HB5916 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 20384 MLM 44869 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB5916

Introduced , by Rep. Tim Butler

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

10 ILCS 5/1-3	from Ch. 46, par. 1-3
10 ILCS 5/1-13 new
10 ILCS 5/1A-16.5
10 ILCS 5/4-8	from Ch. 46, par. 4-8
10 ILCS 5/4-20	from Ch. 46, par. 4-20
10 ILCS 5/4-33
10 ILCS 5/5-7	from Ch. 46, par. 5-7
10 ILCS 5/5-28	from Ch. 46, par. 5-28
10 ILCS 5/5-43
10 ILCS 5/6-35	from Ch. 46, par. 6-35
10 ILCS 5/6-65	from Ch. 46, par. 6-65
10 ILCS 5/6-79
10 ILCS 5/20-8	from Ch. 46, par. 20-8

Amends the Election Code. Provides that the making and signing of any form may be by a signature in ink or in digitized form. Provides that all applications submitted on a website maintained by the State Board of Elections shall be deemed timely filed if they are submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on the 16th day (instead of on the final day for voter registration) prior to an election. Provides that each vote by mail voter's ballot returned to an election authority, by any means authorized by the Code, and received by that election authority may be processed by the election authority beginning on the day it is received by the election authority (instead of the 15th day before election day) in the central ballot counting location of the election authority, but the results of the processing may not be counted until the day of the election after 7:00 p.m., except as otherwise provided. Provides that voter registration master files may be kept in a computer-based file or paper format. Provides that the digital voter registration files shall be searchable and remain current with all registration activity conducted by the county clerk or election authority. Makes various changes concerning digital signatures. 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 1-3, 1A-16.5, 4-8, 4-20, 4-33, 5-7, 5-28, 5-43, 6-35, 6-65, 6-79, and 20-8 and by adding Section 1-13 as follows:

(10 ILCS 5/1-3) (from Ch. 46, par. 1-3)

Sec. 1-3. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Election" includes the submission of all questions of public policy, propositions, and all measures submitted to popular vote, and includes primary elections when so indicated by the context.

2. "Regular election" means the general, general primary, consolidated and consolidated primary elections regularly scheduled in Article 2A. The even numbered year municipal primary established in Article 2A is a regular election only with respect to those municipalities in which a primary is required to be held on such date.

3. "Special election" means an election not regularly recurring at fixed intervals, irrespective of whether it is held at the same time and place and by the same election officers as a regular election.

4. "General election" means the biennial election at which members of the General Assembly are elected. "General primary election", "consolidated election" and "consolidated primary election" mean the respective elections or the election dates designated and established in Article 2A of this Code.

5. "Municipal election" means an election or primary, either regular or special, in cities, villages, and incorporated towns; and "municipality" means any such city, village or incorporated town.

6. "Political or governmental subdivision" means any unit of local government, or school district in which elections are or may be held. "Political or governmental subdivision" also includes, for election purposes, Regional Boards of School Trustees, and Township Boards of School Trustees.

7. The word "township" and the word "town" shall apply interchangeably to the type of governmental organization established in accordance with the provisions of the Township Code. The term "incorporated town" shall mean a municipality referred to as an incorporated town in the Illinois Municipal Code, as now or hereafter amended.

8. "Election authority" means a county clerk or a Board of Election Commissioners.

9. "Election Jurisdiction" means (a) an entire county, in the case of a county in which no city board of election commissioners is located or which is under the jurisdiction of a county board of election commissioners; (b) the territorial jurisdiction of a city board of election commissioners; and (c) the territory in a county outside of the jurisdiction of a city board of election commissioners. In each instance election jurisdiction shall be determined according to which election authority maintains the permanent registration records of qualified electors.

10. "Local election official" means the clerk or secretary of a unit of local government or school district, as the case may be, the treasurer of a township board of school trustees, and the regional superintendent of schools with respect to the various school officer elections and school referenda for which the regional superintendent is assigned election duties by The School Code, as now or hereafter amended.

11. "Judges of election", "primary judges" and similar terms, as applied to cases where there are 2 sets of judges, when used in connection with duties at an election during the hours the polls are open, refer to the team of judges of election on duty during such hours; and, when used with reference to duties after the closing of the polls, refer to the team of tally judges designated to count the vote after the closing of the polls and the holdover judges designated pursuant to Section 13-6.2 or 14-5.2. In such case, where, after the closing of the polls, any act is required to be performed by each of the judges of election, it shall be performed by each of the tally judges and by each of the holdover judges.

12. "Petition" of candidacy as used in Sections 7-10 and 7-10.1 shall consist of a statement of candidacy, candidate's statement containing oath, and sheets containing signatures of qualified primary electors bound together.

13. "Election district" and "precinct", when used with reference to a 30-day residence requirement, means the smallest constituent territory in which electors vote as a unit at the same polling place in any election governed by this Act.

14. "District" means any area which votes as a unit for the election of any officer, other than the State or a unit of local government or school district, and includes, but is not limited to, legislative, congressional and judicial districts, judicial circuits, county board districts, municipal and sanitary district wards, school board districts, and precincts.

15. "Question of public policy" or "public question" means any question, proposition or measure submitted to the voters at an election dealing with subject matter other than the nomination or election of candidates and shall include, but is not limited to, any bond or tax referendum, and questions relating to the Constitution.

16. "Ordinance providing the form of government of a municipality or county pursuant to Article VII of the Constitution" includes ordinances, resolutions and petitions adopted by referendum which provide for the form of government, the officers or the manner of selection or terms of office of officers of such municipality or county, pursuant to the provisions of Sections 4, 6 or 7 of Article VII of the Constitution.

17. "List" as used in Sections 4-11, 4-22, 5-14, 5-29, 6-60, and 6-66 shall include a computer tape or computer disc or other electronic data processing information containing voter information.

18. "Accessible" means accessible to persons with disabilities and elderly individuals for the purpose of voting or registration, as determined by rule of the State Board of Elections.

19. "Elderly" means 65 years of age or older.

20. "Person with a disability" means a person having a temporary or permanent physical disability.

21. "Leading political party" means one of the two political parties whose candidates for governor at the most recent three gubernatorial elections received either the highest or second highest average number of votes. The political party whose candidates for governor received the highest average number of votes shall be known as the first leading political party and the political party whose candidates for governor received the second highest average number of votes shall be known as the second leading political party.

22. "Business day" means any day in which the office of an election authority, local election official or the State Board of Elections is open to the public for a minimum of 7 hours.

23. "Homeless individual" means any person who has a nontraditional residence, including, but not limited to, a shelter, day shelter, park bench, street corner, or space under a bridge.

24. "Signature" means a name signed in ink or in digitized form.

(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)

(10 ILCS 5/1-13 new)

Sec. 1-13. Forms of signature. The making and signing of any form, including an application to register, a certificate authorizing cancellation of a registration or authorizing a transfer of registration, an application to vote, a provisional ballot, or affidavit, may be by a signature written in ink or in digitized form.

