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2005 Illinois 10 ILCS 5/      Election Code. Article 18a - Provisional Voting


      (10 ILCS 5/Art. 18A heading)
ARTICLE 18A
PROVISIONAL VOTING

    (10 ILCS 5/18A‑2)
    Sec. 18A‑2. Application of Article. In addition to and notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the procedures in this Article shall govern provisional voting.
(Source: P.A. 93‑574, eff. 8‑21‑03.)

    (10 ILCS 5/18A‑5)
    Sec. 18A‑5. Provisional voting; general provisions.
    (a) A person who claims to be a registered voter is entitled to cast a provisional ballot under the following circumstances:
        (1) The person's name does not appear on the
    
official list of eligible voters for the precinct in which the person seeks to vote. The official list is the centralized statewide voter registration list established and maintained in accordance with Section 1A‑25;
        (2) The person's voting status has been challenged
    
by an election judge, a pollwatcher, or any legal voter and that challenge has been sustained by a majority of the election judges;
        (3) A federal or State court order extends the time
    
for closing the polls beyond the time period established by State law and the person votes during the extended time period; or
        (4) The voter registered to vote by mail and is
    
required by law to present identification when voting either in person or by absentee ballot, but fails to do so.
    (b) The procedure for obtaining and casting a provisional ballot at the polling place shall be as follows:
        (1) After first verifying through an examination of
    
the precinct register that the person's address is within the precinct boundaries, an election judge at the polling place shall notify a person who is entitled to cast a provisional ballot pursuant to subsection (a) that he or she may cast a provisional ballot in that election. An election judge must accept any information provided by a person who casts a provisional ballot that the person believes supports his or her claim that he or she is a duly registered voter and qualified to vote in the election. However, if the person's residence address is outside the precinct boundaries, the election judge shall inform the person of that fact, give the person the appropriate telephone number of the election authority in order to locate the polling place assigned to serve that address, and instruct the person to go to the proper polling place to vote.
        (2) The person shall execute a written form provided
    
by the election judge that shall state or contain all of the following that is available:
        (i) an affidavit stating the following:
            State of Illinois, County of ................,
        
Township ............., Precinct ........, