103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3794

 

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/1A-16.7
10 ILCS 5/1A-16.10 new
10 ILCS 5/1A-16.11 new

    Amends the Election Code. Provides that a person who is qualified to register to vote, who currently holds an authentic Illinois driver's license or State identification card issued by the Secretary of State and who is not making any application for a driver's license or identification card, may make application to register to vote at Secretary of State driver services facilities or Secretary of State mobile events. Provides that a person who is qualified to register to vote and who holds 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 Secretary of State. Provides that a voter registration application submitted pursuant to the provisions shall be electronically transmitted by the Secretary of State to the State Board of Elections and shall contain the same information the Secretary of State transmits to the State Board of Elections for voter registration applications submitted pursuant to specified provisions. Provides that for an applicant's registration or change in registration to be accepted, the applicant shall mark the box associated with a specified statement included as part of the online voter registration application. Provides that the State Board of Elections and the Office of the Secretary of State shall coordinate with each United States District Court in Illinois for a representative or representatives of the Secretary of State to attend citizen naturalization ceremonies at the District Courts to provide registration information to persons participating or attending the ceremonies and to register any person at the ceremony who wishes to register to vote, as allowed by the District Courts. Allows joint adoption of rules to implement the provisions. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.


LRB103 30935 BMS 57484 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3794LRB103 30935 BMS 57484 b

1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
5Section 1A-16.7 and by adding Sections 1A-16.10 and 1A-16.11
6as follows:
 
7    (10 ILCS 5/1A-16.7)
8    Sec. 1A-16.7. Automatic voter registration.
9    (a) The State Board of Elections shall establish and
10maintain a portal for automatic government agency voter
11registration that permits an eligible person to electronically
12apply to register to vote or to update his or her existing
13voter registration as provided in Section 1A-16.1, or Section
141A-16.2, or Section 1A-16.10. The portal shall interface with
15the online voter registration system established in Section
161A-16.5 of this Code and shall be capable of receiving and
17processing voter registration application information,
18including electronic signatures, from the Office of the
19Secretary of State and each designated automatic voter
20registration agency, as defined in Section 1A-16.2. The State
21Board of Elections may cross-reference voter registration
22information from any designated automatic voter registration
23agency, as defined under Section 1A-16.2 of this Code, with

 

 

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1information contained in the database of the Secretary of
2State as provided under subsection (c) of Section 1A-16.5 of
3this Code. The State Board of Elections shall modify the
4online voter registration system as necessary to implement
5this Section.
6    (b) Voter registration data received from the Office of
7the Secretary of State or a designated automatic voter
8registration agency through the online registration
9application system shall be processed as provided in Section
101A-16.5 of this Code.
11    (c) The State Board of Elections shall establish technical
12specifications applicable to each automatic government
13registration program and electronic voter registration by the
14Office of the Secretary of State, including data format and
15transmission specifications. The Office of the Secretary of
16State and each designated automatic voter registration agency
17shall maintain a data transfer mechanism capable of
18transmitting voter registration application information,
19including electronic signatures where available, to the online
20voter registration system established in Section 1A-16.5 of
21this Code.
22    (d) The State Board of Elections shall, by rule, establish
23criteria and procedures for determining whether an agency of
24the State or federal government seeking to become a designated
25automatic voter registration agency has access to reliable
26personal information, as defined under this subsection (d) and

 

 

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1subsection (f) of Section 1A-16.2 of this Code, and otherwise
2meets the requirements to enter into an interagency contract
3and to operate as a designated automatic voter registration
4agency. The State Board of Elections shall approve each
5interagency contract upon affirmative vote of a majority of
6its members.
7    As used in this subsection (d), "reliable personal
8information" means information about individuals obtained from
9government sources that may be used to verify whether an
10individual is eligible to register to vote.
11    (e) Whenever an applicant's data is transferred from the
12Office of the Secretary of State or a designated automatic
13voter registration agency, the agency must transmit a
14signature image if available. If no signature image was
15provided by the agency, or if no signature image is available
16in the Office of the Secretary of State's database or the
17statewide voter registration database, the applicant must be
18notified that his or her registration will remain in a pending
19status, and the applicant will be required to provide
20identification that complies with the federal Help America
21Vote Act of 2002 and a signature to the election authority on
22election day in the polling place or during early voting.
23    (f) Upon receipt of personal information collected and
24transferred by the Office of the Secretary of State or a
25designated automatic voter registration agency, the State
26Board of Elections shall check the information against the