(10 ILCS 5/1A-16.5)

Sec. 1A-16.5. Online voter registration.

(a) The State Board of Elections shall establish and maintain a system for online voter registration that permits a person to apply to register to vote or to update his or her existing voter registration. In accordance with technical specifications provided by the State Board of Elections, each election authority shall maintain a voter registration system capable of receiving and processing voter registration application information, including electronic signatures, from the online voter registration system established by the State Board of Elections.

(b) The online voter registration system shall employ security measures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter registration applications submitted electronically pursuant to this Section.

(c) The Board may receive voter registration information provided by applicants using the State Board of Elections' website, may cross reference that information with data or information contained in the Secretary of State's database in order to match the information submitted by applicants, and may receive from the Secretary of State the applicant's digitized signature upon a successful match of that applicant's information with that contained in the Secretary of State's database.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person who is qualified to register to vote and who has an authentic Illinois driver's license or State identification card issued by the Secretary of State may submit an application to register to vote electronically on a website maintained by the State Board of Elections.

(e) An online voter registration application shall contain all of the information that is required for a paper application as provided in Section 1A-16 of this Code, except that the applicant shall be required to provide:

(1) the applicant's full Illinois driver's license or State identification card number;

(2) the last 4 digits of the applicant's social security number; and

(3) the date the Illinois driver's license or State identification card was issued.

(f) For an applicant's registration or change in registration to be accepted, the applicant shall mark the box associated with the following statement included as part of the online voter registration application:

"By clicking on the box below, I swear or affirm all of the following:

(1) I am the person whose name and identifying information is provided on this form, and I desire to register to vote in the State of Illinois.

(2) All the information I have provided on this form is true and correct as of the date I am submitting this form.

(3) I authorize the Secretary of State to transmit to the State Board of Elections my signature that is on file with the Secretary of State and understand that such signature will be used by my local election authority on this online voter registration application for admission as an elector as if I had signed this form personally.".

(g) Immediately upon receiving a completed online voter registration application, the online voter registration system shall send, by electronic mail, a confirmation notice that the application has been received. Within 48 hours of receiving such an application, the online voter registration system shall send by electronic mail, a notice informing the applicant of whether the following information has been matched with the Secretary of State database:

(1) that the applicant has an authentic Illinois driver's license or State identification card issued by the Secretary of State and that the driver's license or State identification number provided by the applicant matches the driver's license or State identification card number for that person on file with the Secretary of State;

(2) that the date of issuance of the Illinois driver's license or State identification card listed on the application matches the date of issuance of that card for that person on file with the Secretary of State;

(3) that the date of birth provided by the applicant matches the date of birth for that person on file with the Secretary of State; and

(4) that the last 4 digits of the applicant's social security number matches the last 4 digits for that person on file with the Secretary of State.

(h) If the information provided by the applicant matches the information on the Secretary of State's databases for any driver's license and State identification card holder and is matched as provided in subsection (g) above, the online voter registration system shall:

(1) retrieve from the Secretary of State's database files an electronic copy of the applicant's signature from his or her Illinois driver's license or State identification card and such signature shall be deemed to be the applicant's signature on his or her online voter registration application;

(2) within 2 days of receiving the application, forward to the county clerk or board of election commissioners having jurisdiction over the applicant's voter registration: (i) the application, along with the applicant's relevant data that can be directly loaded into the jurisdiction's voter registration system and (ii) a copy of the applicant's electronic signature and a certification from the State Board of Elections that the applicant's driver's license or State identification card number, driver's license or State identification card date of issuance, and date of birth and social security information have been successfully matched.

(i) Upon receipt of the online voter registration application, the county clerk or board of election commissioners having jurisdiction over the applicant's voter registration shall promptly search its voter registration database to determine whether the applicant is already registered to vote at the address on the application and whether the new registration would create a duplicate registration. If the applicant is already registered to vote at the address on the application, the clerk or board, as the case may be, shall send the applicant by first class mail, and electronic mail if the applicant has provided an electronic mail address on the original voter registration form for that address, a disposition notice as otherwise required by law informing the applicant that he or she is already registered to vote at such address. If the applicant is not already registered to vote at the address on the application and the applicant is otherwise eligible to register to vote, the clerk or board, as the case may be, shall:

(1) enter the name and address of the applicant on the list of registered voters in the jurisdiction; and

(2) send by mail, and electronic mail if the applicant has provided an electronic mail address on the voter registration form, a disposition notice to the applicant as otherwise provided by law setting forth the applicant's name and address as it appears on the application and stating that the person is registered to vote.

(j) An electronic signature of the person submitting a duplicate registration application or a change of address form that is retrieved and imported from the Secretary of State's driver's license or State identification card database as provided herein may, in the discretion of the clerk or board, be substituted for and replace any existing signature for that individual in the voter registration database of the county clerk or board of election commissioners.

(k) Any new registration or change of address submitted electronically as provided in this Section shall become effective as of the date it is received by the county clerk or board of election commissioners having jurisdiction over said registration. Disposition notices prescribed in this Section shall be sent within 5 business days of receipt of the online application or change of address by the county clerk or board of election commissioners.

(l) All provisions of this Code governing voter registration and applicable thereto and not inconsistent with this Section shall apply to online voter registration under this Section. All applications submitted on a website maintained by the State Board of Elections shall be deemed timely filed if they are submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on the 16th day final day for voter registration prior to an election. After the registration period for an upcoming election has ended and until the 2nd day following such election, the web page containing the online voter registration form on the State Board of Elections website shall inform users of the procedure for grace period voting.

(m) The State Board of Elections shall maintain a list of the name, street address, e-mail address, and likely precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, of people who apply to vote online through the voter registration system and those names and that information shall be stored in an electronic format on its website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local political committees.

(n) The Illinois State Board of Elections shall develop or cause to be developed an online voter registration system able to be accessed by at least the top two most used mobile electronic operating systems by January 1, 2016.

(o) (Blank).

(p) Each State department that maintains an Internet website must include a hypertext link to the homepage website maintained and operated pursuant to this Section 1A-16.5. For the purposes of this Section, "State department" means the departments of State Government listed in Section 5-15 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois (General Provisions and Departments of State Government).

(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)

(10 ILCS 5/4-8) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-8)

Sec. 4-8. The county clerk shall provide a sufficient number of blank forms for the registration of electors, which shall be known as registration record cards and which shall consist of loose leaf sheets or cards, of suitable size to contain in plain writing and figures the data hereinafter required thereon or shall consist of computer cards of suitable nature to contain the data required thereon. The registration record cards, which shall include an affidavit of registration as hereinafter provided, shall be executed in duplicate.

The registration record card shall contain the following and such other information as the county clerk may think it proper to require for the identification of the applicant for registration:

Name. The name of the applicant, giving surname and first or Christian name in full, and the middle name or the initial for such middle name, if any.

Sex.

