(10 ILCS 5/Art. 4 heading)
(10 ILCS 5/4-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-1)
Sec. 4-1. Except as provided in this Article 4, it is unlawful for any person residing in a county containing a population of less than 500,000, to vote at any election at which any officers are to be nominated or elected, or at any election at which any questions of public policy are to be voted on, unless such person is at the time of such election a registered voter under the provisions of this Article 4.
The provisions of this Article do not apply to electors voting in an election of any soil and water conservation district or drainage district or to electors residing in municipalities in this State which have adopted "An Act regulating the holding of elections and declaring the result thereof in cities, villages and incorporated towns in this State", approved June 19, 1885, as amended, or which have adopted Articles 6, 14 and 18 of this Act. This Article shall not apply to electors voting pursuant to Article 20 of this Act.
The provisions of this Article 4, so far as they require the registration of voters as a condition to their being allowed to vote shall not apply to persons otherwise entitled to vote who have made and subscribed to the affidavit provided in paragraph (b) of Section 17-10 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 81-1060.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-2) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-2)
Sec. 4-2. No person shall be entitled to be registered in and from any precinct unless such person shall by the date of the election next following have resided in the State and within the precinct 30 days and be otherwise qualified to vote at such election. Every applicant who shall be 18 years of age or over on the day of the next election shall be permitted to register, if otherwise qualified.
To constitute residence under this Act, Article 3 is controlling.
(Source: P.A. 81-953.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-3) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-3)
Sec. 4-3. The county board shall appoint the place of registry in each precinct for any precinct re-registration of 1969 and 1970 under this Article 4 and for all precinct registrations. Such place or places shall be in the most public, orderly and convenient portions thereof; and no building or part of a building shall be designated or used as a place of registry, in which spirituous or intoxicating liquor is sold or which is used as political headquarters for any party, candidate or office holder. The county clerk may demand of the chief of police of each city, village or incorporated town, or the sheriff, to furnish officers of the law to attend during the progress of any registration at any place or places of registration designated by the county board.
(Source: Laws 1968, p. 570.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-4) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-4)
Sec. 4-4. The county clerk shall be ex officio the registration officer of such county and shall have full charge and control of the registration of voters within such county, where this Article 4 is in effect.
For the 3 days of any 1969 and 1970 re-registration and for precinct registrations hereinafter provided, 2 of the judges of election, no more than one from the same political party, theretofore duly appointed and confirmed as such and acting in each precinct, shall be designated by the county clerk to constitute a board of registration for each precinct, respectively, and each of such judges of election so designated shall serve as a judge of registration therein.
In counties over 1,000,000 population town or road district clerks, city or village clerks, their duly authorized deputies approved by the county clerk, and employees of the office of the county clerk may be appointed by the county clerk as deputy registration officers.
Such clerks appointed as deputy registration officers may accept registration of voters at their offices at any time that such registrations may be accepted by the county clerk, but shall not accept such registrations at any other place. Such deputy registration officers shall return any registrations accepted by them to the county clerk within 7 days after any registration is accepted by them.
Registration officers, deputy registration officers and judges of registration shall be officers of the court and the provisions of the laws of this State as to vacancies, removal and control (except as hereinafter provided), and punishment in case of misbehavior of judges of election shall apply to such registration officials.
Each registration officer including officers and judges of registration shall before entering upon his duties take and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of registration officer to the best of my ability, and that I will register no person nor cause the registration of any person except upon his personal application before me.
.......................................
(Signature of Registration Officer)"
This oath shall be administered by the county clerk, or by one of his deputies, or by any person qualified to take acknowledgments and shall immediately thereafter be filed with the county clerk, except that judges of registration may administer such oath or affirmation to each other and such oath of office and all affidavits which have been signed and sworn to before them shall be returned to the office of the county clerk in an envelope provided for that purpose.
No registration official for a precinct or other place of registration shall, without urgent necessity, absent himself from the place of registration or revision of registration upon any day of registration or revision of registration whereby less than the number of persons necessary to conduct the registration or revision of registration shall be present during such hours of registration or revision of registration.
(Source: Laws 1968, p. 572.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-5) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-5)
Sec. 4-5. The registration preceding the November, 1942, election shall constitute a permanent registration subject to revision and alteration in the manner hereinafter provided; and all registrations subsequent thereto shall be upon registration record cards provided by the county clerk. However, if the county board, by resolution adopted before October 15, 1969, determines that there shall be a re-registration in the county before the June, 1970, primary as provided in this Article, such 1942 registration shall be a permanent registration only until such re-registration as provided in Section 4-5.01.
(Source: Laws 1967, p. 2987.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-5.01) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-5.01)
Sec. 4-5.01. Where the county board determines, as provided in Section 4-5, that there shall be a re-registration before the June, 1970, primary, there shall, subject to the provisions of Section 4-6, be 3 days of re-registration in each precinct. The first of such 3 days of re-registration shall be Friday, November 21, 1969; the second, Friday, December 19, 1969; and the third, Tuesday, January 15, 1970. On each of the 3 days of re-registration, the registration place or places shall open at 8:00 a.m. and remain open until 9:00 p.m.
Re-registration provided by this Article 4 shall be conducted by the county clerk, shall be at the office of such clerk or in the precinct or in the offices of the respective deputy registration officers appointed by the county clerk as hereinabove in this Article provided, and shall be upon registration record cards in the manner provided by this Article. Such re-registration shall constitute a permanent registration subject to revision and alteration in the manner hereinafter provided. All registrations shall be on registration record cards provided by the county clerk in accordance with the provisions of this Article 4.
Immediately following the last day of precinct re-registration in 1970, all permanent registration records compiled before November 21, 1969, shall be destroyed if no election contest is pending in which such records are material.
(Source: Laws 1967, p. 2987.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-6) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-6)
Sec. 4-6. For the purpose of registering voters under this Article in addition to the method provided for precinct registration under Section 4-7, the office of the county clerk shall be open every day, except Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Saturdays the hours of registration shall be from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, and such additional hours as the county clerk may designate. If, however, the county board otherwise duly regulates and fixes the hours of opening and closing of all county offices at the county seat of any county, such regulation shall control and supersede the hours herein specified. There shall be no registration at the office of the county clerk or at the office of municipal and township or road district clerks serving as deputy registrars during the 27 days preceding any regular or special election at which the cards provided in this Article are used, or until the 2nd day following such regular or special election; provided, that if by reason of the proximity of any such elections to one another the effect of this provision would be to close registrations for all or any part of the 10 days immediately prior to such 27 day period, the county clerk shall accept, solely for use in the subsequent and not in any intervening election, registrations and transfers of registration within the period from the 27th to the 38th days, both inclusive, prior to such subsequent election. In any election called for the submission of the revision or alteration of, or the amendments to the Constitution, submitted by a Constitutional Convention, the final day for registration at the office of the election authority charged with the printing of the ballot of this election shall be the 15th day prior to the date of election.
Any qualified person residing within the county or any portion thereof subject to this Article may register or re-register with the county clerk.
Each county clerk shall appoint one or more registration or re-registration teams for the purpose of accepting the registration or re-registration of any voter who files an affidavit that he is physically unable to appear at any appointed place of registration or re-registration. Each team shall consist of one member of each political party having the highest and second highest number of registered voters in the county. The county clerk shall designate a team to visit each person with a disability and shall accept the registration or re-registration of each such person as if he had applied for registration or re-registration at the office of the county clerk.
As used in this Article, "deputy registrars" and "registration officers" mean any person authorized to accept registrations of electors under this Article.
(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-6.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-6.1)
Sec. 4-6.1. In addition to registration at the office of the county clerk, and at the offices of municipal and township or road district clerks, each county clerk shall provide for the following additional methods of registration:
Each county clerk may provide for precinct registration pursuant to Section 4-7.
(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-6.2) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-6.2)
Sec. 4-6.2. (a) The county clerk shall appoint all municipal and township or road district clerks or their duly authorized deputies as deputy registrars who may accept the registration of all qualified residents of the State.
The county clerk shall appoint all precinct committeepersons in the county as deputy registrars who may accept the registration of any qualified resident of the State, except during the 27 days preceding an election.
The county clerk shall appoint each of the following named persons as deputy registrars upon the written request of such persons:
If the request to be appointed as deputy registrar is denied, the county clerk shall, within 10 days after the date the request is submitted, provide the affected individual or organization with written notice setting forth the specific reasons or criteria relied upon to deny the request to be appointed as deputy registrar.
The county clerk may appoint as many additional deputy registrars as he considers necessary. The county clerk shall appoint such additional deputy registrars in such manner that the convenience of the public is served, giving due consideration to both population concentration and area. Some of the additional deputy registrars shall be selected so that there are an equal number from each of the 2 major political parties in the election jurisdiction. The county clerk, in appointing an additional deputy registrar, shall make the appointment from a list of applicants submitted by the Chair of the County Central Committee of the applicant's political party. A Chair of a County Central Committee shall submit a list of applicants to the county clerk by November 30 of each year. The county clerk may require a Chair of a County Central Committee to furnish a supplemental list of applicants.
