97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB1252

 

Introduced 2/8/2011, by Sen. Michael W. Frerichs

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/18A-15

    Amends the Election Code. Provides that, if a provisional voter is registered at an address other than the address contained in his or her affidavit, then the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall verify that there is no record of the provisional voter having cast a ballot at that election in the precinct associated with his or her previous address. Effective January 1, 2012.


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A BILL FOR

 

SB1252LRB097 05166 HLH 45213 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 Section
518A-15 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/18A-15)
7    Sec. 18A-15. Validating and counting provisional ballots.
8    (a) The county clerk or board of election commissioners
9shall complete the validation and counting of provisional
10ballots within 14 calendar days of the day of the election. The
11county clerk or board of election commissioners shall have 7
12calendar days from the completion of the validation and
13counting of provisional ballots to conduct its final canvass.
14The State Board of Elections shall complete within 31 calendar
15days of the election or sooner if all the returns are received,
16its final canvass of the vote for all public offices.
17    (b) If a county clerk or board of election commissioners
18determines that all of the following apply, then a provisional
19ballot is valid and shall be counted as a vote:
20        (1) The provisional voter cast the provisional ballot
21    in the correct precinct based on the address provided by
22    the provisional voter. The provisional voter's affidavit
23    shall serve as a change of address request by that voter

 

 

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1    for registration purposes for the next ensuing election if
2    it bears an address different from that in the records of
3    the election authority;
4        (2) The affidavit executed by the provisional voter
5    pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of Section 18A-5 contains, at
6    a minimum, the provisional voter's first and last name,
7    house number and street name, and signature or mark; and
8        (3) the provisional voter is a registered voter at the
9    address provided in the provisional voter's affidavit or at
10    a different address in the State based on information
11    available to the county clerk or board of election
12    commissioners provided by or obtained from any of the
13    following:
14            i. the provisional voter;
15            ii. an election judge;
16            iii. the statewide voter registration database
17        maintained by the State Board of Elections;
18            iv. the records of the county clerk or board of
19        election commissioners' database; or
20            v. the records of the Secretary of State.
21    If the provisional voter is registered at an address other
22than the address contained in his or her affidavit, then the
23county clerk or board of election commissioners shall verify
24that there is no record of the provisional voter having cast a
25ballot at that election in the precinct associated with his or
26her previous address.

 

 

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1    (c) With respect to subsection (b)(3) of this Section, the
2county clerk or board of election commissioners shall
3investigate and record whether or not the specified information
4is available from each of the 5 identified sources. If the
5information is available from one or more of the identified
6sources, then the county clerk or board of election
7commissioners shall seek to obtain the information from each of
8those sources until satisfied, with information from at least
9one of those sources, that the provisional voter is registered
10and entitled to vote. The county clerk or board of election
11commissioners shall use any information it obtains as the basis
12for determining the voter registration status of the
13provisional voter. If a conflict exists among the information
14available to the county clerk or board of election
15commissioners as to the registration status of the provisional
16voter, then the county clerk or board of election commissioners
17shall make a determination based on the totality of the
18circumstances. In a case where the above information equally
19supports or opposes the registration status of the voter, the
20county clerk or board of election commissioners shall decide in
21favor of the provisional voter as being duly registered to
22vote. If the statewide voter registration database maintained
23by the State Board of Elections indicates that the provisional
24voter is registered to vote, but the county clerk's or board of
25election commissioners' voter registration database indicates
26that the provisional voter is not registered to vote, then the

 

 

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1information found in the statewide voter registration database
2shall control the matter and the provisional voter shall be
3deemed to be registered to vote. If the records of the county
4clerk or board of election commissioners indicates that the
5provisional voter is registered to vote, but the statewide
6voter registration database maintained by the State Board of
7Elections indicates that the provisional voter is not
8registered to vote, then the information found in the records
9of the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall
10control the matter and the provisional voter shall be deemed to
11be registered to vote. If the provisional voter's signature on
12his or her provisional ballot request varies from the signature
13on an otherwise valid registration application solely because
14of the substitution of initials for the first or middle name,
15the election authority may not reject the provisional ballot.
16    (d) In validating the registration status of a person
17casting a provisional ballot, the county clerk or board of
18election commissioners shall not require a provisional voter to
19complete any form other than the affidavit executed by the
20provisional voter under subsection (b)(2) of Section 18A-5. In
21addition, the county clerk or board of election commissioners
22shall not require all provisional voters or any particular
23class or group of provisional voters to appear personally
24before the county clerk or board of election commissioners or
25as a matter of policy require provisional voters to submit
26additional information to verify or otherwise support the

 

 

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1information already submitted by the provisional voter. The
2provisional voter may, within 2 calendar days after the
3election, submit additional information to the county clerk or
4board of election commissioners. This information must be
5received by the county clerk or board of election commissioners
6within the 2-calendar-day period.
7    (e) If the county clerk or board of election commissioners
8determines that subsection (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(3) does not
9apply, then the provisional ballot is not valid and may not be
10counted. The provisional ballot envelope containing the ballot
11cast by the provisional voter may not be opened. The county
12clerk or board of election commissioners shall write on the
13provisional ballot envelope the following: "Provisional ballot
14determined invalid.".
15    (f) If the county clerk or board of election commissioners
16determines that a provisional ballot is valid under this
17Section, then the provisional ballot envelope shall be opened.
18The outside of each provisional ballot envelope shall also be
19marked to identify the precinct and the date of the election.
20    (g) Provisional ballots determined to be valid shall be
21counted at the election authority's central ballot counting
22location and shall not be counted in precincts. The provisional
23ballots determined to be valid shall be added to the vote
24totals for the precincts from which they were cast in the order
25in which the ballots were opened. The validation and counting
26of provisional ballots shall be subject to the provisions of

 

 

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1this Code that apply to pollwatchers. If the provisional
2ballots are a ballot of a punch card voting system, then the
3provisional ballot shall be counted in a manner consistent with
4Article 24A. If the provisional ballots are a ballot of optical
5scan or other type of approved electronic voting system, then
6the provisional ballots shall be counted in a manner consistent
7with Article 24B.
8    (h) As soon as the ballots have been counted, the election
9judges or election officials shall, in the presence of the
10county clerk or board of election commissioners, place each of
11the following items in a separate envelope or bag: (1) all
12provisional ballots, voted or spoiled; (2) all provisional
13ballot envelopes of provisional ballots voted or spoiled; and
14(3) all executed affidavits of the provisional ballots voted or
15spoiled. All provisional ballot envelopes for provisional
16voters who have been determined not to be registered to vote
17shall remain sealed. The county clerk or board of election
18commissioners shall treat the provisional ballot envelope
19containing the written affidavit as a voter registration
20application for that person for the next election and process
21that application. The election judges or election officials
22shall then securely seal each envelope or bag, initial the
23envelope or bag, and plainly mark on the outside of the
24envelope or bag in ink the precinct in which the provisional
25ballots were cast. The election judges or election officials
26shall then place each sealed envelope or bag into a box, secure

 

 

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1and seal it in the same manner as described in item (6) of
2subsection (b) of Section 18A-5. Each election judge or
3election official shall take and subscribe an oath before the
4county clerk or board of election commissioners that the
5election judge or election official securely kept the ballots
6and papers in the box, did not permit any person to open the
7box or otherwise touch or tamper with the ballots and papers in
8the box, and has no knowledge of any other person opening the
9box. For purposes of this Section, the term "election official"
10means the county clerk, a member of the board of election
11commissioners, as the case may be, and their respective
12employees.
13(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 94-645, eff. 8-22-05;
1494-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
161, 2012.