Residence. The name and number of the street, avenue, or other location of the dwelling, including the apartment, unit or room number, if any, and in the case of a mobile home the lot number, and such additional clear and definite description as may be necessary to determine the exact location of the dwelling of the applicant. Where the location cannot be determined by street and number, then the section, congressional township and range number may be used, or such other description as may be necessary, including post-office mailing address. In the case of a homeless individual, the individual's voting residence that is his or her mailing address shall be included on his or her registration record card.

Term of residence in the State of Illinois and precinct. This information shall be furnished by the applicant stating the place or places where he resided and the dates during which he resided in such place or places during the year next preceding the date of the next ensuing election.

Nativity. The state or country in which the applicant was born.

Citizenship. Whether the applicant is native born or naturalized. If naturalized, the court, place, and date of naturalization.

Date of application for registration, i.e., the day, month and year when applicant presented himself for registration.

Age. Date of birth, by month, day and year.

Physical disability of the applicant, if any, at the time of registration, which would require assistance in voting.

The county and state in which the applicant was last registered.

Electronic mail address, if any.

Signature of voter. The applicant, after the registration and in the presence of a deputy registrar or other officer of registration shall be required to sign his or her name in ink or digitized form to the affidavit on both the original and duplicate registration record cards.

Signature of deputy registrar or officer of registration.

In case applicant is unable to sign his name, he may affix his mark to the affidavit. In such case the officer empowered to give the registration oath shall write a detailed description of the applicant in the space provided on the back or at the bottom of the card or sheet; and shall ask the following questions and record the answers thereto:

Father's first name.

Mother's first name.

From what address did the applicant last register?

Reason for inability to sign name.

Each applicant for registration shall make an affidavit in substantially the following form:

AFFIDAVIT OF REGISTRATION

STATE OF ILLINOIS COUNTY OF .......

I hereby swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States; that on the date of the next election I shall have resided in the State of Illinois and in the election precinct in which I reside 30 days and that I intend that this location shall be my residence; that I am fully qualified to vote, and that the above statements are true.

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

(His or her signature or mark)

Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).

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

Signature of registration officer. (To be signed in presence of registrant.)

Space shall be provided upon the face of each registration record card for the notation of the voting record of the person registered thereon.

Each registration record card shall be numbered according to precincts, and may be serially or otherwise marked for identification in such manner as the county clerk may determine.

The registration cards shall be deemed public records and shall be open to inspection during regular business hours, except during the 27 days immediately preceding any election. On written request of any candidate or objector or any person intending to object to a petition, the election authority shall extend its hours for inspection of registration cards and other records of the election authority during the period beginning with the filing of petitions under Sections 7-10, 8-8, 10-6 or 28-3 and continuing through the termination of electoral board hearings on any objections to petitions containing signatures of registered voters in the jurisdiction of the election authority. The extension shall be for a period of hours sufficient to allow adequate opportunity for examination of the records but the election authority is not required to extend its hours beyond the period beginning at its normal opening for business and ending at midnight. If the business hours are so extended, the election authority shall post a public notice of such extended hours. Registration record cards may also be inspected, upon approval of the officer in charge of the cards, during the 27 days immediately preceding any election. Registration record cards shall also be open to inspection by certified judges and poll watchers and challengers at the polling place on election day, but only to the extent necessary to determine the question of the right of a person to vote or to serve as a judge of election. At no time shall poll watchers or challengers be allowed to physically handle the registration record cards.

Updated copies of computer tapes or computer discs or other electronic data processing information containing voter registration information shall be furnished by the county clerk within 10 days after December 15 and May 15 each year and within 10 days after each registration period is closed to the State Board of Elections in a form prescribed by the Board. For the purposes of this Section, a registration period is closed 27 days before the date of any regular or special election. Registration information shall include, but not be limited to, the following information: name, sex, residence, telephone number, if any, age, party affiliation, if applicable, precinct, ward, township, county, and representative, legislative and congressional districts. In the event of noncompliance, the State Board of Elections is directed to obtain compliance forthwith with this nondiscretionary duty of the election authority by instituting legal proceedings in the circuit court of the county in which the election authority maintains the registration information. The costs of furnishing updated copies of tapes or discs shall be paid at a rate of $.00034 per name of registered voters in the election jurisdiction, but not less than $50 per tape or disc and shall be paid from appropriations made to the State Board of Elections for reimbursement to the election authority for such purpose. The State Board shall furnish copies of such tapes, discs, other electronic data or compilations thereof to state political committees registered pursuant to the Illinois Campaign Finance Act or the Federal Election Campaign Act and to governmental entities, at their request and at a reasonable cost. To protect the privacy and confidentiality of voter registration information, the disclosure of electronic voter registration records to any person or entity other than to a State or local political committee and other than to a governmental entity for a governmental purpose is specifically prohibited except as follows: subject to security measures adopted by the State Board of Elections which, at a minimum, shall include the keeping of a catalog or database, available for public view, including the name, address, and telephone number of the person viewing the list as well as the time of that viewing, any person may view the centralized statewide voter registration list on a computer screen at the Springfield office of the State Board of Elections, during normal business hours other than during the 27 days before an election, but the person viewing the list under this exception may not print, duplicate, transmit, or alter the list. Copies of the tapes, discs, or other electronic data shall be furnished by the county clerk to local political committees and governmental entities at their request and at a reasonable cost. Reasonable cost of the tapes, discs, et cetera for this purpose would be the cost of duplication plus 15% for administration. The individual representing a political committee requesting copies of such tapes shall make a sworn affidavit that the information shall be used only for bona fide political purposes, including by or for candidates for office or incumbent office holders. Such tapes, discs or other electronic data shall not be used under any circumstances by any political committee or individuals for purposes of commercial solicitation or other business purposes. If such tapes contain information on county residents related to the operations of county government in addition to registration information, that information shall not be used under any circumstances for commercial solicitation or other business purposes. The prohibition in this Section against using the computer tapes or computer discs or other electronic data processing information containing voter registration information for purposes of commercial solicitation or other business purposes shall be prospective only from the effective date of this amended Act of 1979. Any person who violates this provision shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.

The State Board of Elections shall promulgate, by October 1, 1987, such regulations as may be necessary to ensure uniformity throughout the State in electronic data processing of voter registration information. The regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, specifications for uniform medium, communications protocol and file structure to be employed by the election authorities of this State in the electronic data processing of voter registration information. Each election authority utilizing electronic data processing of voter registration information shall comply with such regulations on and after May 15, 1988.

If the applicant for registration was last registered in another county within this State, he shall also sign a certificate authorizing cancellation of the former registration. The certificate shall be in substantially the following form:

To the County Clerk of.... County, Illinois. (or)

To the Election Commission of the City of ...., Illinois.

This is to certify that I am registered in your (county) (city) and that my residence was ............................

Having moved out of your (county) (city), I hereby authorize you to cancel said registration in your office.

Dated at ...., Illinois, on (insert date).

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

(Signature of Voter)

Attest: ................, County Clerk, ............. County, Illinois.

The cancellation certificate shall be mailed immediately by the County Clerk to the County Clerk (or election commission as the case may be) where the applicant was formerly registered. Receipt of such certificate shall be full authority for cancellation of any previous registration.

