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 Lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly voted to pass a
sweeping vote-by-mail expansion, sending the bill to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk
May 22.
Tucked away in that bill is a provision to make Election Day 2020 a holiday for
all state and local government workers, including public school teachers – but
nobody else.
Illinois House lawmakers voted in favor 73-42 and the state Senate voted 37-19.
Senate Bill 1863 significantly expands the state’s vote-by-mail program in time
for the upcoming general election. If signed into law, election authorities
would mail or email vote-by-mail application to all recent voters. Voters would
need to submit their application by Oct. 1 and then receive their mail-in
ballot. The bill allows the use of drop boxes distributed and monitored by the
counties for submitting ballots as an alternative to the postal service.
 The bill would also make Nov. 3, 2020, a legal holiday, applying to all public
schools, and state and local government offices across the state. State workers
represented by AFSCME already have a full paid holiday come Election Day,
meaning additional costs to taxpayers will largely hit at the local government
level.
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A school holiday on Election Day calls into
question the intent of expanding access to the ballot box, as
parents – especially from low-income families – will need to stay
home to care for their children, rather than go to the polls.
The state has not estimated the cost this provision
would have on municipalities, continuing a long tradition of
Illinois lawmakers avoiding price tags on new unfunded mandates.
What is known is even the calculation of cost burden would be
different for each local government. The cost for each municipality
would vary based on holiday and overtime pay arrangements, which
depend on each respective collective bargaining agreement.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s top priority in November is a constitutional
amendment eliminating Illinois’ flat income tax protection.
Government worker unions are among Pritzker’s largest supporters –
meaning employees in local governments could be paid to get out the
vote for the governor’s interests.
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