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 Election law changes passed by the Illinois General Assembly
light the path for convicted felons to again hold public office, expand vote by
mail, delay the primary and give government workers a day off on Election Day.
Those changes become law if Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs Senate Bill 825 and House
Bill 1871. Here are those and other potential changes:
1. Delayed primaries and redistricting
SB 825 moves the date of the 2022 general primary election from March 15 to June
28 because of the delay in the 2020 census numbers. The General Assembly is
waiting on complete census numbers to redraw Illinois’ congressional districts,
and the delay of the primary and associated candidate petition deadlines will
give congressional candidates time to collect signatures to get their names on
the ballot once those candidates know what districts they will be running in.
The delay in congressional redistricting contrasts with the recent passage of
state legislative and judicial redistricting plans without census data.
Lawmakers instead opted to use population estimates from the American Community
Survey.
The bill also postpones some of the redistricting-related deadlines in Illinois
counties. The new law also specifies counties may use American Community Survey
five-year estimates to determine population for redistricting purposes. This
would give county boards an even larger window to enact their plans, as they
would not have to wait for the delayed census data, which is set to be available
in mid-to-late August.
2. Permanent mail-in voting
Illinois lawmakers passed an expansion of mail-in voting in 2020 to address the
prospect of crowded, long lines at polling places in the middle of the COVID-19
pandemic. By the end of October 2020, over 2.3 millionIllinois voters had
already requested mail-in ballots for the November 2020 election. If Pritzker
signs SB 825 into law, it will be even easier to vote by mail. The bill would
allow voters to apply for permanent vote-by-mail status. Voters would then
receive a vote-by-mail ballot for all subsequent elections unless the voter
requests to be removed from the list, changes registration status, or moves to a
different county.
3. Curbside voting and voting centers
Curbside voting is another voting expansion that passed in the wake of COVID-19.
HB 1871 included provisions for broad acceptance of mail-in ballots, such as
mandating acceptance of ballots mailed with insufficient postage, and allowing
election authorities to let voters cast ballots from their cars during early
voting and on election day, assigning two election judges to each vehicle. This
provision from HB 1871 was separated out and included as its own section in HB
825.
HB 825 further mandates election authorities establish a voting center at an
office of the election authority or in the largest municipality where all voters
in the jurisdiction may cast a ballot regardless of the precinct in which they
are registered. Election authorities are required to identify this location 40
days before the 2022 primary election. This provision would be repealed on Jan.
1, 2023.
4. Election Day holiday
The Nov. 8, 2022, election will be established as a state and school holiday
under the new law, just as the 2020 election was made a holiday. There is no
general provision to establish election day as a state holiday for years beyond
2022, however.
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5. Clarifies a path for convicted felons to hold
office again
Illinois law bars those convicted of “infamous crimes,” from being
eligible to hold “an office of honor, trust, or profit,” or
municipal office. According to Illinois case law, “infamous crime”
historically included “arson, bigamy, bribery, burglary, deviate
sexual assault, forgery, incest or aggravated incest, indecent
liberties with a child, kidnap[p]ing or aggravated kidnap[p]ing,
murder, perjury, rape, robbery, sale of narcotic drugs, subornation
of perjury, and theft if the punishment imposed is imprisonment in
the penitentiary.” SB 825 clarifies that those ineligible from
office under this statute may petition the governor for a
restoration of rights while asserting that the clarification is
merely a declaration of existing law. Illinois has a healthy share
of former governors and politicians who could benefit from such a
path to regaining elected office.
6. Cybersecurity
SB 852 includes a provision to guard against the threat of
cyberattacks on election websites. Each election authority would be
required to use a “.gov” address if they maintain a website and
“.gov” email addresses. They must perform a biennial risk assessment
and monthly vulnerability scans. Election authorities will
additionally be required to implement certain cybersecurity tools
provided by the state of Illinois.
7. High school voter registration
Every Illinois high school will be required to provide students with
information regarding voter registration, and no high school may
prohibit nonpartisan voter registration activities on its premises,
though they may adopt reasonable regulations regarding such
activities under SB 825.
8. Temporary branch polling at county jails
SB 825 would allow county sheriffs to establish temporary polling
places in county jails. Residents of those counties held but not
convicted can vote in the same elections they would be entitled to
vote in based on their residence.
9. Local governments cannot prevent sitting state lawmakers from
running for local elected office
One notable provision prohibits units of local government, including
home rule units, from enacting an ordinance, referendum or
resolution that requires a member of the General Assembly to resign
from office before seeking elected office in that unit of local
government. The most obvious result of this provision would be to
allow Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, to run for re-election as
mayor of Calumet City. The city passed a referendum to prevent state
elected officials from seeking the office of mayor and sued to keep
him off the ballot, but the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in Jones’
favor because the referendum had been certified after he had filed
his nominating papers. State Rep. Brad Stephens, R-Chicago, who also
is mayor of the Village of Rosemont, would also be protected from
such an ordinance.
Of the nine election changes, the postponement of the primaries will
have the most immediate visible effect on Illinois voters. Still,
the expansion of mail-in voting passed in 2020 and the permanent
mail-in ballot application provisions of SB 825 that await the
governor’s signature may have the most long-lasting effects, as many
voters may opt to vote by mail from now on instead of standing in
line to cast their ballot in person.
One way or the other, these election law changes will ensure that
the effects of COVID-19 in Illinois will last far into the future.
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