97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3028

 

Introduced 2/23/2011, by Rep. Michael J. Zalewski

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/17-9  from Ch. 46, par. 17-9
10 ILCS 5/18-5  from Ch. 46, par. 18-5

    Amends the Election Code. Provides that the a voter who has been issued an absentee ballot may vote in person without surrendering the absentee ballot if the voter submits an affidavit executed before the election judges specifying that the voter received the absentee ballot but did not submit the ballot to the election authority. Effective immediately.


LRB097 09489 HLH 49626 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3028LRB097 09489 HLH 49626 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
5Sections 17-9 and 18-5 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/17-9)  (from Ch. 46, par. 17-9)
7    Sec. 17-9. Any person desiring to vote shall give his name
8and, if required to do so, his residence to the judges of
9election, one of whom shall thereupon announce the same in a
10loud and distinct tone of voice, clear, and audible; the judges
11of elections shall check each application for ballot against
12the list of voters registered in that precinct to whom grace
13period, absentee, or early ballots have been issued for that
14election, which shall be provided by the election authority and
15which list shall be available for inspection by pollwatchers. A
16voter applying to vote in the precinct on election day whose
17name appears on the list as having been issued a grace period,
18absentee, or early ballot shall not be permitted to vote in the
19precinct, except that a voter to whom an absentee ballot was
20issued may vote in the precinct if the voter submits to the
21election judges that absentee ballot for cancellation. If the
22voter is unable to submit the absentee ballot, it shall be
23sufficient for the voter to submit to the election judges (i) a

 

 

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1portion of the absentee ballot if the absentee ballot was torn
2or mutilated or (ii) an affidavit executed before the election
3judges specifying that (A) the voter never received an absentee
4ballot, or (B) the voter completed and returned an absentee
5ballot and was informed that the election authority did not
6receive that absentee ballot, or (C) the voter received the
7absentee ballot but did not submit the ballot to the election
8authority. All applicable provisions of Articles 4, 5 or 6
9shall be complied with and if such name is found on the
10register of voters by the officer having charge thereof, he
11shall likewise repeat said name, and the voter shall be allowed
12to enter within the proximity of the voting booths, as above
13provided. One of the judges shall give the voter one, and only
14one of each ballot to be voted at the election, on the back of
15which ballots such judge shall indorse his initials in such
16manner that they may be seen when each such ballot is properly
17folded, and the voter's name shall be immediately checked on
18the register list. In those election jurisdictions where
19perforated ballot cards are utilized of the type on which
20write-in votes can be cast above the perforation, the election
21authority shall provide a space both above and below the
22perforation for the judge's initials, and the judge shall
23endorse his or her initials in both spaces. Whenever a proposal
24for a constitutional amendment or for the calling of a
25constitutional convention is to be voted upon at the election,
26the separate blue ballot or ballots pertaining thereto shall,

 

 

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1when being handed to the voter, be placed on top of the other
2ballots to be voted at the election in such manner that the
3legend appearing on the back thereof, as prescribed in Section
416-6 of this Act, shall be plainly visible to the voter. At all
5elections, when a registry may be required, if the name of any
6person so desiring to vote at such election is not found on the
7register of voters, he or she shall not receive a ballot until
8he or she shall have complied with the law prescribing the
9manner and conditions of voting by unregistered voters. If any
10person desiring to vote at any election shall be challenged, he
11or she shall not receive a ballot until he or she shall have
12established his right to vote in the manner provided
13hereinafter; and if he or she shall be challenged after he has
14received his ballot, he shall not be permitted to vote until he
15or she has fully complied with such requirements of the law
16upon being challenged. Besides the election officer, not more
17than 2 voters in excess of the whole number of voting booths
18provided shall be allowed within the proximity of the voting
19booths at one time. The provisions of this Act, so far as they
20require the registration of voters as a condition to their
21being allowed to vote shall not apply to persons otherwise
22entitled to vote, who are, at the time of the election, or at
23any time within 60 days prior to such election have been
24engaged in the military or naval service of the United States,
25and who appear personally at the polling place on election day
26and produce to the judges of election satisfactory evidence

 

 

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1thereof, but such persons, if otherwise qualified to vote,
2shall be permitted to vote at such election without previous
3registration.
4    All such persons shall also make an affidavit which shall
5be in substantially the following form:
6State of Illinois,)
7                  ) ss.
8County of ........)
9............... Precinct   .......... Ward
10    I, ...., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen
11of the United States, of the age of 18 years or over, and that
12within the past 60 days prior to the date of this election at
13which I am applying to vote, I have been engaged in the ....
14(military or naval) service of the United States; and I am
15qualified to vote under and by virtue of the Constitution and
16laws of the State of Illinois, and that I am a legally
17qualified voter of this precinct and ward except that I have,
18because of such service, been unable to register as a voter;
19that I now reside at .... (insert street and number, if any) in
20this precinct and ward; that I have maintained a legal
21residence in this precinct and ward for 30 days and in this
22State 30 days next preceding this election.
23
.........................
24    Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).
25
.........................
26
Judge of Election.

