Just Democracy Illinois Fact Sheet
Public Act 101-642 – Illinois Election Protection bill
Illinois lawmakers passed temporary changes to make it easier for voters to participate safely in the 2020 election, and Gov. Pritzker signed the bill into law in June 2020. Certain aspects are up to the local election authorities to put in place and will vary jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Who automatically receives vote-by-mail application
- Any voter who voted or registered to vote from the 2018 general election to the 2020 Primary Election will receive a vote-by-mail application by August 1, 2020.
- Any voter who has registered or updated their registration since the March 2020 primary until July 31, 2020 will be mailed or emailed a vote-by-mail application by August 1, 2020.
New ways to request a vote-by-mail ballot
- The State Board of Elections has created a central online portal for voters to request a vote-by-mail ballot. The portal is available here.
- Anyone registering to vote or updating their voter registration can opt-in to receive a vote-by-mail ballot. All election authorities are required to add a check-box on their voter registration to request an application to vote by mail.
When do you get your mail-in ballot?
- Ballots will be sent to voters starting September 24, 2020 and received by voters no later than October 6, 2020.
- If a ballot is requested after October 1, 2020, the ballot will be sent within two days after the election authority receives the application.
- Ballots must be postmarked or dropped off at a secure drop-box location by November 3, 2020.
How state agencies and local officials are proactively reaching out to voters
- All local election authorities will need to provide information on how to vote by mail and where early voting locations are located in any communications about the 2020 election.
- The Secretary of State will be sending a notice to everyone who received an application but has not returned it by September 15, 2020 and October 15, 2020.
- By August 20, 2020 local election authorities must provide notices to the public about voting options.
Changes to in-person voting
- All polling locations must adhere to the Illinois Department of Public Health’s guidelines.
- At least one voting supersite per election jurisdiction, where anyone located in the election authority’s jurisdiction can vote, must be established by September 24, 2020.
- Early voting sites must start by October 19, 2020 and be open, at a minimum, from 8:30 a.m.- 7 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m on weekends and holidays.
- Election authorities have the power to create curb-side voting options, but are not required to do so. This will vary from local election authority to local election authority.
- Election authorities have the authority to create dropboxes for mail-in ballots, but are not required to do so. This will vary from local election authority to local election authority.
How vote-by-mail ballots will be reviewed
- A three-member panel of judges will review all ballots for a signature match, with no more than two judges from the same political party.
- In order for a ballot to be disqualified for signature mismatch, all three judges must agree that the ballot is invalid.
- Reasons for a ballot to be rejected include: no signature on the envelope, signature mismatch, opened envelope, duplicate vote, or the person is not a registered voter in the precinct.
- If a ballot is deemed invalid, the voter has the right to correct it and must be notified within two days. If the ballot is rejected on Election Day, the election authority is required to notify the voter within one day.
Recruitment of younger election judges
- Barriers for 16- and 17-year-olds to apply to be an election judge have been removed. They are required to declare a political party.
- Secondary education institutes, universities, and community colleges are required to notify students of opportunities to serve as election judges.
- Illinois Department of Employment Security will notify recipients of unemployment insurance of opportunities to serve as election judges.
Election Day will be a state holiday
- Election Day will be a state holiday for all public schools, including secondary education, and for all government agencies, except for the State Board of Elections and local election authorities. Any schools closed for the holiday shall be made available as a polling location at the request of local election authorities.