Deputy registrars may accept registrations at any time other than the 27 day period preceding an election. All persons appointed as deputy registrars shall be registered voters within the county and shall take and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of deputy registrar to the best of my ability and that I will register no person nor cause the registration of any person except upon his personal application before me. ............................ (Signature Deputy Registrar)"
This oath shall be administered by the county clerk, or by one of his deputies, or by any person qualified to take acknowledgement of deeds and shall immediately thereafter be filed with the county clerk.
Appointments of deputy registrars under this Section, except precinct committeepersons, shall be for 2-year terms, commencing on December 1 following the general election of each even-numbered year; except that the terms of the initial appointments shall be until December 1st following the next general election. Appointments of precinct committeepersons shall be for 2-year terms commencing on the date of the county convention following the general primary at which they were elected. The county clerk shall issue a certificate of appointment to each deputy registrar, and shall maintain in his office for public inspection a list of the names of all appointees.
(b) The county clerk shall be responsible for training all deputy registrars appointed pursuant to subsection (a), at times and locations reasonably convenient for both the county clerk and such appointees. The county clerk shall be responsible for certifying and supervising all deputy registrars appointed pursuant to subsection (a). Deputy registrars appointed under subsection (a) shall be subject to removal for cause.
(c) Completed registration materials under the control of deputy registrars, appointed pursuant to subsection (a), shall be returned to the appointing election authority by first-class mail within 2 business days or personal delivery within 7 days, except that completed registration materials received by the deputy registrars during the period between the 35th and 28th day preceding an election shall be returned by the deputy registrars to the appointing election authority within 48 hours after receipt thereof. The completed registration materials received by the deputy registrars on the 28th day preceding an election shall be returned by the deputy registrars within 24 hours after receipt thereof. Unused materials shall be returned by deputy registrars appointed pursuant to paragraph 4 of subsection (a), not later than the next working day following the close of registration.
(d) The county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, must provide any additional forms requested by any deputy registrar regardless of the number of unaccounted registration forms the deputy registrar may have in his or her possession.
(e) No deputy registrar shall engage in any electioneering or the promotion of any cause during the performance of his or her duties.
(f) The county clerk shall not be criminally or civilly liable for the acts or omissions of any deputy registrar. Such deputy registrars shall not be deemed to be employees of the county clerk.
(g) Completed registration materials returned by deputy registrars for persons residing outside the county shall be transmitted by the county clerk within 2 days after receipt to the election authority of the person's election jurisdiction of residence.
(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-6.3) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-6.3)
Sec. 4-6.3. The county clerk may establish a temporary place of registration for such times and at such locations within the county as the county clerk may select. Notice of the time and place of registration under this Section shall be published by the county clerk in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county not less than 3 nor more than 15 days before the holding of such registration.
Temporary places of registration shall be established so that the areas of concentration of population or use by the public are served, whether by facilities provided in places of private business or in public buildings or in mobile units. Areas which may be designated as temporary places of registration include, but are not limited to, facilities licensed or certified pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community Care Act, or the MC/DD Act, Soldiers' and Sailors' Homes, shopping centers, business districts, public buildings and county fairs.
Temporary places of registration shall be available to the public not less than 2 hours per year for each 1,000 population or fraction thereof in the county.
All temporary places of registration shall be manned by deputy county clerks or deputy registrars appointed pursuant to Section 4-6.2.
(Source: P.A. 98-104, eff. 7-22-13; 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 99-180, eff. 7-29-15.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-7) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-7)
Sec. 4-7. In counties having a re-registration in 1969 and 1970, there shall be 3 days of precinct re-registration in each precinct. The first of such 3 days shall be Friday, November 21, 1969; the second, Friday, December 19, 1969; and the third, Tuesday, January 15, 1970. In all counties over 1,000,000 population, or in counties under 1,000,000 population if the county clerk determines to have precinct registration in the county pursuant to Section 4-6.1 there shall be one day of precinct registration preceding each regular election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even numbered years, on Saturday preceding the Tuesday 6 weeks preceding the election. The county board shall have authority to designate 2 days of registration in each precinct, in which event the second day of precinct registration shall be 29 days before such election. On each day of registration, the registration places shall be opened at noon and remain open until 9:00 P.M. The provisions of Section 4-3 of this Article shall apply to the selection of places of registration or re-registration under this Section.
At least 20 days prior to a precinct registration or re-registration, the county clerk shall publish a notice of registration or re-registration, giving the dates, hours and places of registration or re-registration, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county, if there is one, or otherwise in a newspaper of general circulation in such county.
The election authorities shall issue credentials to registration day pollwatchers in the manner and on the terms prescribed in Section 17-23 with respect to pollwatchers at elections. Registration day pollwatchers shall be allowed to see the names and addresses of the people who have registered during the course of the day.
No person shall, at any precinct registration or reregistration, do any electioneering or soliciting of votes or engage in any political discussion within any precinct registration place or within 30 feet thereof. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any candidate from being present in or near any precinct registration place. All persons who register to vote at any precinct registration place must be residents of the precinct in which they register.
(Source: P.A. 81-1535.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-8) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-8)
Sec. 4-8. The county clerk shall provide a sufficient number of blank forms for the registration of electors, which shall be known as registration record cards and which shall consist of loose leaf sheets or cards, of suitable size to contain in plain writing and figures the data hereinafter required thereon or shall consist of computer cards of suitable nature to contain the data required thereon. The registration record cards, which shall include an affidavit of registration as hereinafter provided, shall be executed in duplicate.
The registration record card shall contain the following and such other information as the county clerk may think it proper to require for the identification of the applicant for registration:
Name. The name of the applicant, giving surname and first or Christian name in full, and the middle name or the initial for such middle name, if any.
Sex.
Residence. The name and number of the street, avenue, or other location of the dwelling, including the apartment, unit or room number, if any, and in the case of a mobile home the lot number, and such additional clear and definite description as may be necessary to determine the exact location of the dwelling of the applicant. Where the location cannot be determined by street and number, then the section, congressional township and range number may be used, or such other description as may be necessary, including post-office mailing address. In the case of a homeless individual, the individual's voting residence that is his or her mailing address shall be included on his or her registration record card.
Term of residence in the State of Illinois and precinct. This information shall be furnished by the applicant stating the place or places where he resided and the dates during which he resided in such place or places during the year next preceding the date of the next ensuing election.
Nativity. The state or country in which the applicant was born.
Citizenship. Whether the applicant is native born or naturalized. If naturalized, the court, place, and date of naturalization.
Date of application for registration, i.e., the day, month and year when applicant presented himself for registration.
Age. Date of birth, by month, day and year.
Physical disability of the applicant, if any, at the time of registration, which would require assistance in voting.
The county and state in which the applicant was last registered.
Electronic mail address, if any.
Signature of voter. The applicant, after the registration and in the presence of a deputy registrar or other officer of registration shall be required to sign his or her name in ink or digitized form to the affidavit on both the original and duplicate registration record cards.
Signature of deputy registrar or officer of registration.
In case applicant is unable to sign his name, he may affix his mark to the affidavit. In such case the officer empowered to give the registration oath shall write a detailed description of the applicant in the space provided on the back or at the bottom of the card or sheet; and shall ask the following questions and record the answers thereto:
Father's first name.
Mother's first name.
From what address did the applicant last register?
Reason for inability to sign name.
Each applicant for registration shall make an affidavit in substantially the following form:
COUNTY OF .......
I hereby swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States; that on the date of the next election I shall have resided in the State of Illinois and in the election precinct in which I reside 30 days and that I intend that this location shall be my residence; that I am fully qualified to vote, and that the above statements are true. .............................. (His or her signature or mark)
Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).
..................................
Signature of registration officer.
(To be signed in presence of registrant.)
Space shall be provided upon the face of each registration record card for the notation of the voting record of the person registered thereon.
Each registration record card shall be numbered according to precincts, and may be serially or otherwise marked for identification in such manner as the county clerk may determine.
The registration cards shall be deemed public records and shall be open to inspection during regular business hours, except during the 27 days immediately preceding any election. On written request of any candidate or objector or any person intending to object to a petition, the election authority shall extend its hours for inspection of registration cards and other records of the election authority during the period beginning with the filing of petitions under Sections 7-10, 8-8, 10-6 or 28-3 and continuing through the termination of electoral board hearings on any objections to petitions containing signatures of registered voters in the jurisdiction of the election authority. The extension shall be for a period of hours sufficient to allow adequate opportunity for examination of the records but the election authority is not required to extend its hours beyond the period beginning at its normal opening for business and ending at midnight. If the business hours are so extended, the election authority shall post a public notice of such extended hours. Registration record cards may also be inspected, upon approval of the officer in charge of the cards, during the 27 days immediately preceding any election. Registration record cards shall also be open to inspection by certified judges and poll watchers and challengers at the polling place on election day, but only to the extent necessary to determine the question of the right of a person to vote or to serve as a judge of election. At no time shall poll watchers or challengers be allowed to physically handle the registration record cards.