(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 10-1-13.)

(10 ILCS 5/4-20) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-20)

Sec. 4-20. The original registration cards shall remain permanently in the office of the county clerk or election authority except as destroyed as provided in Section 4-5.01; shall be filed alphabetically without regard to precincts; and shall be known as the master file. The master file may be kept in a computer-based voter registration file or paper format, provided a secondary digital back-up is kept off site. The digital file shall be searchable and remain current with all registration activity conducted by the County Clerk or election authority. The duplicate registration cards shall constitute the official registry of voters for all elections subject to the provisions of this Article 4, shall be filed by precincts alphabetically or geographically so as to correspond with the arrangement of the list for such precincts respectively, compiled pursuant to Section 4-11 of this Article, and shall be known as the precinct file. The duplicate cards for use in conducting elections shall be delivered to the judges of election by the county clerk in a suitable binder or other device, which shall be locked and sealed in accordance with the directions to be given by the county clerk and shall also be suitably indexed for convenient use by the precinct officers. The duplicate cards shall be delivered to the judges of election for use at the polls for elections at the same time as the official ballots are delivered to them, and shall be returned to the county clerk by the judges of election within the time provided for the return of the official ballots. The county clerk shall determine the manner of delivery and return of such duplicate cards, and shall at all other times retain them at his office except for such use of them as may be made under this Article with respect to registration not at the office of the county clerk.

(Source: P.A. 80-1469.)

(10 ILCS 5/4-33)

Sec. 4-33. Computerization of voter records.

(a) The State Board of Elections shall design a registration record card that, except as otherwise provided in this Section, shall be used in duplicate by all election authorities in the State adopting a computer-based voter registration file as provided in this Section. The Board shall prescribe the form and specifications, including but not limited to the weight of paper, color, and print of the cards. The cards shall contain boxes or spaces for the information required under Sections 4-8 and 4-21; provided that the cards shall also contain: (i) A space for a person to fill in his or her Illinois driver's license number if the person has a driver's license; (ii) A space for a person without a driver's license to fill in the last four digits of his or her social security number if the person has a social security number.

(b) The election authority may develop and implement a system to prepare, use, and maintain a computer-based voter registration file that includes a computer-stored image of the signature of each voter. The computer-based voter registration file may be used for all purposes for which the original registration cards are to be used, provided that a system for the storage of at least one copy of the original registration cards remains in effect. In the case of voter registration forms received via an online voter registration system, the original registration cards will include the signature received from the Secretary of State database. The electronic file shall be the master file.

(b-2) The election authority may develop and implement a system to maintain registration cards in digital form using digitized signatures, which may be stored in a computer-based voter registration file under subsection (b) of this Section. The making and signing of any form, including an application to register and a certificate authorizing cancellation of a registration or authorizing a transfer of registration may be by a signature written in ink or by a digitized signature.

(c) Any system created, used, and maintained under subsection (b) of this Section shall meet the following standards:

(1) Access to any computer-based voter registration file shall be limited to those persons authorized by the election authority, and each access to the computer-based voter registration file, other than an access solely for inquiry, shall be recorded.

(2) No copy, summary, list, abstract, or index of any computer-based voter registration file that includes any computer-stored image of the signature of any registered voter shall be made available to the public outside of the offices of the election authority.

(3) Any copy, summary, list, abstract, or index of any computer-based voter registration file that includes a computer-stored image of the signature of a registered voter shall be produced in such a manner that it cannot be reproduced.

(4) Each person desiring to vote shall sign an application for a ballot, and the signature comparison authorized in Articles 17 and 18 of this Code may be made to a copy of the computer-stored image of the signature of the registered voter.

(5) Any voter list produced from a computer-based voter registration file that includes computer-stored images of the signatures of registered voters and is used in a polling place during an election shall be preserved by the election authority in secure storage until the end of the second calendar year following the election in which it was used.

(d) Before the first election in which the election authority elects to use a voter list produced from the computer-stored images of the signatures of registered voters in a computer-based voter registration file for signature comparison in a polling place, the State Board of Elections shall certify that the system used by the election authority complies with the standards set forth in this Section. The State Board of Elections may request a sample poll list intended to be used in a polling place to test the accuracy of the list and the adequacy of the computer-stored images of the signatures of the registered voters.

(e) With respect to a jurisdiction that has copied all of its voter signatures into a computer-based registration file, all references in this Act or any other Act to the use, other than storage, of paper-based voter registration records shall be deemed to refer to their computer-based equivalents.

(f) Nothing in this Section prevents an election authority from submitting to the State Board of Elections a duplicate copy of some, as the State Board of Elections shall determine, or all of the data contained in each voter registration record that is part of the electronic master file. The duplicate copy of the registration record shall be maintained by the State Board of Elections under the same terms and limitations applicable to the election authority and shall be of equal legal dignity with the original registration record maintained by the election authority as proof of any fact contained in the voter registration record.

(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)

(10 ILCS 5/5-7) (from Ch. 46, par. 5-7)

Sec. 5-7. The county clerk shall provide a sufficient number of blank forms for the registration of electors which shall be known as registration record cards and which shall consist of loose leaf sheets or cards, of suitable size to contain in plain writing and figures the data hereinafter required thereon or shall consist of computer cards of suitable nature to contain the data required thereon. The registration record cards, which shall include an affidavit of registration as hereinafter provided, shall be executed in duplicate.

The registration record card shall contain the following and such other information as the county clerk may think it proper to require for the identification of the applicant for registration:

Name. The name of the applicant, giving surname and first or Christian name in full, and the middle name or the initial for such middle name, if any.

Sex.

Residence. The name and number of the street, avenue, or other location of the dwelling, including the apartment, unit or room number, if any, and in the case of a mobile home the lot number, and such additional clear and definite description as may be necessary to determine the exact location of the dwelling of the applicant, including post-office mailing address. In the case of a homeless individual, the individual's voting residence that is his or her mailing address shall be included on his or her registration record card.

Term of residence in the State of Illinois and the precinct. Which questions may be answered by the applicant stating, in excess of 30 days in the State and in excess of 30 days in the precinct.

Nativity. The State or country in which the applicant was born.

Citizenship. Whether the applicant is native born or naturalized. If naturalized, the court, place and date of naturalization.

Date of application for registration, i.e., the day, month and year when applicant presented himself for registration.

Age. Date of birth, by month, day and year.

Physical disability of the applicant, if any, at the time of registration, which would require assistance in voting.

The county and state in which the applicant was last registered.

Electronic mail address, if any.

Signature of voter. The applicant, after the registration and in the presence of a deputy registrar or other officer of registration shall be required to sign his or her name in ink or digitized form to the affidavit on the original and duplicate registration record card.

Signature of Deputy Registrar.

In case applicant is unable to sign his name, he may affix his mark to the affidavit. In such case the officer empowered to give the registration oath shall write a detailed description of the applicant in the space provided at the bottom of the card or sheet; and shall ask the following questions and record the answers thereto:

Father's first name .......................

