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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 19-12.1 and 19-12.2 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/19-12.1)  (from Ch. 46, par. 19-12.1)
7    Sec. 19-12.1. Any qualified elector who has secured an
8Illinois Disabled Person Identification Card in accordance
9with The Illinois Identification Card Act, indicating that the
10person named thereon has a Class 1A or Class 2 disability or
11any qualified voter who has a permanent physical incapacity of
12such a nature as to make it improbable that he will be able to
13be present at the polls at any future election, or any voter
14who is a resident of (i) a federally operated veterans' home,
15hospital, or facility located in Illinois or (ii) a facility
16licensed or certified pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act or
17the MR/DD Community Care Act and has a condition or disability
18of such a nature as to make it improbable that he will be able
19to be present at the polls at any future election, may secure a
20disabled voter's or nursing home resident's identification
21card, which will enable him to vote under this Article as a
22physically incapacitated or nursing home voter. For the
23purposes of this Section, "federally operated veterans' home,

 

 

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1hospital, or facility" means the long-term care facilities at
2the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Illiana Health Care System,
3Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, Marion VA Medical Center, and
4Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center.
5    Application for a disabled voter's or nursing home
6resident's identification card shall be made either: (a) in
7writing, with voter's sworn affidavit, to the county clerk or
8board of election commissioners, as the case may be, and shall
9be accompanied by the affidavit of the attending physician
10specifically describing the nature of the physical incapacity
11or the fact that the voter is a nursing home resident and is
12physically unable to be present at the polls on election days;
13or (b) by presenting, in writing or otherwise, to the county
14clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be,
15proof that the applicant has secured an Illinois Disabled
16Person Identification Card indicating that the person named
17thereon has a Class 1A or Class 2 disability. Upon the receipt
18of either the sworn-to application and the physician's
19affidavit or proof that the applicant has secured an Illinois
20Disabled Person Identification Card indicating that the person
21named thereon has a Class 1A or Class 2 disability, the county
22clerk or board of election commissioners shall issue a disabled
23voter's or nursing home resident's identification card. Such
24identification cards shall be issued for a period of 5 years,
25upon the expiration of which time the voter may secure a new
26card by making application in the same manner as is prescribed

 

 

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1for the issuance of an original card, accompanied by a new
2affidavit of the attending physician. The date of expiration of
3such five-year period shall be made known to any interested
4person by the election authority upon the request of such
5person. Applications for the renewal of the identification
6cards shall be mailed to the voters holding such cards not less
7than 3 months prior to the date of expiration of the cards.
8    Each disabled voter's or nursing home resident's
9identification card shall bear an identification number, which
10shall be clearly noted on the voter's original and duplicate
11registration record cards. In the event the holder becomes
12physically capable of resuming normal voting, he must surrender
13his disabled voter's or nursing home resident's identification
14card to the county clerk or board of election commissioners
15before the next election.
16    The holder of a disabled voter's or nursing home resident's
17identification card may make application by mail for an
18official ballot within the time prescribed by Section 19-2.
19Such application shall contain the same information as is
20included in the form of application for ballot by a physically
21incapacitated elector prescribed in Section 19-3 except that it
22shall also include the applicant's disabled voter's
23identification card number and except that it need not be sworn
24to. If an examination of the records discloses that the
25applicant is lawfully entitled to vote, he shall be mailed a
26ballot as provided in Section 19-4. The ballot envelope shall

 

 

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1be the same as that prescribed in Section 19-5 for physically
2disabled voters, and the manner of voting and returning the
3ballot shall be the same as that provided in this Article for
4other absentee ballots, except that a statement to be
5subscribed to by the voter but which need not be sworn to shall
6be placed on the ballot envelope in lieu of the affidavit
7prescribed by Section 19-5.
8    Any person who knowingly subscribes to a false statement in
9connection with voting under this Section shall be guilty of a
10Class A misdemeanor.
11    For the purposes of this Section, "nursing home resident"
12includes a resident of (i) a federally operated veterans' home,
13hospital, or facility located in Illinois or (ii) a facility
14licensed under the MR/DD Community Care Act. For the purposes
15of this Section, "federally operated veterans' home, hospital,
16or facility" means the long-term care facilities at the Jesse
17Brown VA Medical Center, Illiana Health Care System, Edward
18Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, Marion VA Medical Center, and Captain
19James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center.
20(Source: P.A. 96-339, eff. 7-1-10.)
 