 

 

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1statewide voter registration database. The State Board of
2Elections shall create and electronically transmit to the
3appropriate election authority a voter registration
4application for any individual who is not registered to vote
5in Illinois and is not disqualified as provided in this
6Section or whose information reliably indicates a more recent
7update to the name or address of a person already included in
8the statewide voter database. The election authority shall
9process the application accordingly.
10    (g) The appropriate election authority shall ensure that
11any applicant who is registered to vote or whose existing
12voter registration is updated under this Section is promptly
13sent written notice of the change. The notice required by this
14subsection (g) may be sent or combined with other notices
15required or permitted by law, including, but not limited to,
16any notices sent pursuant to Section 1A-16.5 of this Code. Any
17notice required by this subsection (g) shall contain, at a
18minimum: (i) the applicant's name and residential address as
19reflected on the voter registration list; (ii) a statement
20notifying the applicant to contact the appropriate election
21authority if his or her voter registration has been updated in
22error; (iii) the qualifications to register to vote in
23Illinois; (iv) a statement notifying the applicant that he or
24she may opt out of voter registration or request a change to
25his or her registration information at any time by contacting
26an election official; and (v) contact information for the

 

 

HB3794- 5 -LRB103 30935 BMS 57484 b

1appropriate election authority, including a phone number,
2address, electronic mail address, and website address.
3    (h) The appropriate election authority shall ensure that
4any applicant whose voter registration application is not
5accepted or deemed incomplete is promptly sent written notice
6of the application's status. The notice required by this
7subsection may be sent or combined with other notices required
8or permitted by law, including, but not limited to, any
9notices sent pursuant to Section 1A-16.5 of this Code. Any
10notice required by this subsection (h) shall contain, at a
11minimum, the reason the application was not accepted or deemed
12incomplete and contact information for the appropriate
13election authority, including a phone number, address,
14electronic mail address, and website address.
15    (i) If the Office of the Secretary of State or a designated
16automatic voter registration agency transfers information, or
17if the State Board of Elections creates and transmits a voter
18registration application, for a person who does not qualify as
19an eligible voter, then it shall not constitute a completed
20voter registration form, and the person shall not be
21considered to have registered to vote.
22    (j) If the registration is processed by any election
23authority, then it shall be presumed to have been effected and
24officially authorized by the State, and that person shall not
25be found on that basis to have made a false claim to
26citizenship or to have committed an act of moral turpitude,

 

 

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1nor shall that person be subject to penalty under any relevant
2laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 29-10 and 29-19
3of this Code. This subsection (j) does not apply to a person
4who knows that he or she is not entitled to register to vote
5and who willfully votes, registers to vote, or attests under
6penalty of perjury that he or she is eligible to register to
7vote or willfully attempts to vote or to register to vote.
8    (k) The State Board of Elections, the Office of the
9Secretary of State, and each designated automatic voter
10registration agency shall implement policies and procedures to
11protect the privacy and security of voter information as it is
12acquired, stored, and transmitted among agencies, including
13policies for the retention and preservation of voter
14information. Information designated as confidential under this
15Section may be recorded and shared among the State Board of
16Elections, election authorities, the Office of the Secretary
17of State, and designated automatic voter registration
18agencies, but shall be used only for voter registration
19purposes, shall not be disclosed to the public except in the
20aggregate as required by subsection (m) of this Section, and
21shall not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The
22following information shall be designated as confidential:
23        (1) any portion of an applicant's Social Security
24    number;
25        (2) any portion of an applicant's driver's license
26    number or State identification number;

 

 

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1        (3) an applicant's decision to decline voter
2    registration;
3        (4) the identity of the person providing information
4    relating to a specific applicant; and
5        (5) the personal residence and contact information of
6    any applicant for whom notice has been given by an
7    appropriate legal authority.
8    This subsection (k) shall not apply to information the
9State Board of Elections is required to share with the
10Electronic Registration Information Center.
11    (l) The voter registration procedures implemented under
12this Section shall comport with the federal National Voter
13Registration Act of 1993, as amended, and shall specifically
14require that the State Board of Elections track registration
15data received through the online registration system that
16originated from a designated automatic voter registration
17agency for the purposes of maintaining statistics.
18    Nothing in this Code shall require designated voter
19registration agencies to transmit information that is
20confidential client information under State or federal law
21without the consent of the applicant.
22    (m) The State Board of Elections, each election authority
23that maintains a website, the Office of the Secretary of
24State, and each designated automatic voter registration agency
25that maintains a website shall provide information on their
26websites informing the public about the new registration