Mother's first name .......................

From what address did you last register?

Reason for inability to sign name.

Each applicant for registration shall make an affidavit in substantially the following form:

AFFIDAVIT OF REGISTRATION

State of Illinois)

)ss County of )

I hereby swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States; that on the date of the next election I shall have resided in the State of Illinois and in the election precinct in which I reside 30 days; that I am fully qualified to vote. That I intend that this location shall be my residence and that the above statements are true.

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

(His or her signature or mark)

Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).

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

Signature of Registration Officer. (To be signed in presence of Registrant.)

Space shall be provided upon the face of each registration record card for the notation of the voting record of the person registered thereon.

Each registration record card shall be numbered according to towns and precincts, wards, cities and villages, as the case may be, and may be serially or otherwise marked for identification in such manner as the county clerk may determine.

The registration cards shall be deemed public records and shall be open to inspection during regular business hours, except during the 27 days immediately preceding any election. On written request of any candidate or objector or any person intending to object to a petition, the election authority shall extend its hours for inspection of registration cards and other records of the election authority during the period beginning with the filing of petitions under Sections 7-10, 8-8, 10-6 or 28-3 and continuing through the termination of electoral board hearings on any objections to petitions containing signatures of registered voters in the jurisdiction of the election authority. The extension shall be for a period of hours sufficient to allow adequate opportunity for examination of the records but the election authority is not required to extend its hours beyond the period beginning at its normal opening for business and ending at midnight. If the business hours are so extended, the election authority shall post a public notice of such extended hours. Registration record cards may also be inspected, upon approval of the officer in charge of the cards, during the 27 days immediately preceding any election. Registration record cards shall also be open to inspection by certified judges and poll watchers and challengers at the polling place on election day, but only to the extent necessary to determine the question of the right of a person to vote or to serve as a judge of election. At no time shall poll watchers or challengers be allowed to physically handle the registration record cards.

Updated copies of computer tapes or computer discs or other electronic data processing information containing voter registration information shall be furnished by the county clerk within 10 days after December 15 and May 15 each year and within 10 days after each registration period is closed to the State Board of Elections in a form prescribed by the Board. For the purposes of this Section, a registration period is closed 27 days before the date of any regular or special election. Registration information shall include, but not be limited to, the following information: name, sex, residence, telephone number, if any, age, party affiliation, if applicable, precinct, ward, township, county, and representative, legislative and congressional districts. In the event of noncompliance, the State Board of Elections is directed to obtain compliance forthwith with this nondiscretionary duty of the election authority by instituting legal proceedings in the circuit court of the county in which the election authority maintains the registration information. The costs of furnishing updated copies of tapes or discs shall be paid at a rate of $.00034 per name of registered voters in the election jurisdiction, but not less than $50 per tape or disc and shall be paid from appropriations made to the State Board of Elections for reimbursement to the election authority for such purpose. The State Board shall furnish copies of such tapes, discs, other electronic data or compilations thereof to state political committees registered pursuant to the Illinois Campaign Finance Act or the Federal Election Campaign Act and to governmental entities, at their request and at a reasonable cost. To protect the privacy and confidentiality of voter registration information, the disclosure of electronic voter registration records to any person or entity other than to a State or local political committee and other than to a governmental entity for a governmental purpose is specifically prohibited except as follows: subject to security measures adopted by the State Board of Elections which, at a minimum, shall include the keeping of a catalog or database, available for public view, including the name, address, and telephone number of the person viewing the list as well as the time of that viewing, any person may view the centralized statewide voter registration list on a computer screen at the Springfield office of the State Board of Elections, during normal business hours other than during the 27 days before an election, but the person viewing the list under this exception may not print, duplicate, transmit, or alter the list. Copies of the tapes, discs or other electronic data shall be furnished by the county clerk to local political committees and governmental entities at their request and at a reasonable cost. Reasonable cost of the tapes, discs, et cetera for this purpose would be the cost of duplication plus 15% for administration. The individual representing a political committee requesting copies of such tapes shall make a sworn affidavit that the information shall be used only for bona fide political purposes, including by or for candidates for office or incumbent office holders. Such tapes, discs or other electronic data shall not be used under any circumstances by any political committee or individuals for purposes of commercial solicitation or other business purposes. If such tapes contain information on county residents related to the operations of county government in addition to registration information, that information shall not be used under any circumstances for commercial solicitation or other business purposes. The prohibition in this Section against using the computer tapes or computer discs or other electronic data processing information containing voter registration information for purposes of commercial solicitation or other business purposes shall be prospective only from the effective date of this amended Act of 1979. Any person who violates this provision shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.

The State Board of Elections shall promulgate, by October 1, 1987, such regulations as may be necessary to ensure uniformity throughout the State in electronic data processing of voter registration information. The regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, specifications for uniform medium, communications protocol and file structure to be employed by the election authorities of this State in the electronic data processing of voter registration information. Each election authority utilizing electronic data processing of voter registration information shall comply with such regulations on and after May 15, 1988.

If the applicant for registration was last registered in another county within this State, he shall also sign a certificate authorizing cancellation of the former registration. The certificate shall be in substantially the following form:

To the County Clerk of .... County, Illinois. To the Election Commission of the City of ...., Illinois.

This is to certify that I am registered in your (county) (city) and that my residence was .....

Having moved out of your (county) (city), I hereby authorize you to cancel said registration in your office.

Dated at .... Illinois, on (insert date).

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

(Signature of Voter)

Attest ......, County Clerk, ........ County, Illinois.

The cancellation certificate shall be mailed immediately by the county clerk to the county clerk (or election commission as the case may be) where the applicant was formerly registered. Receipt of such certificate shall be full authority for cancellation of any previous registration.

(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 10-1-13.)

(10 ILCS 5/5-28) (from Ch. 46, par. 5-28)

Sec. 5-28. The original registration record cards shall remain permanently in the office of the county clerk or election authority except as destroyed as provided in Section 5-6; shall be filed alphabetically without regard to precincts; and shall be known as the master file. The master file may be kept in a computer-based voter registration file or paper format, provided a secondary digital back-up is kept off site. The digital file shall be searchable and remain current with all registration activity conducted by the County Clerk or election authority. The duplicate registration record cards shall constitute the official registry of voters for all elections and shall be filed by precincts and townships. The duplicate cards for use in conducting elections shall be delivered to the judges of election by the county clerk in a suitable binder or other device, which shall be locked and sealed in accordance with the directions to be given by the county clerk and shall also be suitably indexed for convenient use by the precinct officers. The precinct files shall be delivered to the judges of election for use at the polls for elections at the same time as the official ballots are delivered to them, and shall be returned to the county clerk by the judges of election within the time provided for the return of the official ballots. The county clerk shall determine the manner of return and delivery of such file.

(Source: P.A. 80-1469.)

(10 ILCS 5/5-43)

Sec. 5-43. Computerization of voter records.