21    (10 ILCS 5/19-12.2)  (from Ch. 46, par. 19-12.2)
22    Sec. 19-12.2. Voting by physically incapacitated electors
23who have made proper application to the election authority not
24later than 5 days before the regular primary and general
25election of 1980 and before each election thereafter shall be

 

 

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1conducted on the premises of (i) federally operated veterans'
2homes, hospitals, and facilities located in Illinois or (ii)
3facilities licensed or certified pursuant to the Nursing Home
4Care Act or the MR/DD Community Care Act for the sole benefit
5of residents of such homes, hospitals, and facilities. For the
6purposes of this Section, "federally operated veterans' home,
7hospital, or facility" means the long-term care facilities at
8the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Illiana Health Care System,
9Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, Marion VA Medical Center, and
10Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center. Such voting
11shall be conducted during any continuous period sufficient to
12allow all applicants to cast their ballots between the hours of
139 a.m. and 7 p.m. either on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday or
14Monday immediately preceding the regular election. This
15absentee voting on one of said days designated by the election
16authority shall be supervised by two election judges who must
17be selected by the election authority in the following order of
18priority: (1) from the panel of judges appointed for the
19precinct in which such home, hospital, or facility is located,
20or from a panel of judges appointed for any other precinct
21within the jurisdiction of the election authority in the same
22ward or township, as the case may be, in which the home,
23hospital, or facility is located or, only in the case where a
24judge or judges from the precinct, township or ward are
25unavailable to serve, (3) from a panel of judges appointed for
26any other precinct within the jurisdiction of the election

 

 

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1authority. The two judges shall be from different political
2parties. Not less than 30 days before each regular election,
3the election authority shall have arranged with the chief
4administrative officer of each home, hospital, or facility in
5his or its election jurisdiction a mutually convenient time
6period on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday immediately
7preceding the election for such voting on the premises of the
8home, hospital, or facility and shall post in a prominent place
9in his or its office a notice of the agreed day and time period
10for conducting such voting at each home, hospital, or facility;
11provided that the election authority shall not later than noon
12on the Thursday before the election also post the names and
13addresses of those homes, hospitals, and facilities from which
14no applications were received and in which no supervised
15absentee voting will be conducted. All provisions of this Code
16applicable to pollwatchers shall be applicable herein. To the
17maximum extent feasible, voting booths or screens shall be
18provided to insure the privacy of the voter. Voting procedures
19shall be as described in Article 17 of this Code, except that
20ballots shall be treated as absentee ballots and shall not be
21counted until the close of the polls on the following day.
22After the last voter has concluded voting, the judges shall
23seal the ballots in an envelope and affix their signatures
24across the flap of the envelope. Immediately thereafter, the
25judges shall bring the sealed envelope to the office of the
26election authority who shall deliver such ballots to the

 

 

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1election authority's central ballot counting location prior to
2the closing of the polls on the day of election. The judges of
3election shall also report to the election authority the name
4of any applicant in the home, hospital, or facility who, due to
5unforeseen circumstance or condition or because of a religious
6holiday, was unable to vote. In this event, the election
7authority may appoint a qualified person from his or its staff
8to deliver the ballot to such applicant on the day of election.
9This staff person shall follow the same procedures prescribed
10for judges conducting absentee voting in such homes, hospitals,
11or facilities and shall return the ballot to the central ballot
12counting location before the polls close. However, if the home,
13hospital, or facility from which the application was made is
14also used as a regular precinct polling place for that voter,
15voting procedures heretofore prescribed may be implemented by 2
16of the election judges of opposite party affiliation assigned
17to that polling place during the hours of voting on the day of
18the election. Judges of election shall be compensated not less
19than $25.00 for conducting absentee voting in such homes,
20hospitals, or facilities.
21    Not less than 120 days before each regular election, the
22Department of Public Health shall certify to the State Board of
23Elections a list of the facilities licensed or certified
24pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act or the MR/DD Community
25Care Act. The lists , and shall indicate the approved bed
26capacity and the name of the chief administrative officer of

 

 

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1each such home, hospital, or facility, and the State Board of
2Elections shall certify the same to the appropriate election
3authority within 20 days thereafter.
4(Source: P.A. 96-339, eff. 7-1-10.)