Updated copies of computer tapes or computer discs or other electronic data processing information containing voter registration information shall be furnished by the county clerk within 10 days after December 15 and May 15 each year and within 10 days after each registration period is closed to the State Board of Elections in a form prescribed by the Board. For the purposes of this Section, a registration period is closed 27 days before the date of any regular or special election. Registration information shall include, but not be limited to, the following information: name, sex, residence, telephone number, if any, age, party affiliation, if applicable, precinct, ward, township, county, and representative, legislative and congressional districts. In the event of noncompliance, the State Board of Elections is directed to obtain compliance forthwith with this nondiscretionary duty of the election authority by instituting legal proceedings in the circuit court of the county in which the election authority maintains the registration information. The costs of furnishing updated copies of tapes or discs shall be paid at a rate of $.00034 per name of registered voters in the election jurisdiction, but not less than $50 per tape or disc and shall be paid from appropriations made to the State Board of Elections for reimbursement to the election authority for such purpose. The State Board shall furnish copies of such tapes, discs, other electronic data or compilations thereof to state political committees registered pursuant to the Illinois Campaign Finance Act or the Federal Election Campaign Act and to governmental entities, at their request and at a reasonable cost. To protect the privacy and confidentiality of voter registration information, the disclosure of electronic voter registration records to any person or entity other than to a State or local political committee and other than to a governmental entity for a governmental purpose is specifically prohibited except as follows: subject to security measures adopted by the State Board of Elections which, at a minimum, shall include the keeping of a catalog or database, available for public view, including the name, address, and telephone number of the person viewing the list as well as the time of that viewing, any person may view the centralized statewide voter registration list on a computer screen at the Springfield office of the State Board of Elections, during normal business hours other than during the 27 days before an election, but the person viewing the list under this exception may not print, duplicate, transmit, or alter the list. Copies of the tapes, discs, or other electronic data shall be furnished by the county clerk to local political committees and governmental entities at their request and at a reasonable cost. Reasonable cost of the tapes, discs, et cetera for this purpose would be the cost of duplication plus 15% for administration. The individual representing a political committee requesting copies of such tapes shall make a sworn affidavit that the information shall be used only for bona fide political purposes, including by or for candidates for office or incumbent office holders. Such tapes, discs or other electronic data shall not be used under any circumstances by any political committee or individuals for purposes of commercial solicitation or other business purposes. If such tapes contain information on county residents related to the operations of county government in addition to registration information, that information shall not be used under any circumstances for commercial solicitation or other business purposes. The prohibition in this Section against using the computer tapes or computer discs or other electronic data processing information containing voter registration information for purposes of commercial solicitation or other business purposes shall be prospective only from the effective date of this amended Act of 1979. Any person who violates this provision shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.
The State Board of Elections shall promulgate, by October 1, 1987, such regulations as may be necessary to ensure uniformity throughout the State in electronic data processing of voter registration information. The regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, specifications for uniform medium, communications protocol and file structure to be employed by the election authorities of this State in the electronic data processing of voter registration information. Each election authority utilizing electronic data processing of voter registration information shall comply with such regulations on and after May 15, 1988.
If the applicant for registration was last registered in another county within this State, he shall also sign a certificate authorizing cancellation of the former registration. The certificate shall be in substantially the following form:
To the County Clerk of.... County, Illinois. (or)
To the Election Commission of the City of ...., Illinois.
This is to certify that I am registered in your (county) (city) and that my residence was .
Having moved out of your (county) (city), I hereby authorize you to cancel said registration in your office.
Dated at ...., Illinois, on (insert date). ................................. (Signature of Voter) Attest: ................, County Clerk, .............
County, Illinois.
The cancellation certificate shall be mailed immediately by the County Clerk to the County Clerk (or election commission as the case may be) where the applicant was formerly registered. Receipt of such certificate shall be full authority for cancellation of any previous registration.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 10-1-13; 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-8.01) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-8.01)
Sec. 4-8.01. If an applicant for registration reports a permanent physical disability which would require assistance in voting, the county clerk shall mark all his registration cards in the right margin on the front of the card with a band of ink running the full margin which shall be of contrast to, and easily distinguishable from, the color of the card. If an applicant for registration declares upon properly witnessed oath, with his signature or mark affixed, that he cannot read the English language and that he will require assistance in voting, all his registration cards shall be marked in a manner similar to the marking on the cards of a voter who requires assistance because of physical disability, except that the marking shall be of a different distinguishing color. Following each election the cards of any voter who has requested assistance as a voter with a disability, and has stated that the disability is permanent, or who has received assistance because of inability to read the English language, shall be marked in the same manner.
(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-8.02) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-8.02)
Sec. 4-8.02. Upon the issuance of a voter's identification card for persons with disabilities as provided in Section 19-12.1, the county clerk shall cause the identification number of such card to be clearly noted on all the registration cards of such voter.
(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-8.03) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-8.03)
Sec. 4-8.03. The State Board of Elections shall design a registration record card which, except as otherwise provided in this Section, shall be used in triplicate by all election authorities in the State, except those election authorities adopting a computer-based voter registration file authorized under Section 4-33. The Board shall prescribe the form and specifications, including but not limited to the weight of paper, color and print of such cards. Such cards shall contain boxes or spaces for the information required under Sections 4-8 and 4-21 of this Code; provided, that such cards shall also contain a box or space for the applicant's social security number, which shall be required to the extent allowed by law but in no case shall the applicant provide fewer than the last 4 digits of the social security number, and a box for the applicant's telephone number, if available.
Except for those election authorities adopting a computer-based voter registration file authorized under Section 4-33, the original and duplicate cards shall respectively constitute the master file and precinct binder registration records of the voter. A copy shall be given to the applicant upon completion of his or her registration or completed transfer of registration.
Whenever a voter moves to another precinct within the same election jurisdiction or to another election jurisdiction in the State, such voter may transfer his or her registration by presenting his or her copy to the election authority or a deputy registrar. If such voter is not in possession of or has lost his or her copy, he or she may effect a transfer of registration by executing an Affidavit of Cancellation of Previous Registration.
In the case of a transfer of registration to a new election jurisdiction, the election authority shall transmit the voter's copy or such affidavit to the election authority of the voter's former election jurisdiction, which shall immediately cause the transmission of the voter's previous registration card to the voter's new election authority. No transfer of registration to a new election jurisdiction shall be complete until the voter's old election authority receives notification.
Deputy registrars shall return all copies of registration record cards or Affidavits of Cancellation of Previous Registration to the election authority within 7 working days after the receipt thereof, except that such copies or Affidavits of Cancellation of Previous Registration received by the deputy registrars between the 35th and 28th day preceding an election shall be returned by the deputy registrars to the election authority within 48 hours after receipt. The deputy registrars shall return the copies or Affidavits of Cancellation of Previous Registration received by them on the 28th day preceding an election to the election authority within 24 hours after receipt thereof.
(Source: P.A. 91-73, eff. 7-9-99; 92-816, eff. 8-21-02.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-8.5)
Sec. 4-8.5. Deputy registrar eligibility. Unless otherwise provided by law, an individual who is 17 years old or older who is registered to vote in this State shall be eligible to serve as a deputy registrar.
(Source: P.A. 99-722, eff. 8-5-16; 100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-9) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-9)
Sec. 4-9. The county clerk shall fully instruct the registration officers and deputy registration officers in their duties. Each registration officer and deputy registration officer shall receipt to the county clerk for all blank registration record cards issued to him, specifying therein the number of the blanks received by him, and each registration officer and deputy registration officer shall be charged with such blanks until he returns them to the county clerk. If for any cause a blank registration record card is mutilated or rendered unfit for use in making it out, or if a mistake thereon has been made, such blank shall not be destroyed, but the word "mutilated" shall be written across the face of such card, and the card shall be returned to the county clerk and be preserved in the same manner and for the same length of time as mutilated ballots. When each 1969 and 1970 precinct re-registration has been completed, each registration officer shall certify the registration records in substantially the following form:
"We, the undersigned registration officers or deputy registration officers in the County of .... in the State of Illinois, do swear (or affirm) that at the registration of electors on (insert date) there was registered by us in the said election precinct the names which appear on the registration records, and that the number of voters registered and qualified was and is the number of .... ...................... ...................... ...................... Registration officers. Date ................"
After completion of each 1969 and 1970 precinct re-registration each of the officers of registration for such precinct shall place all registration cards received by him, regardless of whether such cards have been unused, filled out, executed or mutilated, in an envelope to be provided for that purpose by the county clerk and shall seal such envelope with an official wax impression seal and sign his name across the face of such envelope. The judge of registration for such precinct shall include in the envelope sealed by him the certification of the registration records hereinabove required. The judge of registration for such precinct shall within 24 hours after the close of re-registration make personal delivery of all envelopes containing the re-registration cards for such precinct to the county clerk.