(a) The State Board of Elections shall design a registration record card that, except as otherwise provided in this Section, shall be used in duplicate by all election authorities in the State adopting a computer-based voter registration file as provided in this Section. The Board shall prescribe the form and specifications, including but not limited to the weight of paper, color, and print of the cards. The cards shall contain boxes or spaces for the information required under Sections 5-7 and 5-28.1; provided that the cards shall also contain: (i) A space for the person to fill in his or her Illinois driver's license number if the person has a driver's license; (ii) A space for a person without a driver's license to fill in the last four digits of his or her social security number if the person has a social security number.

(b) The election authority may develop and implement a system to prepare, use, and maintain a computer-based voter registration file that includes a computer-stored image of the signature of each voter. The computer-based voter registration file may be used for all purposes for which the original registration cards are to be used, provided that a system for the storage of at least one copy of the original registration cards remains in effect. In the case of voter registration forms received via an online voter registration system, the original registration cards will include the signature received from the Secretary of State database. The electronic file shall be the master file.

(b-2) The election authority may develop and implement a system to maintain registration cards in digital form using digitized signatures, which may be stored in a computer-based voter registration file under subsection (b) of this Section. The making and signing of any form, including an application to register and a certificate authorizing cancellation of a registration or authorizing a transfer of registration may be by a signature written in ink or by a digitized signature.

(c) Any system created, used, and maintained under subsection (b) of this Section shall meet the following standards:

(1) Access to any computer-based voter registration file shall be limited to those persons authorized by the election authority, and each access to the computer-based voter registration file, other than an access solely for inquiry, shall be recorded.

(2) No copy, summary, list, abstract, or index of any computer-based voter registration file that includes any computer-stored image of the signature of any registered voter shall be made available to the public outside of the offices of the election authority.

(3) Any copy, summary, list, abstract, or index of any computer-based voter registration file that includes a computer-stored image of the signature of a registered voter shall be produced in such a manner that it cannot be reproduced.

(4) Each person desiring to vote shall sign an application for a ballot, and the signature comparison authorized in Articles 17 and 18 of this Code may be made to a copy of the computer-stored image of the signature of the registered voter.

(5) Any voter list produced from a computer-based voter registration file that includes computer-stored images of the signatures of registered voters and is used in a polling place during an election shall be preserved by the election authority in secure storage until the end of the second calendar year following the election in which it was used.

(d) Before the first election in which the election authority elects to use a voter list produced from the computer-stored images of the signatures of registered voters in a computer-based voter registration file for signature comparison in a polling place, the State Board of Elections shall certify that the system used by the election authority complies with the standards set forth in this Section. The State Board of Elections may request a sample poll list intended to be used in a polling place to test the accuracy of the list and the adequacy of the computer-stored images of the signatures of the registered voters.

(e) With respect to a jurisdiction that has copied all of its voter signatures into a computer-based registration file, all references in this Act or any other Act to the use, other than storage, of paper-based voter registration records shall be deemed to refer to their computer-based equivalents.

(f) Nothing in this Section prevents an election authority from submitting to the State Board of Elections a duplicate copy of some, as the State Board of Elections shall determine, or all of the data contained in each voter registration record that is part of the electronic master file. The duplicate copy of the registration record shall be maintained by the State Board of Elections under the same terms and limitations applicable to the election authority and shall be of equal legal dignity with the original registration record maintained by the election authority as proof of any fact contained in the voter registration record.

(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)

(10 ILCS 5/6-35) (from Ch. 46, par. 6-35)

Sec. 6-35. The Boards of Election Commissioners shall provide a sufficient number of blank forms for the registration of electors which shall be known as registration record cards and which shall consist of loose leaf sheets or cards, of suitable size to contain in plain writing and figures the data hereinafter required thereon or shall consist of computer cards of suitable nature to contain the data required thereon. The registration record cards, which shall include an affidavit of registration as hereinafter provided, shall be executed in duplicate. The duplicate of which may be a carbon copy of the original or a copy of the original made by the use of other method or material used for making simultaneous true copies or duplications.

The registration record card shall contain the following and such other information as the Board of Election Commissioners may think it proper to require for the identification of the applicant for registration:

Name. The name of the applicant, giving surname and first or Christian name in full, and the middle name or the initial for such middle name, if any.

Sex.

Residence. The name and number of the street, avenue, or other location of the dwelling, including the apartment, unit or room number, if any, and in the case of a mobile home the lot number, and such additional clear and definite description as may be necessary to determine the exact location of the dwelling of the applicant, including post-office mailing address. In the case of a homeless individual, the individual's voting residence that is his or her mailing address shall be included on his or her registration record card.

Term of residence in the State of Illinois and the precinct.

Nativity. The state or country in which the applicant was born.

Citizenship. Whether the applicant is native born or naturalized. If naturalized, the court, place, and date of naturalization.

Date of application for registration, i.e., the day, month and year when the applicant presented himself for registration.

Age. Date of birth, by month, day and year.

Physical disability of the applicant, if any, at the time of registration, which would require assistance in voting.

The county and state in which the applicant was last registered.

Electronic mail address, if any.

Signature of voter. The applicant, after registration and in the presence of a deputy registrar or other officer of registration shall be required to sign his or her name in ink or digitized form to the affidavit on both the original and the duplicate registration record card.

Signature of deputy registrar.

In case applicant is unable to sign his name, he may affix his mark to the affidavit. In such case the registration officer shall write a detailed description of the applicant in the space provided at the bottom of the card or sheet; and shall ask the following questions and record the answers thereto:

Father's first name .........................

Mother's first name .........................

From what address did you last register? ....

Reason for inability to sign name ...........

Each applicant for registration shall make an affidavit in substantially the following form:

AFFIDAVIT OF REGISTRATION

State of Illinois ) )ss County of ....... )

I hereby swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States, that on the day of the next election I shall have resided in the State of Illinois and in the election precinct 30 days and that I intend that this location is my residence; that I am fully qualified to vote, and that the above statements are true.

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

(His or her signature or mark)

Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).

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

Signature of registration officer (to be signed in presence of registrant).

Space shall be provided upon the face of each registration record card for the notation of the voting record of the person registered thereon.

Each registration record card shall be numbered according to wards or precincts, as the case may be, and may be serially or otherwise marked for identification in such manner as the Board of Election Commissioners may determine.

The registration cards shall be deemed public records and shall be open to inspection during regular business hours, except during the 27 days immediately preceding any election. On written request of any candidate or objector or any person intending to object to a petition, the election authority shall extend its hours for inspection of registration cards and other records of the election authority during the period beginning with the filing of petitions under Sections 7-10, 8-8, 10-6 or 28-3 and continuing through the termination of electoral board hearings on any objections to petitions containing signatures of registered voters in the jurisdiction of the election authority. The extension shall be for a period of hours sufficient to allow adequate opportunity for examination of the records but the election authority is not required to extend its hours beyond the period beginning at its normal opening for business and ending at midnight. If the business hours are so extended, the election authority shall post a public notice of such extended hours. Registration record cards may also be inspected, upon approval of the officer in charge of the cards, during the 27 days immediately preceding any election. Registration record cards shall also be open to inspection by certified judges and poll watchers and challengers at the polling place on election day, but only to the extent necessary to determine the question of the right of a person to vote or to serve as a judge of election. At no time shall poll watchers or challengers be allowed to physically handle the registration record cards.