 

 

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1procedures described in this Section. The Office of the
2Secretary of State and each designated automatic voter
3registration agency shall display signage or provide
4literature for the public containing information about the new
5registration procedures described in this Section.
6    (n) No later than 6 months after the effective date of this
7amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the State Board
8of Elections shall hold at least one public hearing on
9implementing this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly
10at which the public may provide input.
11    (o) The State Board of Elections shall submit an annual
12public report to the General Assembly and the Governor
13detailing the progress made to implement this Section. The
14report shall include all of the following: the number of
15records transferred under this Section by agency, the number
16of voters newly added to the statewide voter registration list
17because of records transferred under this Section by agency,
18the number of updated registrations under this Section by
19agency, the number of persons who opted out of voter
20registration, and the number of voters who submitted voter
21registration forms using the online procedure described in
22Section 1A-16.5 of this Code. The 2018 and 2019 annual reports
23may include less detail if election authorities are not
24equipped to provide complete information to the State Board of
25Elections. Any report produced under this subsection (o) shall
26exclude any information that identifies any individual

 

 

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1personally.
2    (p) The State Board of Elections, in consultation with
3election authorities, the Office of the Secretary of State,
4designated automatic voter registration agencies, and
5community organizations, shall adopt rules as necessary to
6implement the provisions of this Section.
7(Source: P.A. 100-464, eff. 8-28-17.)
 
8    (10 ILCS 5/1A-16.10 new)
9    Sec. 1A-16.10. Electronic voter registration; Secretary of
10State.
11    (a) A person who is qualified to register to vote, who
12currently holds an authentic Illinois driver's license or
13State identification card issued by the Secretary of State and
14who is not making any application for a driver's license or
15identification card, may make application to register to vote
16at Secretary of State driver services facilities or Secretary
17of State mobile events. Voter registration of a person making
18application for a driver's license or identification card
19shall be conducted pursuant to Section 1A-16.1.
20    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person
21who is qualified to register to vote and who holds an authentic
22Illinois driver's license or State identification card issued
23by the Secretary of State may submit an application to
24register to vote electronically on a website maintained by the
25Secretary of State.

 

 

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1    (c) A voter registration application submitted pursuant to
2this Section shall be electronically transmitted by the
3Secretary of State to the State Board of Elections and shall
4contain the same information the Secretary of State transmits
5to the State Board of Elections for voter registration
6applications submitted pursuant to Section 1A-16.1.
7    (d) For an applicant's registration or change in
8registration to be accepted, the applicant shall mark the box
9associated with the following statement included as part of
10the online voter registration application:
11        "By clicking on the box below, I swear or affirm all of
12    the following:
13        (1) I am the person whose name and identifying
14    information is provided on this form, and I desire to
15    register to vote in the State of Illinois.
16        (2) All the information I have provided on this form
17    is true and correct as of the date I am submitting this
18    form.
19        (3) I authorize the Secretary of State to transmit
20    this application and my signature that is on file with the
21    Secretary of State to the State Board of Elections and
22    understand that such signature will be used by my local
23    election authority on this online voter registration
24    application for admission as an elector as if I had signed
25    this form personally."
 

 

 

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1    (10 ILCS 5/1A-16.11 new)
2    Sec. 1A-16.11. Naturalization ceremony registration.
3    (a) The State Board of Elections and the Office of the
4Secretary of State shall coordinate with each United States
5District Court in Illinois for a representative or
6representatives of the Secretary of State to offer voter
7registration information, provide voter registration
8applications, and collect completed voter registration
9applications from all eligible citizens after the
10naturalization ceremony, as allowed by the United States
11District Court presiding over the naturalization.
12    (b) The State Board of Elections and the Office of the
13Secretary of State may jointly adopt rules to implement this
14Section.
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.