Other precinct registrations shall be certified and returned in the same manner.
(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-10)
Sec. 4-10. Except as herein provided, no person shall be registered, unless he applies in person to a registration officer, answers such relevant questions as may be asked of him by the registration officer, and executes the affidavit of registration. The registration officer shall require the applicant to furnish two forms of identification, and except in the case of a homeless individual, one of which must include his or her residence address. These forms of identification shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following: driver's license, social security card, public aid identification card, utility bill, employee or student identification card, lease or contract for a residence, credit card, or a civic, union or professional association membership card. The registration officer shall require a homeless individual to furnish evidence of his or her use of the mailing address stated. This use may be demonstrated by a piece of mail addressed to that individual and received at that address or by a statement from a person authorizing use of the mailing address. The registration officer shall require each applicant for registration to read or have read to him the affidavit of registration before permitting him to execute the affidavit.
One of the registration officers or a deputy registration officer, county clerk, or clerk in the office of the county clerk, shall administer to all persons who shall personally apply to register the following oath or affirmation:
"You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will fully and truly answer all such questions as shall be put to you touching your name, place of residence, place of birth, your qualifications as an elector and your right as such to register and vote under the laws of the State of Illinois."
The registration officer shall satisfy himself that each applicant for registration is qualified to register before registering him. If the registration officer has reason to believe that the applicant is a resident of a Soldiers' and Sailors' Home or any facility which is licensed or certified pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community Care Act, or the MC/DD Act, the following question shall be put, "When you entered the home which is your present address, was it your bona fide intention to become a resident thereof?" Any voter of a township, city, village or incorporated town in which such applicant resides, shall be permitted to be present at the place of any precinct registration and shall have the right to challenge any applicant who applies to be registered.
In case the officer is not satisfied that the applicant is qualified he shall forthwith notify such applicant in writing to appear before the county clerk to complete his registration. Upon the card of such applicant shall be written the word "incomplete" and no such applicant shall be permitted to vote unless such registration is satisfactorily completed as hereinafter provided. No registration shall be taken and marked as incomplete if information to complete it can be furnished on the date of the original application.
Any person claiming to be an elector in any election precinct and whose registration card is marked "Incomplete" may make and sign an application in writing, under oath, to the county clerk in substance in the following form:
"I do solemnly swear that I, ...., did on (insert date) make application to the board of registry of the .... precinct of the township of .... (or to the county clerk of .... county) and that said board or clerk refused to complete my registration as a qualified voter in said precinct. That I reside in said precinct, that I intend to reside in said precinct, and am a duly qualified voter of said precinct and am entitled to be registered to vote in said precinct at the next election.
(Signature of applicant) ............................."
All such applications shall be presented to the county clerk or to his duly authorized representative by the applicant, in person between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on any day after the days on which the 1969 and 1970 precinct re-registrations are held but not on any day within 27 days preceding the ensuing general election and thereafter for the registration provided in Section 4-7 all such applications shall be presented to the county clerk or his duly authorized representative by the applicant in person between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on any day prior to 27 days preceding the ensuing general election. Such application shall be heard by the county clerk or his duly authorized representative at the time the application is presented. If the applicant for registration has registered with the county clerk, such application may be presented to and heard by the county clerk or by his duly authorized representative upon the dates specified above or at any time prior thereto designated by the county clerk.
Any otherwise qualified person who is absent from his county of residence either due to business of the United States or because he is temporarily outside the territorial limits of the United States may become registered by mailing an application to the county clerk within the periods of registration provided for in this Article, or by simultaneous application for registration by mail and vote by mail ballot as provided in Article 20 of this Code.
Upon receipt of such application the county clerk shall immediately mail an affidavit of registration in duplicate, which affidavit shall contain the following and such other information as the State Board of Elections may think it proper to require for the identification of the applicant:
Name. The name of the applicant, giving surname and first or Christian name in full, and the middle name or the initial for such middle name, if any.
Sex.
Residence. The name and number of the street, avenue or other location of the dwelling, and such additional clear and definite description as may be necessary to determine the exact location of the dwelling of the applicant. Where the location cannot be determined by street and number, then the Section, congressional township and range number may be used, or such other information as may be necessary, including post office mailing address.
Electronic mail address, if the registrant has provided this information.
Term of residence in the State of Illinois and the precinct.
Nativity. The State or country in which the applicant was born.
Citizenship. Whether the applicant is native born or naturalized. If naturalized, the court, place and date of naturalization.
Age. Date of birth, by month, day and year.
Out of State address of ..........................
)ss
County of ..........)
I hereby swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States; that on the day of the next election I shall have resided in the State of Illinois and in the election precinct 30 days; that I am fully qualified to vote, that I am not registered to vote anywhere else in the United States, that I intend to remain a resident of the State of Illinois and of the election precinct, that I intend to return to the State of Illinois, and that the above statements are true. .............................. (His or her signature or mark)
Subscribed and sworn to before me, an officer qualified to administer oaths, on (insert date). ........................................ Signature of officer administering oath.
Upon receipt of the executed duplicate affidavit of Registration, the county clerk shall transfer the information contained thereon to duplicate Registration Cards provided for in Section 4-8 of this Article and shall attach thereto a copy of each of the duplicate affidavit of registration and thereafter such registration card and affidavit shall constitute the registration of such person the same as if he had applied for registration in person.
(Source: P.A. 98-104, eff. 7-22-13; 98-115, eff. 10-1-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 99-180, eff. 7-29-15.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-11) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-11)
Sec. 4-11. At least 2 weeks prior to the general November election in each even numbered year and the consolidated election in each odd-numbered year the county clerk shall cause a list to be made for each precinct of all names upon the registration record cards not marked or erased, in alphabetical order, with the address, provided, that such list may be arranged geographically, by street and number, in numerical order, with respect to all precincts in which all, or substantially all residences of voters therein shall be located upon and numbered along streets, avenues, courts, or other highways which are either named or numbered, upon direction either of the county board or of the circuit court. On the list, the county clerk shall indicate, by italics, asterisk, or other means, the names of all persons who have registered since the last regularly scheduled election in the consolidated schedule of elections established in Section 2A-1.1 of this Act. The county clerk shall cause such precinct lists to be printed or typed in sufficient numbers to meet all reasonable demands, and upon application a copy of the same shall be given to any person applying therefor. By such time, the county clerk shall give the precinct lists to the chair of a county central committee of an established political party, as such party is defined in Section 10-2 of this Act, or to the chair's duly authorized representative. Within 30 days of the effective date of this Amendatory Act of 1983, the county clerk shall give the precinct lists compiled prior to the general November election of 1982 to the chair of county central committee of an established political party or to the chair's duly authorized representative.
Prior to the opening of the polls for other elections, the county clerk shall transmit or deliver to the judges of election of each polling place a corrected list of registered voters in the precinct, or the names of persons added to and erased or withdrawn from the list for such precinct. At other times such list, currently corrected, shall be kept available for public inspection in the office of the county clerk.
Within 60 days after each general election the county clerk shall indicate by italics, asterisk, or other means, on the list of registered voters in each precinct, each registrant who voted at that general election, and shall provide a copy of such list to the chair of the county central committee of each established political party or to the chair's duly authorized representative.
Within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1983, the county clerk shall indicate by italics, asterisk, or other means, on the list of registered voters in each precinct, each registrant who voted at the general election of 1982, and shall provide a copy of such coded list to the chair of the county central committee of each established political party or to the chair's duly authorized representative.
The county clerk may charge a fee to reimburse the actual cost of duplicating each copy of a list provided under either of the 2 preceding paragraphs.
(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-12) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-12)
Sec. 4-12. Any voter or voters in the township, city, village or incorporated town containing such precinct, and any precinct committeeperson in the county, may, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. of Monday and Tuesday of the second week prior to the week in which the 1970 primary election for the nomination of candidates for State and county offices or any election thereafter is to be held, make application in writing, to the county clerk, to have any name upon the register of any precinct erased. Such application shall be, in substance, in the words and figures following:
"I, being a qualified voter, registered from No. .... Street in the .... precinct of the .... ward of the city (village or town of) .... (or of the .... town of ....) do hereby solemnly swear (or affirm) that .... registered from No. .... Street is not a qualified voter in the .... precinct of .... ward of the city (village or town) of .... (or of the .... town of ....) and hence I ask that his name be erased from the register of such precinct for the following reason .....
Affiant further says that he has personal knowledge of the facts set forth in the above affidavit.
Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date).
Such application shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant before the county clerk or any deputy authorized by the county clerk for that purpose, and filed with said clerk. Thereupon notice of such application, and of the time and place of hearing thereon, with a demand to appear before the county clerk and show cause why his name shall not be erased from said register, shall be mailed, in an envelope duly stamped and directed to such person at the address upon said register, at least four days before the day fixed in said notice to show cause. If such person has provided the election authority with an e-mail address, then the election authority shall also send the same notice by electronic mail at least 4 days before the day fixed in said notice to show cause.
