain confidential.

g)         Election authorities shall maintain a list of all voters to whom a forwardable confirmation of address notice has been sent.  Such list shall note whether the voter has responded to the notice.  The list shall be made available to the public and be current as of the date the request for public inspection is made.

h)         Not earlier than February 1 and not later than March 1 of each odd-numbered year, each election authority shall report to the State Board of Elections the number of forwardable confirmation of address notices mailed and the number of responses received between the two previous federal elections.

i)          After April 1, 1999 no election authority shall employ any electronic data storage or processing system for registration records which will not operate correctly after January 1, 2000.

(Source:  Amended at 23 Ill. Reg. 3948, effective March 19, 1999)