HB3794ham001 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz

Filed: 3/3/2023

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3794

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3794 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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 and electronic voter registration by the Office
12of the Secretary of State that permits an eligible person to
13electronically apply to register to vote or to update his or
14her existing voter registration as provided in Section
151A-16.1, or Section 1A-16.2, or Section 1A-16.10. The portal
16shall interface with the online voter registration system

 

 

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1established in Section 1A-16.5 of this Code and shall be
2capable of receiving and processing voter registration
3application information, including electronic signatures, from
4the Office of the Secretary of State and each designated
5automatic voter registration agency, as defined in Section
61A-16.2. The State Board of Elections may cross-reference
7voter registration information from any designated automatic
8voter registration agency, as defined under Section 1A-16.2 of
9this Code, with information contained in the database of the
10Secretary of State as provided under subsection (c) of Section
111A-16.5 of this Code. The State Board of Elections shall
12modify the online voter registration system as necessary to
13implement this Section.
14    (b) Voter registration data received from the Office of
15the Secretary of State or a designated automatic voter
16registration agency through the online registration
17application system shall be processed as provided in Section
181A-16.5 of this Code.
19    (c) The State Board of Elections shall establish technical
20specifications applicable to each automatic government
21registration program and electronic voter registration by the
22Office of the Secretary of State, including data format and
23transmission specifications. The Office of the Secretary of
24State and each designated automatic voter registration agency
25shall maintain a data transfer mechanism capable of
26transmitting voter registration application information,

 

 

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1including electronic signatures where available, to the online
2voter registration system established in Section 1A-16.5 of
3this Code.
4    (d) The State Board of Elections shall, by rule, establish
5criteria and procedures for determining whether an agency of
6the State or federal government seeking to become a designated
7automatic voter registration agency has access to reliable
8personal information, as defined under this subsection (d) and
9subsection (f) of Section 1A-16.2 of this Code, and otherwise
10meets the requirements to enter into an interagency contract
11and to operate as a designated automatic voter registration
12agency. The State Board of Elections shall approve each
13interagency contract upon affirmative vote of a majority of
14its members.
15    As used in this subsection (d), "reliable personal
16information" means information about individuals obtained from
17government sources that may be used to verify whether an
18individual is eligible to register to vote.
19    (e) Whenever an applicant's data is transferred from the
20Office of the Secretary of State or a designated automatic
21voter registration agency, the agency must transmit a
22signature image if available. If no signature image was
23provided by the agency, or if no signature image is available
24in the Office of the Secretary of State's database or the
25statewide voter registration database, the applicant must be
26notified that his or her registration will remain in a pending

 

 

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1status, and the applicant will be required to provide
2identification that complies with the federal Help America
3Vote Act of 2002 and a signature to the election authority on
4election day in the polling place or during early voting.
5    (f) Upon receipt of personal information collected and
6transferred by the Office of the Secretary of State or a
7designated automatic voter registration agency, the State
8Board of Elections shall check the information against the
9statewide voter registration database. The State Board of
10Elections shall create and electronically transmit to the
11appropriate election authority a voter registration
12application for any individual who is not registered to vote
13in Illinois and is not disqualified as provided in this
14Section or whose information reliably indicates a more recent
15update to the name or address of a person already included in
16the statewide voter database. The election authority shall
17process the application accordingly.
18    (g) The appropriate election authority shall ensure that
19any applicant who is registered to vote or whose existing
20voter registration is updated under this Section is promptly
21sent written notice of the change. The notice required by this
22subsection (g) may be sent or combined with other notices
23required or permitted by law, including, but not limited to,
24any notices sent pursuant to Section 1A-16.5 of this Code. Any
25notice required by this subsection (g) shall contain, at a
26minimum: (i) the applicant's name and residential address as

 

 

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1reflected on the voter registration list; (ii) a statement
2notifying the applicant to contact the appropriate election
3authority if his or her voter registration has been updated in
4error; (iii) the qualifications to register to vote in
5Illinois; (iv) a statement notifying the applicant that he or
6she may opt out of voter registration or request a change to
7his or her registration information at any time by contacting
8an election official; and (v) contact information for the
9appropriate election authority, including a phone number,
10address, electronic mail address, and website address.
11    (h) The appropriate election authority shall ensure that
12any applicant whose voter registration application is not
13accepted or deemed incomplete is promptly sent written notice
14of the application's status. The notice required by this
15subsection may be sent or combined with other notices required
16or permitted by law, including, but not limited to, any
17notices sent pursuant to Section 1A-16.5 of this Code. Any
18notice required by this subsection (h) shall contain, at a
19minimum, the reason the application was not accepted or deemed
20incomplete and contact information for the appropriate
21election authority, including a phone number, address,
22electronic mail address, and website address.
23    (i) If the Office of the Secretary of State or a designated
24automatic voter registration agency transfers information, or
25if the State Board of Elections creates and transmits a voter
26registration application, for a person who does not qualify as

 

 

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1an eligible voter, then it shall not constitute a completed
2voter registration form, and the person shall not be
3considered to have registered to vote.
4    (j) If the registration is processed by any election
5authority, then it shall be presumed to have been effected and
6officially authorized by the State, and that person shall not
7be found on that basis to have made a false claim to
8citizenship or to have committed an act of moral turpitude,
9nor shall that person be subject to penalty under any relevant
10laws, including, but not limited to, Sections 29-10 and 29-19
11of this Code. This subsection (j) does not apply to a person
12who knows that he or she is not entitled to register to vote
13and who willfully votes, registers to vote, or attests under
14penalty of perjury that he or she is eligible to register to
15vote or willfully attempts to vote or to register to vote.
16    (k) The State Board of Elections, the Office of the
17Secretary of State, and each designated automatic voter
18registration agency shall implement policies and procedures to
19protect the privacy and security of voter information as it is
20acquired, stored, and transmitted among agencies, including
21policies for the retention and preservation of voter
22information. Information designated as confidential under this
23Section may be recorded and shared among the State Board of
24Elections, election authorities, the Office of the Secretary
25of State, and designated automatic voter registration
26agencies, but shall be used only for voter registration

