It’s soon on to the governor’s desk with a bill modifying which signature can be used to verify a voter’s mail-in ballot in Illinois.
A Senate amendment to House Bill 45 makes changes to correct a drafting error in state law and make clarifications in various judicial circuits.
The measure also strikes out of state elections law the requirement an election authority compares the signature of a mail-in ballot with the official voter file held by the county clerk.
State Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, said the measure is needed because of updated technology.
“Our thought in the language is that it would allow for both the digitized as well as the original placard for voter registration,” Tarver said during floor debate Friday. “We’re clarifying it now to check the voter registration or the signature on the application as it relates to the ballot for vote-by-mail.”
State Rep. Amy Elik, R-Alton, said that’s not clear in the bill, and the approved language is a problem.
“If that ballot comes back and all that they’re comparing it to is the application, that’s not a comparison at all,” Elik said. “So, I want to make that clear that this is causing the opportunity for more voter fraud.”
State Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, said the measure weakens the law when it comes to signature verification for mail-in ballots.
“What we should be doing is what most states in our country do. Red states, blue states, swing states, the vast majority of states in the United States have a simple fix and that’s voter ID,” Spain said.
The measure passed both chambers and is now cued up to be sent to the governor’s desk.
Both chambers canceled the scheduled session Saturday. The Senate is back Sunday evening. The final day of lame-duck session is Jan. 10.
In DuPage County this past election, an election official was comparing mail-in ballot applications to verify signatures on the ballots, not the original voter signature on file with the county’s elections office. A lawsuit is pending.
Data from the Illinois State Board of Elections shows from a total of more than 2.2 million requested mail-in ballots across the state in November’s election, more than 657,200 were returned. Around 626,300 were counted. More than 132,000 were rejected statewide.
BY GREG BISHOP WITH THE ILLINOIS RADIO NETWORK