A like notice shall be mailed to the person or persons making the application to have the name upon such register erased to appear and show cause why said name should be erased, the notice to set out the day and hour of such hearing. If the voter making such application fails to appear before said clerk at the time set for the hearing as fixed in the said notice or fails to show cause why the name upon such register shall be erased, the application to erase may be dismissed by the county clerk.
Any voter making the application is privileged from arrest while presenting it to the county clerk, and while going to and from the office of the county clerk.
(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-13) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-13)
Sec. 4-13. A docket of all applications to the county clerk, whether such application shall be made for the purpose of being registered, or restored, or for the purpose of erasing a name on the register or for completing registration, shall be made out in the order of the precincts. The county clerk shall sit to hear such applications between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the second week prior to the week in which the 1970 primary election for the nomination of candidates for State and county officers or any election thereafter is to be held. Witnesses may be sworn and examined upon the hearing of the applications.
Each person appearing in response to an application to have his name erased shall deliver to the county clerk a written affidavit, which shall be, in substance, in the words and figures following:
"I do solemnly swear that I am a citizen of the United States; that I do reside and have resided in the State of Illinois since the .... day of .... and in the county of .... in said state since the .... day of .... and in the .... precinct of the .... ward, in the city, village, incorporated town or town of .... in said county and state, since the .... day of .... and that I am .... years of age; and that I am the identical person registered in said precinct under the name I subscribe hereto."
This affidavit shall be signed and sworn to or affirmed before any person authorized to administer oaths or affirmations. The decision on each application shall be announced at once after the hearing, and a minute made thereof, and when an application to be registered or to be restored to the register or to complete registration shall be allowed, the county clerk shall cause a minute to be made upon the original and duplicate registration record cards.
All applications under this Section and all hearings hereinafter provided may be heard by a deputy county clerk or clerks specially designated by the county clerk for this purpose, and a decision by a deputy so designated, shall become the decision of the county clerk upon approval by the county clerk.
In any case in which the county clerk refuses an application to be registered or restored or to have a registration completed, or orders a name erased or stricken from the register, application may be made to the circuit court to be placed upon the register, and such applications shall be heard, and appeals taken from refusal of such applications, in the manner provided in other civil actions. The court may, at its discretion, hear such applications upon the same days as are specified in this Section for hearings by the county clerk, and, in such cases, application to be heard by the court may be made on such days. Forms for applications to the court shall be furnished by the county clerk.
(Source: P.A. 83-334.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-14) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-14)
Sec. 4-14. In all registrations it shall be the duty of every board of registry conducting a registration under Section 4-7 of this Article, at the time of making delivery of its registration records to the county clerk, to make a report to the clerk listing the names of all registered persons in such precinct for which it has served as a board of registry whom it knows or upon information believes to have removed from the precinct in which such person is registered. Where no further registration is had under the provisions of Section 4-7 prior to an election, it shall be the duty of the judges of election of each precinct, on or before Tuesday three weeks preceding the election, to make a report to the county clerk listing the names of all registered persons in such precinct whom they know or on information believe to have removed from the precinct in which such person is registered. Such report by the board of registry or the judges of election shall be treated as an application to erase from the register any name appearing in such report, and notice thereof shall be given to such person in the manner provided by Section 4-12 of this Article. If such person does not appear at the time and place designated in the notice, his registration shall be cancelled by the county clerk.
(Source: Laws 1959, p. 1385.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-14.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-14.1)
Sec. 4-14.1. Cancelation of deceased voter's registration. Upon establishment of an electronic reporting system for death registrations as provided in the Vital Records Act, the county clerk of the county where a decedent last resided, as indicated on the decedent's death certificate, may issue certifications of death records from that system and may use that system to cancel the registration of any person who has died during the preceding month. Regardless of whether or not such a system has been established, it is the duty of the county clerk to examine, monthly, the records deposited in his or her office pursuant to the Vital Records Act that relate to deaths in the county, and to cancel the registration of any person who has died during the preceding month.
(Source: P.A. 96-1484, eff. 1-1-11.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-15) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-15)
Sec. 4-15. Within 5 days after a person registers or transfers his registration with the office of the election authority, such election authority shall send by mail, and by electronic mail if the registrant has provided the election authority with an e-mail address, a certificate to such person setting forth the elector's name and address as it appears upon the registration record card, and shall request him in case of any error to present the certificate on or before the 7th day next ensuing at the office of the election authority in order to secure correction of the error. The certificate shall contain on the outside a request for the postmaster to return it within 5 days if it cannot be delivered to the addressee at the address given thereon. Upon the return by the post office of a certificate which it has been unable to deliver at the given address because the addressee cannot be found there or because no such address exists, a notice shall be at once sent through the United States mail to such person at the address appearing upon his registration record card requiring him to appear before the election authority, within 5 days, to answer questions touching his right to register. If the person notified fails to appear at the election authority's office within 5 days as directed or if he appears and fails to prove his right to register, the election authority shall mark his registration card as incomplete and he shall not be permitted to vote until his registration is satisfactorily completed.
If an elector possesses such a certificate valid on its face, if his name does not expressly appear to have been erased or withdrawn from the precinct list as corrected and revised as provided by Section 4-11 of this Article, if he makes an affidavit and attaches such certificate thereto, and if such affidavit substantially in the form prescribed in Section 17-10 of this Act is sworn to before a judge of election on suitable forms provided by the election authority for that purpose, such elector shall be permitted to vote even though his duplicate registration card is not to be found in the precinct binder and even though his name is not to be found upon the printed or any other list.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 10-1-13.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-16) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-16)
Sec. 4-16. Any registered voter who changes his residence from one address to another within the same county wherein this Article is in effect, may have his registration transferred to his new address by making and signing an application for change of residence address upon a form to be provided by the county clerk. Such application must be made to the office of the county clerk and may be made either in person or by mail. In case the person is unable to sign his name, the county clerk shall require him to execute the application in the presence of the county clerk or of his properly authorized representative, by his mark, and if satisfied of the identity of the person, the county clerk shall make the transfer.
Upon receipt of the application, the county clerk, or one of his employees deputized to take registrations shall cause the signature of the voter and the data appearing upon the application to be compared with the signature and data on the registration record card, and if it appears that the applicant is the same person as the person previously registered under that name the transfer shall be made.
No transfers of registration under the provisions of this Section shall be made during the 27 days preceding any election at which such voter would be entitled to vote. When a removal of a registered voter takes place from one address to another within the same precinct within a period during which a transfer of registration cannot be made before any election or primary, he shall be entitled to vote upon presenting the judges of election his affidavit substantially in the form prescribed in Section 17-10 of this Act of a change of residence address within the precinct on a date therein specified.
The county clerk may obtain information from utility companies, city, village, incorporated town and township records, the post office, or from other sources, regarding the removal of registered voters, and may treat such information, and information procured from his death and marriage records on file in his office, as an application to erase from the register any name concerning which he may so have information that the voter is no longer qualified to vote under the name, or from the address from which registered, and give notice thereof in the manner provided by Section 4-12 of this Article, and notify voters who have changed their address that a transfer of registration may be made in the manner provided in this Section enclosing a form therefor.
If any person be registered by error in a precinct other than that in which he resides, the county clerk may transfer his registration to the proper precinct, and if the error is or may be on the part of the registration officials, and is disclosed too late before an election or primary to mail the certificate required by Section 4-15, such certificate may be personally delivered to the voter and he may vote thereon as therein provided, but such certificates so issued shall be specially listed with the reason for the issuance thereof.
Where a revision or rearrangement of precincts is made by the county board, the county clerk shall immediately transfer to the proper precinct the registration of any voter affected by such revision or rearrangement of the precinct; make the proper notations on the registration cards of a voter affected by the revision or rearrangement and shall issue revised certificates to each registrant of such change.
Any registered voter who changes his or her name by marriage or otherwise shall be required to register anew and authorize the cancellation of the previous registration; but if the voter still resides in the same precinct the elector may, if otherwise qualified, vote upon making an affidavit at the polling place attesting that the voter is the same person who is registered to vote under his or her former name. The affidavit shall be treated by the election authority as authorization to cancel the registration under the former name, and the election authority shall register the person under his or her current name.
The precinct election officials shall report to the county clerk the names and addresses of all persons who have changed their addresses and voted, which shall be treated as an application to change address accordingly, and the names and addresses of all persons otherwise voting by affidavit as in this Section provided, which shall be treated as an application to erase under Section 4-12 hereof.
(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-17) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-17)
Sec. 4-17. Following the general election in November, 1946, and following the November election every 4 years thereafter, the county clerk shall examine the registration record cards, and shall send to every voter who has not voted during the preceding four years a notice through the mails, substantially as follows:
Notice of suspension of registration:
"You are hereby notified that your registration will be cancelled according to law for failure to vote during the last 4 years, unless you apply for reinstatement within 30 days. You may reinstate your registration by signing the statement below and returning it to this office or by making application in person to do so."
