HB2238 EnrolledLRB101 08064 RJF 53126 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. If and only if Senate Bill 1863 of the 101st
5General Assembly becomes law in the form in which it passed the
6House of Representatives on May 21, 2020, then the Election
7Code is amended by changing Section 2B-20 as follows:
 
8    (10 ILCS 5/2B-20)
9    Sec. 2B-20. Changes for vote by mail official ballot
10mailing and processing.
11    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
12contrary, an election authority shall mail official ballots to
13any elector requesting an official ballot no earlier than
14September 24, 2020. Except for electors applying under Article
1520, any elector submitting an application for a vote by mail
16ballot on or before October 1, 2020 shall receive a ballot no
17later than October 6, 2020. An election authority shall mail
18official ballots to any elector requesting an official ballot
19after October 1, 2020 no later than 2 business days after
20receipt of the application.
21    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
22contrary, any vote by mail ballot received by an election
23authority shall be presumed to meet the requirements of

 

 

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1Articles 17, 18, and 19 and the voter shall be deemed otherwise
2qualified to cast a vote by mail ballot unless deemed invalid
3as provided in this Section.
4    (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
5contrary, within 2 days after a vote by mail ballot is
6received, but in all cases before the close of the period for
7counting provisional ballots, the election authority shall
8appoint a panel or panels as needed of 3 election judges, of
9which no more than 2 shall be from the same political party,
10from the list of election judges submitted by the county
11parties for this specific purpose to compare the voter's
12signature on the certification envelope of the vote by mail
13ballot with the signature of the voter on file in the office of
14the election authority. The signature shall be presumed to
15match unless 3 out of 3 election judges determine that the 2
16signatures do not match. By a vote of 3 of 3 election judges, a
17vote by mail ballot may only be rejected because the signature
18on the certification envelope and the signature used by the
19election authority for verification purposes do not match or
20the certification envelope contains a signature but not in the
21proper location. A vote by mail ballot may only be rejected by
22a majority vote of the 3 of 3 election judges and only for the
23following reasons: (1) the signature on the certification
24envelope and the signature used by the election authority for
25verification purposes do not match or the certification
26envelope contains no signature; (2) the ballot envelope was

 

 

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1delivered opened; (3) the voter has already cast a ballot; (4)
2if the voter voted in person on election day; or (5) the voter
3is not a duly registered voter in the precinct. If 3 of 3
4election judges determine the ballot should be rejected for any
5reasons stated in this subsection (c), the judges shall mark
6across the face of the certification envelope the word
7"rejected" and the date and names of the judges voting to
8reject the ballot.
9    (d) If a vote by mail ballot is rejected, the election
10authority shall notify the voter within 2 days after the
11rejection or within one day if the rejection occurs after
12election day and in all cases before the close of the period
13for counting provisional ballots. The voter shall be notified
14through mail or email, or both, and the notice shall inform the
15voter of the reason or reasons the ballot was rejected. If the
16ballot was rejected based on the signature or lack of a
17signature, the voter shall be permitted to submit a statement
18the voter cast the ballot, and upon receipt the ballot shall be
19determined valid and counted before the close of the period for
20counting provisional ballots. If the ballot was rejected
21because the envelope was delivered opened, the voter shall be
22permitted to vote in person or request to receive another vote
23by mail ballot, provided the voter submits an application and
24casts a new ballot prior to the close of polls on election day.
25    (e) Election authorities shall accept any vote by mail
26ballot returned, including ballots returned with insufficient

 

 

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1or no postage, and may establish secure collection sites for
2the postage-free return of vote by mail ballots. Any election
3authority establishing such a collection site pursuant to this
4subsection (c) shall collect all ballots submitted each day at
5close of business and process them as required by this Code,
6including noting the day on which the ballot was submitted.
7Ballots submitted to such collection sites after close of
8business shall be dated as delivered the next day, with the
9exception of ballots delivered on election day, which shall be
10dated as received on election day. Election authorities shall
11permit electors to return vote by mail ballots on election day
12up until the close of the polls. All collection sites shall be
13secured by locks that may be opened only by election authority
14personnel. The State Board of Elections shall establish
15additional guidelines for the security of collection sites.
16    (f) In accordance with Section 19-7, within one day after
17receipt of a vote by mail ballot, the election authority shall
18transmit notification of receipt to the State Board of
19Elections. If a vote by mail ballot is rejected, the election
20authority must notify the State Board of Elections within one
21day. Upon request by a state or local political committee,
22within 2 days an election authority must electronically provide
23the names and addresses of any vote by mail ballots received
24and any vote by mail ballots marked rejected.
25(Source: 10100SB1863ham005; 10100SB1863ham006.)
 
26    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law or on the date Senate Bill 1863 of the 101st
2General Assembly takes effect, whichever is later.