 

 

 

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1    The affidavit of any such person shall be supported by the
2affidavit of a resident and qualified voter of any such
3precinct and ward, which affidavit shall be in substantially
4the following form:
5State of Illinois,)
6                  ) ss.
7County of ........)
8........... Precinct   ........... Ward
9    I, ...., do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I am a
10resident of this precinct and ward and entitled to vote at this
11election; that I am acquainted with .... (name of the
12applicant); that I verily believe him to be an actual bona fide
13resident of this precinct and ward and that I verily believe
14that he or she has maintained a legal residence therein 30 days
15and in this State 30 days next preceding this election.
16
.........................
17    Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).
18
.........................
19
Judge of Election.

 
20    All affidavits made under the provisions of this Section
21shall be enclosed in a separate envelope securely sealed, and
22shall be transmitted with the returns of the elections to the
23county clerk or to the board of election commissioners, who
24shall preserve the said affidavits for the period of 6 months,

 

 

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1during which period such affidavits shall be deemed public
2records and shall be freely open to examination as such.
3(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
 
4    (10 ILCS 5/18-5)  (from Ch. 46, par. 18-5)
5    Sec. 18-5. Any person desiring to vote and whose name is
6found upon the register of voters by the person having charge
7thereof, shall then be questioned by one of the judges as to
8his nativity, his term of residence at present address,
9precinct, State and United States, his age, whether naturalized
10and if so the date of naturalization papers and court from
11which secured, and he shall be asked to state his residence
12when last previously registered and the date of the election
13for which he then registered. The judges of elections shall
14check each application for ballot against the list of voters
15registered in that precinct to whom grace period, absentee, and
16early ballots have been issued for that election, which shall
17be provided by the election authority and which list shall be
18available for inspection by pollwatchers. A voter applying to
19vote in the precinct on election day whose name appears on the
20list as having been issued a grace period, absentee, or early
21ballot shall not be permitted to vote in the precinct, except
22that a voter to whom an absentee ballot was issued may vote in
23the precinct if the voter submits to the election judges that
24absentee ballot for cancellation. If the voter is unable to
25submit the absentee ballot, it shall be sufficient for the

 

 

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1voter to submit to the election judges (i) a portion of the
2absentee ballot if the absentee ballot was torn or mutilated or
3(ii) an affidavit executed before the election judges
4specifying that (A) the voter never received an absentee
5ballot, or (B) the voter completed and returned an absentee
6ballot and was informed that the election authority did not
7receive that absentee ballot, or (C) the voter received the
8absentee ballot but did not submit the ballot to the election
9authority. If such person so registered shall be challenged as
10disqualified, the party challenging shall assign his reasons
11therefor, and thereupon one of the judges shall administer to
12him an oath to answer questions, and if he shall take the oath
13he shall then be questioned by the judge or judges touching
14such cause of challenge, and touching any other cause of
15disqualification. And he may also be questioned by the person
16challenging him in regard to his qualifications and identity.
17But if a majority of the judges are of the opinion that he is
18the person so registered and a qualified voter, his vote shall
19then be received accordingly. But if his vote be rejected by
20such judges, such person may afterward produce and deliver an
21affidavit to such judges, subscribed and sworn to by him before
22one of the judges, in which it shall be stated how long he has
23resided in such precinct, and state; that he is a citizen of
24the United States, and is a duly qualified voter in such
25precinct, and that he is the identical person so registered. In
26addition to such an affidavit, the person so challenged shall

 

 

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1provide to the judges of election proof of residence by
2producing 2 forms of identification showing the person's
3current residence address, provided that such identification
4may include a lease or contract for a residence and not more
5than one piece of mail addressed to the person at his current
6residence address and postmarked not earlier than 30 days prior
7to the date of the election, or the person shall procure a
8witness personally known to the judges of election, and
9resident in the precinct (or district), or who shall be proved
10by some legal voter of such precinct or district, known to the
11judges to be such, who shall take the oath following, viz:
12    I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a resident of
13this election precinct (or district), and entitled to vote at
14this election, and that I have been a resident of this State
15for 30 days last past, and am well acquainted with the person
16whose vote is now offered; that he is an actual and bona fide
17resident of this election precinct (or district), and has
18resided herein 30 days, and as I verily believe, in this State,
1930 days next preceding this election.
20    The oath in each case may be administered by one of the
21judges of election, or by any officer, resident in the precinct
22or district, authorized by law to administer oaths. Also
23supported by an affidavit by a registered voter residing in
24such precinct, stating his own residence, and that he knows
25such person; and that he does reside at the place mentioned and
26has resided in such precinct and state for the length of time

