Sen. Julie A. Morrison

Filed: 5/22/2020

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2238

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2238 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1later than October 6, 2020. An election authority shall mail
2official ballots to any elector requesting an official ballot
3after October 1, 2020 no later than 2 business days after
4receipt of the application.
5    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
6contrary, any vote by mail ballot received by an election
7authority shall be presumed to meet the requirements of
8Articles 17, 18, and 19 and the voter shall be deemed otherwise
9qualified to cast a vote by mail ballot unless deemed invalid
10as provided in this Section.
11    (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
12contrary, within 2 days after a vote by mail ballot is
13received, but in all cases before the close of the period for
14counting provisional ballots, the election authority shall
15appoint a panel or panels as needed of 3 election judges, of
16which no more than 2 shall be from the same political party,
17from the list of election judges submitted by the county
18parties for this specific purpose to compare the voter's
19signature on the certification envelope of the vote by mail
20ballot with the signature of the voter on file in the office of
21the election authority. The signature shall be presumed to
22match unless 3 out of 3 election judges determine that the 2
23signatures do not match. By a vote of 3 of 3 election judges, a
24vote by mail ballot may only be rejected because the signature
25on the certification envelope and the signature used by the
26election authority for verification purposes do not match or

 

 

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1the certification envelope contains a signature but not in the
2proper location. A vote by mail ballot may only be rejected by
3a majority vote of the 3 of 3 election judges and only for the
4following reasons: (1) the signature on the certification
5envelope and the signature used by the election authority for
6verification purposes do not match or the certification
7envelope contains no signature; (2) the ballot envelope was
8delivered opened; (3) the voter has already cast a ballot; (4)
9if the voter voted in person on election day; or (5) the voter
10is not a duly registered voter in the precinct. If 3 of 3
11election judges determine the ballot should be rejected for any
12reasons stated in this subsection (c), the judges shall mark
13across the face of the certification envelope the word
14"rejected" and the date and names of the judges voting to
15reject the ballot.
16    (d) If a vote by mail ballot is rejected, the election
17authority shall notify the voter within 2 days after the
18rejection or within one day if the rejection occurs after
19election day and in all cases before the close of the period
20for counting provisional ballots. The voter shall be notified
21through mail or email, or both, and the notice shall inform the
22voter of the reason or reasons the ballot was rejected. If the
23ballot was rejected based on the signature or lack of a
24signature, the voter shall be permitted to submit a statement
25the voter cast the ballot, and upon receipt the ballot shall be
26determined valid and counted before the close of the period for

 

 

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1counting provisional ballots. If the ballot was rejected
2because the envelope was delivered opened, the voter shall be
3permitted to vote in person or request to receive another vote
4by mail ballot, provided the voter submits an application and
5casts a new ballot prior to the close of polls on election day.
6    (e) Election authorities shall accept any vote by mail
7ballot returned, including ballots returned with insufficient
8or no postage, and may establish secure collection sites for
9the postage-free return of vote by mail ballots. Any election
10authority establishing such a collection site pursuant to this
11subsection (c) shall collect all ballots submitted each day at
12close of business and process them as required by this Code,
13including noting the day on which the ballot was submitted.
14Ballots submitted to such collection sites after close of
15business shall be dated as delivered the next day, with the
16exception of ballots delivered on election day, which shall be
17dated as received on election day. Election authorities shall
18permit electors to return vote by mail ballots on election day
19up until the close of the polls. All collection sites shall be
20secured by locks that may be opened only by election authority
21personnel. The State Board of Elections shall establish
22additional guidelines for the security of collection sites.
23    (f) In accordance with Section 19-7, within one day after
24receipt of a vote by mail ballot, the election authority shall
25transmit notification of receipt to the State Board of
26Elections. If a vote by mail ballot is rejected, the election

 

 

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1authority must notify the State Board of Elections within one
2day. Upon request by a state or local political committee,
3within 2 days an election authority must electronically provide
4the names and addresses of any vote by mail ballots received
5and any vote by mail ballots marked rejected.
6(Source: 10100SB1863ham005; 10100SB1863ham006.)
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law or on the date Senate Bill 1863 of the 101st
9General Assembly takes effect, whichever is later.".