Application for reinstatement of registration:
"I do hereby certify that I still reside at the address from which I am registered and apply for reinstatement of my registration. Signed .... Present Address .... Date ...."
In case the elector is unable to sign his name, the application for reinstatement shall be made at the office of the county clerk, or in the case of an elector, absent from the county of his residence, it shall be made before the clerk of a circuit court in the county in which the elector is temporarily detained.
After the expiration of 30 days the county clerk shall cancel the registration of all electors thus notified who have not applied for reinstatement.
A proper entry shall be made on the registration record cards for all electors whose registrations are reinstated. Any elector whose registration has been cancelled for failure to vote may register again by making the application therefor in the manner provided by this Article 4. When a registration is cancelled or erased under this or other sections of this Article 4, a proper entry shall be made on the original and duplicate registration cards by the county clerk, which shall then be placed in a file of cancelled registrations and shall be preserved for 2 years from date of cancellation. The county clerk shall, however, place the cancelled cards in a suspense file, and reinstate them at any time within such 2 year suspense period, when a person's registration is cancelled under this or other sections of this Article for failure to apply for reinstatement or to appear in proper time, and there is sufficient subsequent showing that he is a duly qualified elector.
(Source: P.A. 81-155.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-18) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-18)
Sec. 4-18. The county clerk on his or her own initiative or upon the order of the county board or of the circuit court shall at all times have authority to conduct investigations and to make canvasses of the registered voters in any precinct by other methods than those prescribed herein, and shall at all times have authority to cancel registration in the manner provided by this section. Canvassers appointed for such canvasses and investigations shall be appointed by the county clerk; shall be confirmed by the circuit court in the manner provided by Section 13-3 of this Act for the confirmation of judges of election; shall be officers of that court; and shall be subject to the same control and punishment as judges of election. If upon the basis of investigation or canvasses, the county clerk is of the opinion that any person registered under this Article 4 is not a qualified voter or has ceased to be a qualified voter, he or she shall send a notice through the United States mail to such person, requiring him or her to appear before the county clerk for a hearing within 5 days after the date of mailing the notice and show cause why his or her registration shall not be cancelled. If such person fails to appear within such time as provided, his or her registration shall be cancelled. If such person does appear, he or she shall execute an affidavit similar in every respect to the affidavit required of applicants under Section 4-13 of this Article 4.
(Source: P.A. 83-334.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-18.01) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-18.01)
Sec. 4-18.01. Each registered voter lacking a permanent abode shall be canvassed by the county clerk before each election. The canvass shall be by mail sent not later than 49 days preceding the election to the mailing address listed on the voter's registration record card. The clerk shall include in the mailing a postage prepaid return postcard. The voter must certify on the postcard his or her continued residence at the registration address and mail the postcard back to the clerk so that it is postmarked no later than the 26th day preceding the election.
If an application for registration is presented within the 49 day period preceding an election, then this Section shall not apply and the provisions of this Article with respect to the mailing of a verification of a registration notice shall be a canvass, except that such notice shall be mailed to the registrant's mailing address.
(Source: P.A. 87-1241.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-19) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-19)
Sec. 4-19. If either the original or duplicate registration card, or both, of any elector shall be lost, destroyed or mutilated in whole or in part, the county clerk shall prepare two new registration cards, an original and a duplicate and shall require the execution of a new registration affidavit by such elector, and if any such elector shall refuse to execute the affidavit within thirty days after the mailing of a notice to him at the last address from which he has registered, then his registration shall be cancelled.
(Source: Laws 1943, vol. 2, p. 1.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-20) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-20)
Sec. 4-20. The original registration cards shall remain permanently in the office of the county clerk or election authority except as destroyed as provided in Section 4-5.01; shall be filed alphabetically without regard to precincts; and shall be known as the master file. The master file may be kept in a computer-based voter registration file or paper format, provided a secondary digital back-up is kept off site. The digital file shall be searchable and remain current with all registration activity conducted by the county clerk or election authority. The duplicate registration cards shall constitute the official registry of voters for all elections subject to the provisions of this Article 4, shall be filed by precincts alphabetically or geographically so as to correspond with the arrangement of the list for such precincts respectively, compiled pursuant to Section 4-11 of this Article, and shall be known as the precinct file. The duplicate cards for use in conducting elections shall be delivered to the judges of election by the county clerk in a suitable binder or other device, which shall be locked and sealed in accordance with the directions to be given by the county clerk and shall also be suitably indexed for convenient use by the precinct officers. The duplicate cards shall be delivered to the judges of election for use at the polls for elections at the same time as the official ballots are delivered to them, and shall be returned to the county clerk by the judges of election within the time provided for the return of the official ballots. The county clerk shall determine the manner of delivery and return of such duplicate cards, and shall at all other times retain them at his office except for such use of them as may be made under this Article with respect to registration not at the office of the county clerk.
(Source: P.A. 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-21) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-21)
Sec. 4-21. For use in connection with referenda and the nonpartisan and consolidated elections, each election authority shall maintain permanent records of the boundaries of all political subdivisions partially or wholly within its jurisdiction and any districts thereof, and shall maintain permanent records indicating by tax extension number code for each registered voter the political subdivisions and any districts thereof in which that voter resides. Such records may be kept on the registration record cards or on separate registration lists, or if a method other than record coding by tax extension numbers as adopted by an election authority, such method shall be, approved by the State Board of Elections. Each political subdivision must, no later than 5 days after any redistricting, annexation, disconnection or other boundary change is adopted, give notice of any such adoption and the effective date of such act to each election authority having election jurisdiction over any of its former or new territory.
Each election authority must make available to election judges for use on election day, records indicating by tax extension number code or other method approved by the State Board of Elections for each registered voter, the political subdivisions in which that voter resides. For the purposes of election day use by election judges, such records must be kept on the registration record cards or on separate registration lists.
(Source: P.A. 84-861.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-22) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-22)
Sec. 4-22. Except as otherwise provided in this Section upon application to vote each registered elector shall sign his name or make his mark as the case may be, on a certificate substantially as follows:
Sign this certificate and hand it to the election officer in charge. After the registration record has been checked, the officer will hand it back to you. Whereupon you shall present it to the officer in charge of the ballots.
I hereby certify that I am registered from the address below and am qualified to vote.
An individual shall not be required to provide his social security number when applying for a ballot. He shall not be denied a ballot, nor shall his ballot be challenged, solely because of his refusal to provide his social security number. Nothing in this Act prevents an individual from being requested to provide his social security number when the individual applies for a ballot. If, however, the certificate contains a space for the individual's social security number, the following notice shall appear on the certificate, immediately above such space, in bold-face capital letters, in type the size of which equals the largest type on the certificate:
"THE INDIVIDUAL APPLYING FOR A BALLOT WITH THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE HIS OR HER SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. HE OR SHE MAY NOT BE DENIED A BALLOT, NOR SHALL HIS OR HER BALLOT BE CHALLENGED, SOLELY BECAUSE OF HIS OR HER REFUSAL TO PROVIDE HIS OR HER SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER."
The certificates of each State-wide political party at a general primary election shall be separately printed upon paper of uniform quality, texture and size, but the certificates of no 2 State-wide political parties shall be of the same color or tint. However, if the election authority provides computer generated applications with the precinct, ballot style and voter's name and address preprinted on the application, a single application may be used for State-wide political parties if it contains spaces or check-off boxes to indicate the political party. Such application shall not entitle the voter to vote in the primary of more than one political party at the same election.
At the consolidated primary, such certificates may contain spaces or checkoff boxes permitting the voter to request a primary ballot of any other political party which is established only within a political subdivision and for which a primary is conducted on the same election day. Such application shall not entitle the voter to vote in both the primary of the State-wide political party and the primary of the local political party with respect to the offices of the same political subdivision. In no event may a voter vote in more than one State-wide primary on the same day.
The judges in charge of the precinct registration files shall compare the signature upon such certificate with the signature on the registration record card as a means of identifying the voter. Unless satisfied by such comparison that the applicant to vote is the identical person who is registered under the same name, the judges shall ask such applicant the questions for identification which appear on the registration card, and if the applicant does not prove to the satisfaction of a majority of the judges of the election precinct that he is the identical person registered under the name in question then the vote of such applicant shall be challenged by a judge of election, and the same procedure followed as provided by law for challenged voters.
In case the elector is unable to sign his name, a judge of election shall check the data on the registration card and shall check the address given, with the registered address, in order to determine whether he is entitled to vote.
One of the judges of election shall check the certificate of each applicant for a ballot after the registration record has been examined, and shall sign his initials on the certificate in the space provided therefor, and shall enter upon such certificate the number of the voter in the place provided therefor, and make an entry in the voting record space on the registration record, to indicate whether or not the applicant voted. Such judge shall then hand such certificate back to the applicant in case he is permitted to vote, and such applicant shall hand it to the judge of election in charge of the ballots. The certificates of the voters shall be filed in the order in which they are received and shall constitute an official poll record. The term "poll lists" and "poll books", where used in this Article, shall be construed to apply to such official poll record.