Updated copies of computer tapes or computer discs or other electronic data processing information containing voter registration information shall be furnished by the Board of Election Commissioners within 10 days after December 15 and May 15 each year and within 10 days after each registration period is closed to the State Board of Elections in a form prescribed by the State Board. For the purposes of this Section, a registration period is closed 27 days before the date of any regular or special election. Registration information shall include, but not be limited to, the following information: name, sex, residence, telephone number, if any, age, party affiliation, if applicable, precinct, ward, township, county, and representative, legislative and congressional districts. In the event of noncompliance, the State Board of Elections is directed to obtain compliance forthwith with this nondiscretionary duty of the election authority by instituting legal proceedings in the circuit court of the county in which the election authority maintains the registration information. The costs of furnishing updated copies of tapes or discs shall be paid at a rate of $.00034 per name of registered voters in the election jurisdiction, but not less than $50 per tape or disc and shall be paid from appropriations made to the State Board of Elections for reimbursement to the election authority for such purpose. The State Board shall furnish copies of such tapes, discs, other electronic data or compilations thereof to state political committees registered pursuant to the Illinois Campaign Finance Act or the Federal Election Campaign Act and to governmental entities, at their request and at a reasonable cost. To protect the privacy and confidentiality of voter registration information, the disclosure of electronic voter registration records to any person or entity other than to a State or local political committee and other than to a governmental entity for a governmental purpose is specifically prohibited except as follows: subject to security measures adopted by the State Board of Elections which, at a minimum, shall include the keeping of a catalog or database, available for public view, including the name, address, and telephone number of the person viewing the list as well as the time of that viewing, any person may view the centralized statewide voter registration list on a computer screen at the Springfield office of the State Board of Elections, during normal business hours other than during the 27 days before an election, but the person viewing the list under this exception may not print, duplicate, transmit, or alter the list. Copies of the tapes, discs or other electronic data shall be furnished by the Board of Election Commissioners to local political committees and governmental entities at their request and at a reasonable cost. Reasonable cost of the tapes, discs, et cetera for this purpose would be the cost of duplication plus 15% for administration. The individual representing a political committee requesting copies of such tapes shall make a sworn affidavit that the information shall be used only for bona fide political purposes, including by or for candidates for office or incumbent office holders. Such tapes, discs or other electronic data shall not be used under any circumstances by any political committee or individuals for purposes of commercial solicitation or other business purposes. If such tapes contain information on county residents related to the operations of county government in addition to registration information, that information shall not be used under any circumstances for commercial solicitation or other business purposes. The prohibition in this Section against using the computer tapes or computer discs or other electronic data processing information containing voter registration information for purposes of commercial solicitation or other business purposes shall be prospective only from the effective date of this amended Act of 1979. Any person who violates this provision shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.

The State Board of Elections shall promulgate, by October 1, 1987, such regulations as may be necessary to ensure uniformity throughout the State in electronic data processing of voter registration information. The regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, specifications for uniform medium, communications protocol and file structure to be employed by the election authorities of this State in the electronic data processing of voter registration information. Each election authority utilizing electronic data processing of voter registration information shall comply with such regulations on and after May 15, 1988.

If the applicant for registration was last registered in another county within this State, he shall also sign a certificate authorizing cancellation of the former registration. The certificate shall be in substantially the following form:

To the County Clerk of .... County, Illinois.

To the Election Commission of the City of ...., Illinois.

This is to certify that I am registered in your (county) (city) and that my residence was ..... Having moved out of your (county), (city), I hereby authorize you to cancel that registration in your office.

Dated at ...., Illinois, on (insert date).

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

(Signature of Voter)

Attest ...., Clerk, Election Commission of the City of...., Illinois.

The cancellation certificate shall be mailed immediately by the clerk of the Election Commission to the county clerk, (or Election Commission as the case may be) where the applicant was formerly registered. Receipt of such certificate shall be full authority for cancellation of any previous registration.

(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 10-1-13.)

(10 ILCS 5/6-65) (from Ch. 46, par. 6-65)

Sec. 6-65.

The duplicate registration record cards shall remain permanently in the office of the Board of Election Commissioners; shall be filed alphabetically without regard to wards or precincts; and shall be known as the master file. The master file may be kept in a computer-based voter registration file or paper format, provided a secondary digital back-up is kept off site. The digital file shall be searchable and remain current with all registration activity conducted by the Board of Election Commissioners. The original registration record cards shall constitute the official precinct registry of voters; shall be filed by wards and precincts; and shall be known as the precinct file. The original cards shall be delivered to the judges of election by the Board of Election Commissioners in a suitable binder or other device, which shall be locked and sealed in accordance with directions to be given by the Board of Election Commissioners and shall also be suitably indexed for convenient use by the precinct officers. The precinct files shall be delivered to the precinct officers for use at the polls, on the day of election and shall be returned to the Board of Election Commissioners immediately after the close of the polls. The board shall determine by rules the manner of delivery and return to such file. At all other times the precinct file shall be retained at the office of the Board of Election Commissioners except for such use of it as may be made under this Article with respect to registration not at the office of the Board of Election Commissioners.

(Source: P.A. 78-934.)

(10 ILCS 5/6-79)

Sec. 6-79. Computerization of voter records.

(a) The State Board of Elections shall design a registration record card that, except as otherwise provided in this Section, shall be used in duplicate by all election authorities in the State adopting a computer-based voter registration file as provided in this Section. The Board shall prescribe the form and specifications, including but not limited to the weight of paper, color, and print of the cards. The cards shall contain boxes or spaces for the information required under Sections 6-31.1 and 6-35; provided that the cards shall also contain: (i) A space for the person to fill in his or her Illinois driver's license number if the person has a driver's license; (ii) A space for a person without a driver's license to fill in the last four digits of his or her social security number if the person has a social security number.

(b) The election authority may develop and implement a system to prepare, use, and maintain a computer-based voter registration file that includes a computer-stored image of the signature of each voter. The computer-based voter registration file may be used for all purposes for which the original registration cards are to be used, provided that a system for the storage of at least one copy of the original registration cards remains in effect. In the case of voter registration forms received via an online voter registration system, the original registration cards will include the signature received from the Secretary of State database. The electronic file shall be the master file.

(b-2) The election authority may develop and implement a system to maintain registration cards in digital form using digitized signatures, which may be stored in a computer-based voter registration file under subsection (b) of this Section. The making and signing of any form, including an application to register and a certificate authorizing cancellation of a registration or authorizing a transfer of registration may be by a signature written in ink or by a digitized signature.

(c) Any system created, used, and maintained under subsection (b) of this Section shall meet the following standards:

(1) Access to any computer-based voter registration file shall be limited to those persons authorized by the election authority, and each access to the computer-based voter registration file, other than an access solely for inquiry, shall be recorded.