 

 

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1purposes, shall not be disclosed to the public except in the
2aggregate as required by subsection (m) of this Section, and
3shall not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The
4following information shall be designated as confidential:
5        (1) any portion of an applicant's Social Security
6    number;
7        (2) any portion of an applicant's driver's license
8    number or State identification number;
9        (3) an applicant's decision to decline voter
10    registration;
11        (4) the identity of the person providing information
12    relating to a specific applicant; and
13        (5) the personal residence and contact information of
14    any applicant for whom notice has been given by an
15    appropriate legal authority.
16    This subsection (k) shall not apply to information the
17State Board of Elections is required to share with the
18Electronic Registration Information Center.
19    (l) The voter registration procedures implemented under
20this Section shall comport with the federal National Voter
21Registration Act of 1993, as amended, and shall specifically
22require that the State Board of Elections track registration
23data received through the online registration system that
24originated from a designated automatic voter registration
25agency for the purposes of maintaining statistics.
26    Nothing in this Code shall require designated voter

 

 

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1registration agencies to transmit information that is
2confidential client information under State or federal law
3without the consent of the applicant.
4    (m) The State Board of Elections, each election authority
5that maintains a website, the Office of the Secretary of
6State, and each designated automatic voter registration agency
7that maintains a website shall provide information on their
8websites informing the public about the new registration
9procedures described in this Section. The Office of the
10Secretary of State and each designated automatic voter
11registration agency shall display signage or provide
12literature for the public containing information about the new
13registration procedures described in this Section.
14    (n) No later than 6 months after the effective date of this
15amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the State Board
16of Elections shall hold at least one public hearing on
17implementing this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly
18at which the public may provide input.
19    (o) The State Board of Elections shall submit an annual
20public report to the General Assembly and the Governor
21detailing the progress made to implement this Section. The
22report shall include all of the following: the number of
23records transferred under this Section by agency, the number
24of voters newly added to the statewide voter registration list
25because of records transferred under this Section by agency,
26the number of updated registrations under this Section by

 

 

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1agency, the number of persons who opted out of voter
2registration, and the number of voters who submitted voter
3registration forms using the online procedure described in
4Section 1A-16.5 of this Code. The 2018 and 2019 annual reports
5may include less detail if election authorities are not
6equipped to provide complete information to the State Board of
7Elections. Any report produced under this subsection (o) shall
8exclude any information that identifies any individual
9personally.
10    (p) The State Board of Elections, in consultation with
11election authorities, the Office of the Secretary of State,
12designated automatic voter registration agencies, and
13community organizations, shall adopt rules as necessary to
14implement the provisions of this Section.
15(Source: P.A. 100-464, eff. 8-28-17.)
 
16    (10 ILCS 5/1A-16.10 new)
17    Sec. 1A-16.10. Electronic voter registration; Secretary of
18State.
19    (a) A person who is qualified to register to vote, who
20currently holds an authentic Illinois driver's license or
21State identification card issued by the Secretary of State and
22who is not making any application for a driver's license or
23identification card, may make application to register to vote
24at Secretary of State driver services facilities or Secretary
25of State mobile events. Voter registration of a person making

 

 

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1application for a driver's license or identification card
2shall be conducted pursuant to Section 1A-16.1.
3    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person
4who is qualified to register to vote and who holds an authentic
5Illinois driver's license or State identification card issued
6by the Secretary of State may submit an application to
7register to vote electronically on a website maintained by the
8Secretary of State.
9    (c) A voter registration application submitted pursuant to
10this Section shall be electronically transmitted by the
11Secretary of State to the State Board of Elections and shall
12contain the same information the Secretary of State transmits
13to the State Board of Elections for voter registration
14applications submitted pursuant to Section 1A-16.1.
15    (d) For an applicant's registration or change in
16registration to be accepted, the applicant shall mark the box
17associated with the following statement included as part of
18the online voter registration application:
19        "By clicking on the box below, I swear or affirm all of
20    the following:
21        (1) I am the person whose name and identifying
22    information is provided on this form, and I desire to
23    register to vote in the State of Illinois.
24        (2) All the information I have provided on this form
25    is true and correct as of the date I am submitting this
26    form.

 

 

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1        (3) I authorize the Secretary of State to transmit
2    this application and my signature that is on file with the
3    Secretary of State to the State Board of Elections and
4    understand that such signature will be used by my local
5    election authority on this online voter registration
6    application for admission as an elector as if I had signed
7    this form personally."
 
8    (10 ILCS 5/1A-16.11 new)
9    Sec. 1A-16.11. Naturalization ceremony registration.
10    (a) The State Board of Elections and the Office of the
11Secretary of State shall coordinate with each United States
12District Court in Illinois for a representative or
13representatives of the Secretary of State to offer voter
14registration information, provide voter registration
15applications, and collect completed voter registration
16applications, including electronic voter registration
17applications, from all eligible citizens after the
18naturalization ceremony, as allowed by the United States
19District Court presiding over the naturalization.
20    (b) The State Board of Elections and the Office of the
21Secretary of State may jointly adopt rules to implement this
22Section.
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
241, 2024.".