 

 

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1as stated by such person, which shall be subscribed and sworn
2to in the same way. For purposes of this Section, the
3submission of a photo identification issued by a college or
4university, accompanied by either (i) a copy of the applicant's
5contract or lease for a residence or (ii) one piece of mail
6addressed to the person at his or her current residence address
7and postmarked not earlier than 30 days prior to the date of
8the election, shall be sufficient to establish proof of
9residence. Whereupon the vote of such person shall be received,
10and entered as other votes. But such judges, having charge of
11such registers, shall state in their respective books the facts
12in such case, and the affidavits, so delivered to the judges,
13shall be preserved and returned to the office of the
14commissioners of election. Blank affidavits of the character
15aforesaid shall be sent out to the judges of all the precincts,
16and the judges of election shall furnish the same on demand and
17administer the oaths without criticism. Such oaths, if
18administered by any other officer than such judge of election,
19shall not be received. Whenever a proposal for a constitutional
20amendment or for the calling of a constitutional convention is
21to be voted upon at the election, the separate blue ballot or
22ballots pertaining thereto shall be placed on top of the other
23ballots to be voted at the election in such manner that the
24legend appearing on the back thereof, as prescribed in Section
2516-6 of this Act, shall be plainly visible to the voter, and in
26this fashion the ballots shall be handed to the voter by the

 

 

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1judge.
2    Immediately after voting, the voter shall be instructed
3whether the voting equipment, if used, accepted or rejected the
4ballot or identified the ballot as under-voted. A voter whose
5ballot is identified as under-voted for a statewide
6constitutional office may return to the voting booth and
7complete the voting of that ballot. A voter whose ballot is not
8accepted by the voting equipment may, upon surrendering the
9ballot, request and vote another ballot. The voter's
10surrendered ballot shall be initialed by the election judge and
11handled as provided in the appropriate Article governing that
12voting equipment.
13    The voter shall, upon quitting the voting booth, deliver to
14one of the judges of election all of the ballots, properly
15folded, which he received. The judge of election to whom the
16voter delivers his ballots shall not accept the same unless all
17of the ballots given to the voter are returned by him. If a
18voter delivers less than all of the ballots given to him, the
19judge to whom the same are offered shall advise him in a voice
20clearly audible to the other judges of election that the voter
21must return the remainder of the ballots. The statement of the
22judge to the voter shall clearly express the fact that the
23voter is not required to vote such remaining ballots but that
24whether or not he votes them he must fold and deliver them to
25the judge. In making such statement the judge of election shall
26not indicate by word, gesture or intonation of voice that the

 

 

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1unreturned ballots shall be voted in any particular manner. No
2new voter shall be permitted to enter the voting booth of a
3voter who has failed to deliver the total number of ballots
4received by him until such voter has returned to the voting
5booth pursuant to the judge's request and again quit the booth
6with all of the ballots required to be returned by him. Upon
7receipt of all such ballots the judges of election shall enter
8the name of the voter, and his number, as above provided in
9this Section, and the judge to whom the ballots are delivered
10shall immediately put the ballots into the ballot box. If any
11voter who has failed to deliver all the ballots received by him
12refuses to return to the voting booth after being advised by
13the judge of election as herein provided, the judge shall
14inform the other judges of such refusal, and thereupon the
15ballot or ballots returned to the judge shall be deposited in
16the ballot box, the voter shall be permitted to depart from the
17polling place, and a new voter shall be permitted to enter the
18voting booth.
19    The judge of election who receives the ballot or ballots
20from the voter shall announce the residence and name of such
21voter in a loud voice. The judge shall put the ballot or
22ballots received from the voter into the ballot box in the
23presence of the voter and the judges of election, and in plain
24view of the public. The judges having charge of such registers
25shall then, in a column prepared thereon, in the same line of,
26the name of the voter, mark "Voted" or the letter "V".

 

 

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1    No judge of election shall accept from any voter less than
2the full number of ballots received by such voter without first
3advising the voter in the manner above provided of the
4necessity of returning all of the ballots, nor shall any such
5judge advise such voter in a manner contrary to that which is
6herein permitted, or in any other manner violate the provisions
7of this Section; provided, that the acceptance by a judge of
8election of less than the full number of ballots delivered to a
9voter who refuses to return to the voting booth after being
10properly advised by such judge shall not be a violation of this
11Section.
12(Source: P.A. 95-699, eff. 11-9-07; 96-317, eff. 1-1-10.)
 
13    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
14becoming law.