After each general primary election the county clerk shall indicate by color code or other means next to the name of each registrant on the list of registered voters in each precinct the primary ballot of a political party that the registrant requested at that general primary election. The county clerk, within 60 days after the general primary election, shall provide a copy of this coded list to the chair of the county central committee of each established political party or to the chair's duly authorized representative.
Within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1983, the county clerk shall provide to the chair of the county central committee of each established political party or to the chair's duly authorized representative the list of registered voters in each precinct at the time of the general primary election of 1982 and shall indicate on such list by color code or other means next to the name of a registrant the primary ballot of a political party that the registrant requested at the general primary election of 1982.
The county clerk may charge a fee to reimburse the actual cost of duplicating each copy of a list provided under either of the 2 preceding paragraphs.
Where an elector makes application to vote by signing and presenting the certificate provided by this Section, and his registration record card is not found in the precinct registry of voters, but his name appears as that of a registered voter in such precinct upon the printed precinct register as corrected or revised by the supplemental list, or upon the consolidated list, if any, and whose name has not been erased or withdrawn from such register, the printed precinct register as corrected or revised by the supplemental list, or consolidated list, if any, shall be prima facie evidence of the elector's right to vote upon compliance with the provisions hereinafter set forth in this Section. In such event one of the judges of election shall require an affidavit by such person and one voter residing in the precinct before the judges of election, substantially in the form prescribed in Section 17-10 of this Act, and upon the presentation of such affidavits, a certificate shall be issued to such elector, and upon the presentation of such certificate and affidavits, he shall be entitled to vote.
Provided, however, that applications for ballots made by registered voters under the provisions of Article 19 of this Act shall be accepted by the Judges of Election in lieu of the "Certificate of Registered Voter" provided for in this Section.
When the county clerk delivers to the judges of election for use at the polls a supplemental or consolidated list of the printed precinct register, he shall give a copy of the supplemental or consolidated list to the chair of a county central committee of an established political party or to the chair's duly authorized representative.
Whenever 2 or more elections occur simultaneously, the election authority charged with the duty of providing application certificates may prescribe the form thereof so that a voter is required to execute only one, indicating in which of the elections he desires to vote.
After the signature has been verified, the judges shall determine in which political subdivisions the voter resides by use of the information contained on the voter registration cards or the separate registration lists or other means approved by the State Board of Elections and prepared and supplied by the election authority. The voter's certificate shall be so marked by the judges as to show the respective ballots which the voter is given.
(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-23) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-23)
Sec. 4-23. The provisions of this Article 4, so far as they require the registration of voters as a condition to their being allowed to vote, shall not apply to persons otherwise entitled to vote, who are, at the time of the election, or at any time within 60 days prior to such election have been, engaged in the military or naval service of the United States, and who appear personally at the polling place on election day and produce to the judges of election satisfactory evidence thereof, but such persons, if otherwise qualified to vote, shall be permitted to vote at such election without previous registration.
All such persons shall also make an affidavit which shall be in substantially the following form:
"State of Illinois)
) ss.
County of ........) ............ Precinct ............ Ward
I, ..............., do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I am a citizen of the United States, of the age of 18 years or over, and that within the past 60 days prior to the date of this election at which I am applying to vote, I have been engaged in the .... (military or naval) service of the United States; and I am qualified to vote under and by virtue of the Constitution and laws of the State of Illinois, and that I am a legally qualified voter of this precinct and ward except that I have, because of such service, been unable to register as a voter; that I now reside at .... (insert street and number, if any) in this precinct and ward, that I have maintained a legal residence in this precinct and ward for 30 days and in the State 30 days next preceding this election. ......................
Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date). ...................... Judge of Election."
The affidavit of any such person shall be supported by the affidavit of a resident and qualified voter of any such precinct and ward, which affidavit shall be in substantially the following form:
"State of Illinois)
) ss.
County of ........) ................ Precinct ............... Ward
I, ...., do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I am a resident of this precinct and ward and entitled to vote at this election; that I am acquainted with .... (name of the applicant); that I verily believe him or her to be an actual bona fide resident of this precinct and ward and that I verily believe that he or she has maintained a legal residence therein 30 days, and in this State 30 days next preceding this election. ......................
Subscribed and sworn to before me on (insert date). ...................... Judge of Election."
(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-24) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-24)
Sec. 4-24. In the event that any city, village or incorporated town within a county shall become subject to the authority of a board of election commissioners, by the adoption of Articles 6, 14 and 18 of this Act, or shall cease to be subject to the authority of such a board, by the abandonment of said Articles, it shall not be necessary for the registered voters in the area affected by such action to register again, either under this Article or under Article 6 of this Act unless they are not re-registered under the 1969 and 1970 re-registration provisions in counties where such provisions are applicable.
This Article 4 shall immediately become effective in any area of a county that ceases to be subject to the authority of a board of election commissioners.
Within 24 hours after the court has entered its order declaring Articles 6, 14 and 18 of this Act adopted by any city, village or incorporated town or rejected by the voters of any city, village or incorporated town, after having been in effect therein, it shall be the duty of the board of election commissioners or of the county clerk, as the case may be, to turn over to the officer or officers thereafter to be charged with the registration of voters within the area affected (the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be) the original and duplicate registration cards of all persons affected by the adoption or rejection of said Articles 6, 14 and 18 of this Act; and at the same time to turn over all forms, papers and other instruments pertaining to the registration of voters within the area affected, and all booths, ballot boxes and election equipment formerly used in conducting elections in such area.
The original registration cards of the voters turned over to the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, shall be placed in a master file together with the registration cards of all voters who previously registered under the provisions of this Article or of Articles 6, 14 and 18 of this Act, as the case may be, and said cards shall then become part of the official registration record required to be kept in the office of the county clerk or of the board of election commissioners, as the case may be.
The duplicate cards shall be arranged in precinct order and shall be retained in the office of the county clerk or of the board of election commissioners, as the case may be, for the use in conducting elections. Such duplicate cards shall become part of the official registration record required to be kept in the office of the county clerk or of the board of election commissioners, as the case may be.
(Source: P.A. 83-334.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-24.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-24.1)
Sec. 4-24.1. If any area becomes subject to a board of election commissioners by reason of annexation to a city, village or incorporated town subject to such a board or ceases to be subject to a board of election commissioners by reason of disconnection from such a city, village or incorporated town, it shall not be necessary for the registered voters in such area to register again, either under this Article or Article 6.
As soon as practicable after such annexation or disconnection, the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, shall turn over to officer or officers thereafter to be charged with the registration of voters within the area affected (the board of election commissioners or county clerk, as the case may be) the original and duplicate registration cards of all registered voters in the annexed or disconnected area.
(Source: Laws 1967, p. 405.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-25) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-25)
Sec. 4-25. The compensation of the deputy registrars and judges of registration appointed by the county board to conduct the registrations under Section 4-6.3 and Section 4-7, shall be fixed by the county board, but in no case shall such compensation be less than $15 nor more than $25 per day for each day actually employed at the registration, canvass and revision and such deputy registrars and judges of registration shall also be compensated at the rate of five cents per mile for each mile actually traveled in calling at the county clerk's office for registration cards and returning them to said officer.
The State Board of Elections shall reimburse each county for the amount of the increase in compensation under this Section provided by this amendatory Act from funds appropriated for that purpose.
(Source: P.A. 84-1308.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-27) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-27)
Sec. 4-27. At each regular special or primary election to which this Article 4 is applicable, the judges of election shall personally affix all affidavits made before them in accordance with the provisions of Sections 4-15, 4-16, 4-22, 4-23, 7-45 or 17-10, respectively, to the respective applications to vote.
Persons voting for whom no registration card is found in the master file or precinct binder shall be investigated by the county clerk or persons in his office, as shall likewise be investigated the correctness of affidavits filed under the provisions of the Sections hereinbefore in this Section enumerated. If from such investigation the county clerk shall be satisfied that the provisions of this Article have been violated, or that any person has voted who was not qualified so to do, he shall make a complete report to the State's Attorney of the County, attaching thereto a correct copy of the application to vote and any affidavit which may have been executed by the voter and supporting witnesses, if any. The State's Attorney shall prosecute all such reports of fraud if on the basis of the facts so reported, and of any additional investigation he may cause to be made, he shall be satisfied that a knowing violation of this Article or of this Act has been committed. The County Clerk shall further file with the circuit court, for such action as is provided in cases of the misbehavior of judges of election, a copy of any such report in which it shall appear that the judges of election knowingly permitted a person to vote who was not qualified so to do under the provisions of this Article or of this Act, or otherwise were guilty of a knowing breach of their duties as such under this Act.
