Full Text of HR0122 101st General Assembly
HR0122 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, During the 2018 Illinois General Primary, | 3 | | 7,945,074 Illinois residents were registered
to vote, 26.48% of | 4 | | that number actually voted; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, During the 2018 Illinois General Election, | 6 | | 8,099,372 Illinois residents were
registered to vote, 57.23% of | 7 | | that number actually voted; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, At least 22 states have provisions allowing | 9 | | certain elections to be conducted by
mail; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, As of January 2017, three of the 22 states - | 11 | | Oregon (2000), Washington (2011),
and Colorado (2013) - hold | 12 | | all elections entirely by mail; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Voting by mail provides several advantages, | 14 | | including, but not limited to,
conveniently providing voters | 15 | | the ability to vote from home, financial savings in areas where | 16 | | voting by mail can entirely replace traditional voting places, | 17 | | and improving voter turnout; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, According to a study on Utah's 2016 general | 19 | | election, Utah experienced greater
voter turnout in counties | 20 | | which administered voting entirely by mail compared to counties |
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| 1 | | which
administered traditional polling place-based voting; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Illinois has taken efforts to encourage greater | 3 | | voter participation through its 40-day
early voting period, | 4 | | Automatic Voter Registration, and permitting any qualified | 5 | | voter to vote
absentee without offering an excuse; however, as | 6 | | other states in the Union have demonstrated,
Illinois can | 7 | | pursue more to achieve greater voter participation in its | 8 | | democratic process; therefore, be it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 10 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 11 | | we encourage increased investment and
participation in vote by | 12 | | mail programs in order to achieve greater participation in our | 13 | | democracy and to better carry out our democratic ideals; and be | 14 | | it further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 16 | | delivered to the Illinois State Board of
Elections and the | 17 | | Illinois Association of County Officials.
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