(2) No copy, summary, list, abstract, or index of any computer-based voter registration file that includes any computer-stored image of the signature of any registered voter shall be made available to the public outside of the offices of the election authority.

(3) Any copy, summary, list, abstract, or index of any computer-based voter registration file that includes a computer-stored image of the signature of a registered voter shall be produced in such a manner that it cannot be reproduced.

(4) Each person desiring to vote shall sign an application for a ballot, and the signature comparison authorized in Articles 17 and 18 of this Code may be made to a copy of the computer-stored image of the signature of the registered voter.

(5) Any voter list produced from a computer-based voter registration file that includes computer-stored images of the signatures of registered voters and is used in a polling place during an election shall be preserved by the election authority in secure storage until the end of the second calendar year following the election in which it was used.

(d) Before the first election in which the election authority elects to use a voter list produced from the computer-stored images of the signatures of registered voters in a computer-based voter registration file for signature comparison in a polling place, the State Board of Elections shall certify that the system used by the election authority complies with the standards set forth in this Section. The State Board of Elections may request a sample poll list intended to be used in a polling place to test the accuracy of the list and the adequacy of the computer-stored images of the signatures of the registered voters.

(e) With respect to a jurisdiction that has copied all of its voter signatures into a computer-based registration file, all references in this Act or any other Act to the use, other than storage, of paper-based voter registration records shall be deemed to refer to their computer-based equivalents.

(f) Nothing in this Section prevents an election authority from submitting to the State Board of Elections a duplicate copy of some, as the State Board of Elections shall determine, or all of the data contained in each voter registration record that is part of the electronic master file. The duplicate copy of the registration record shall be maintained by the State Board of Elections under the same terms and limitations applicable to the election authority and shall be of equal legal dignity with the original registration record maintained by the election authority as proof of any fact contained in the voter registration record.

(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)

(10 ILCS 5/20-8) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-8)

Sec. 20-8. Time and place of counting ballots.

(a) (Blank.)

(b) Each vote by mail voter's ballot returned to an election authority, by any means authorized by this Article, and received by that election authority may be processed by the election authority beginning on the 15th day before election day it is received by the election authority in the central ballot counting location of the election authority, but the results of the processing may not be counted until the day of the election after 7:00 p.m., except as provided in subsections (g) and (g-5).

(c) Each vote by mail voter's ballot that is mailed to an election authority and postmarked no later than election day, but that is received by the election authority after the polls close on election day and before the close of the period for counting provisional ballots cast at that election, shall be endorsed by the receiving authority with the day and hour of receipt and shall be counted at the central ballot counting location of the election authority during the period for counting provisional ballots.

Each vote by mail voter's ballot that is mailed to an election authority absent a postmark, but that is received by the election authority after the polls close on election day and before the close of the period for counting provisional ballots cast at that election, shall be endorsed by the receiving authority with the day and hour of receipt, opened to inspect the date inserted on the certification, and, if the certification date is a date preceding the election day and the ballot is otherwise found to be valid under the requirements of this Section, counted at the central ballot counting location of the election authority during the period for counting provisional ballots. Absent a date on the certification, the ballot shall not be counted.

(d) Special write-in vote by mail voter's blank ballots returned to an election authority, by any means authorized by this Article, and received by the election authority at any time before the closing of the polls on election day shall be endorsed by the receiving election authority with the day and hour of receipt and shall be counted at the central ballot counting location of the election authority during the same period provided for counting vote by mail voters' ballots under subsections (b), (g), and (g-5). Special write-in vote by mail voter's blank ballot that are mailed to an election authority and postmarked by midnight preceding the opening of the polls on election day, but that are received by the election authority after the polls close on election day and before the closing of the period for counting provisional ballots cast at that election, shall be endorsed by the receiving authority with the day and hour of receipt and shall be counted at the central ballot counting location of the election authority during the same periods provided for counting vote by mail voters' ballots under subsection (c).

(e) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, vote by mail voters' ballots and special write-in vote by mail voter's blank ballots received by the election authority after the closing of the polls on the day of election shall be endorsed by the person receiving the ballots with the day and hour of receipt and shall be safely kept unopened by the election authority for the period of time required for the preservation of ballots used at the election, and shall then, without being opened, be destroyed in like manner as the used ballots of that election.

(f) Counting required under this Section to begin on election day after the closing of the polls shall commence no later than 8:00 p.m. and shall be conducted by a panel or panels of election judges appointed in the manner provided by law. The counting shall continue until all vote by mail voters' ballots and special write-in vote by mail voter's blank ballots required to be counted on election day have been counted.

(g) The procedures set forth in Articles 17 and 18 of this Code shall apply to all ballots counted under this Section. In addition, within 2 days after a ballot subject to this Article is received, but in all cases before the close of the period for counting provisional ballots, the election judge or official shall compare the voter's signature on the certification envelope of that ballot with the signature of the voter on file in the office of the election authority. If the election judge or official determines that the 2 signatures match, and that the voter is otherwise qualified to cast a ballot under this Article, the election authority shall cast and count the ballot on election day or the day the ballot is determined to be valid, whichever is later, adding the results to the precinct in which the voter is registered. If the election judge or official determines that the signatures do not match, or that the voter is not qualified to cast a ballot under this Article, then without opening the certification envelope, the judge or official shall mark across the face of the certification envelope the word "Rejected" and shall not cast or count the ballot.

In addition to the voter's signatures not matching, a ballot subject to this Article may be rejected by the election judge or official:

(1) if the ballot envelope is open or has been opened and resealed;

(2) if the voter has already cast an early or grace period ballot;

(3) if the voter voted in person on election day or the voter is not a duly registered voter in the precinct; or

(4) on any other basis set forth in this Code.

If the election judge or official determines that any of these reasons apply, the judge or official shall mark across the face of the certification envelope the word "Rejected" and shall not cast or count the ballot.

(g-5) If a ballot subject to this Article is rejected by the election judge or official for any reason, the election authority shall, within 2 days after the rejection but in all cases before the close of the period for counting provisional ballots, notify the voter that his or her ballot was rejected. The notice shall inform the voter of the reason or reasons the ballot was rejected and shall state that the voter may appear before the election authority, on or before the 14th day after the election, to show cause as to why the ballot should not be rejected. The voter may present evidence to the election authority supporting his or her contention that the ballot should be counted. The election authority shall appoint a panel of 3 election judges to review the contested ballot, application, and certification envelope, as well as any evidence submitted by the vote by mail voter. No more than 2 election judges on the reviewing panel shall be of the same political party. The reviewing panel of election judges shall make a final determination as to the validity of the contested ballot. The judges' determination shall not be reviewable either administratively or judicially.

A ballot subject to this subsection that is determined to be valid shall be counted before the close of the period for counting provisional ballots.

(g-10) All ballots determined to be valid shall be added to the vote totals for the precincts for which they were cast in the order in which the ballots were opened.

(h) Each political party, candidate, and qualified civic organization shall be entitled to have present one pollwatcher for each panel of election judges therein assigned.

(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)

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