(Source: Laws 1965, p. 3481.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-28) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-28)
Sec. 4-28. During the hours of registration or revision of registration no person shall bring, take, order or send into, or shall attempt to bring, take or send into any place of registration or revision of registration, any distilled or spirituous liquors whatever; or shall, at any such time and place drink or partake of such liquor.
(Source: Laws 1963, p. 2532.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-30) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-30)
Sec. 4-30. The county clerk on his own initiative or upon order of the county board shall at all times have authority to conduct investigation and to make canvasses of the registered voters in any precinct canvass or at other times and by other methods than those so prescribed. However, the county clerk shall at least once in every 2 years conduct a verification of voter registrations and shall cause the cancellation of registration of persons who have ceased to be qualified voters. Such verification shall be accomplished by one of the following methods: (1) precinct canvass conducted by 2 qualified persons of opposite party affiliation appointed by the county clerk or (2) written request for verification sent to each registered voter by first class mail, not forwardable or (3) an alternative method of verification submitted in writing to and approved by the State Board of Elections at a public meeting not less than 60 days prior to the date on which the county clerk has fixed for implementation of that method of verification; provided, that the county clerk shall submit to the State Board of Elections a written statement of the results obtained by use of such alternative method within 30 days of completion of the verification. Provided that in each precinct one canvasser may be appointed from outside such precinct if not enough other qualified persons who reside within the precinct can be found to serve as canvasser in such precinct. The one canvasser so appointed to serve in any precinct in which he is not entitled to vote prior to the election must be entitled to vote elsewhere within the ward, township or road district which includes within its boundaries the precinct in which such canvasser is appointed and such canvasser must be otherwise qualified. If upon the basis of investigation or canvasses, the county clerk shall be of the opinion that any person registered under this Article is not a qualified voter or has ceased to be a qualified voter, he shall send a notice through the United States mail to such person, requiring him to appear before the county clerk for a hearing within ten days after the date of mailing such notice and show cause why his registration shall not be cancelled. If such person fails to appear within such time as provided, his registration shall be cancelled. If such a person does appear, he shall make an affidavit similar in every respect to the affidavit required of applicants under Section 4-13 and his registration shall be reinstated.
If the county clerk cancels such registration upon the voter failing to appear, the county clerk shall immediately request of the clerk of the city, village or incorporated town in which the person claimed residence, to return the triplicate card of registration of the said person and within twenty-four hours after receipt of said request, the said clerk shall mail or cause to be delivered to the county clerk the triplicate card of registration of the said person and the said triplicate card shall thereupon be cancelled by the county clerk.
(Source: P.A. 84-1308.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-31) (from Ch. 46, par. 4-31)
Sec. 4-31. In any county in which there is a municipality under the jurisdiction of a board of election commissioners, the county clerk and his appointed deputy registrars shall accept the registration of qualified persons residing within such municipality and shall transmit the completed registration to the board of election commissioners prior to the close of registration before an election.
(Source: P.A. 83-1059.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-33)
Sec. 4-33. Computerization of voter records.
(a) The State Board of Elections shall design a registration record card that, except as otherwise provided in this Section, shall be used in duplicate by all election authorities in the State adopting a computer-based voter registration file as provided in this Section. The Board shall prescribe the form and specifications, including but not limited to the weight of paper, color, and print of the cards. The cards shall contain boxes or spaces for the information required under Sections 4-8 and 4-21; provided that the cards shall also contain: (i) A space for a person to fill in his or her Illinois driver's license number if the person has a driver's license; (ii) A space for a person without a driver's license to fill in the last four digits of his or her social security number if the person has a social security number.
(b) The election authority may develop and implement a system to prepare, use, and maintain a computer-based voter registration file that includes a computer-stored image of the signature of each voter. The computer-based voter registration file may be used for all purposes for which the original registration cards are to be used. In the case of voter registration forms received via an online voter registration system, the original registration cards will include the signature received from the Secretary of State database. The electronic file shall be the master file.
(b-2) The election authority may develop and implement a system to maintain registration cards in digital form using digitized signatures, which may be stored in a computer-based voter registration file under subsection (b) of this Section. The making and signing of any form, including an application to register and a certificate authorizing cancellation of a registration or authorizing a transfer of registration may be by a signature written in ink or by a digitized signature.
(c) Any system created, used, and maintained under subsection (b) of this Section shall meet the following standards:
(d) Before the first election in which the election authority elects to use a voter list produced from the computer-stored images of the signatures of registered voters in a computer-based voter registration file for signature comparison in a polling place, the State Board of Elections shall certify that the system used by the election authority complies with the standards set forth in this Section. The State Board of Elections may request a sample poll list intended to be used in a polling place to test the accuracy of the list and the adequacy of the computer-stored images of the signatures of the registered voters.
(e) With respect to a jurisdiction that has copied all of its voter signatures into a computer-based registration file, all references in this Act or any other Act to the use, other than storage, of paper-based voter registration records shall be deemed to refer to their computer-based equivalents.
(f) Nothing in this Section prevents an election authority from submitting to the State Board of Elections a duplicate copy of some, as the State Board of Elections shall determine, or all of the data contained in each voter registration record that is part of the electronic master file. The duplicate copy of the registration record shall be maintained by the State Board of Elections under the same terms and limitations applicable to the election authority and shall be of equal legal dignity with the original registration record maintained by the election authority as proof of any fact contained in the voter registration record.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-50)
Sec. 4-50. Grace period. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary, each election authority shall establish procedures for the registration of voters and for change of address during the period from the close of registration for an election until and including the day of the election. During this grace period, an unregistered qualified elector may register to vote, and a registered voter may submit a change of address form, in person in the office of the election authority, at a permanent polling place established under Section 19A-10, at any other early voting site beginning 15 days prior to the election, at a polling place on election day, or at a voter registration location specifically designated for this purpose by the election authority. Grace period registration and changes of address shall also be conducted for eligible residents in connection with voting at facilities under Section 19-12.2 of this Code. The election authority shall register that individual, or change a registered voter's address, in the same manner as otherwise provided by this Article for registration and change of address.
If a voter who registers or changes address during this grace period wishes to vote at the election or primary occurring during the grace period, he or she must do so by grace period voting. The election authority shall offer in-person grace period voting at the authority's office, any permanent polling place established under Section 19A-10, and at any other early voting site beginning 15 days prior to the election, at a polling place on election day, where grace period registration is required by this Section; and may offer in-person grace period voting at additional hours and locations specifically designated for the purpose of grace period voting by the election authority. The election authority may allow grace period voting by mail only if the election authority has no ballots prepared at the authority's office. Grace period voting shall be in a manner substantially similar to voting under Article 19A.
Within one day after a voter casts a grace period ballot, or within one day after the ballot is received by the election authority if the election authority allows grace period voting by mail, the election authority shall transmit by electronic means pursuant to a process established by the State Board of Elections the voter's name, street address, e-mail address, and precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, to the State Board of Elections, which shall maintain those names and that information in an electronic format on its website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local political committees. The name of each person issued a grace period ballot shall also be placed on the appropriate precinct list of persons to whom vote by mail and early ballots have been issued, for use as provided in Sections 17-9 and 18-5.
A person who casts a grace period ballot shall not be permitted to revoke that ballot and vote another ballot with respect to that primary or election. Ballots cast by persons who register or change address during the grace period at a location other than their designated polling place on election day must be transmitted to and counted at the election authority's central ballot counting location and shall not be transmitted to and counted at precinct polling places. The grace period ballots determined to be valid shall be added to the vote totals for the precincts for which they were cast in the order in which the ballots were opened.
In counties with a population of less than 100,000 that do not have electronic poll books, the election authority may opt out of registration in the polling place if the election authority establishes grace period registration and voting at other sites on election day at the following sites: (i) the election authority's main office and (ii) a polling place in each municipality where 20% or more of the county's residents reside if the election authority's main office is not located in that municipality. The election authority may establish other grace period registration and voting sites on election day provided that the election authority has met the notice requirements of Section 19A-25 for permanent and temporary early voting sites.
(Source: P.A. 100-442, eff. 8-25-17.)
(10 ILCS 5/4-105)
Sec. 4-105. First time voting. A person must vote for the first time in person and not a vote by mail ballot if the person registered to vote by mail, unless the person first provides the appropriate election authority with sufficient proof of identity and the election authority verifies the person's proof of identity. Sufficient proof of identity shall be demonstrated by submission of the person's driver's license number or State identification card number or, if the person does not have either of those, verification by the last 4 digits of the person's social security number, a copy of a current and valid photo identification, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or other federal, State, or local government document that shows the person's name and address. A person may also demonstrate sufficient proof of identity by submission of a photo identification issued by a college or university accompanied by either a copy of the applicant's contract or lease for a residence or any postmarked mail delivered to the applicant at his or her current residence address. Persons who apply to register to vote by mail but provide inadequate proof of identity to the election authority shall be notified by the election authority that the registration has not been fully completed and that the person remains ineligible to vote by mail or in person until such proof is presented.
(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)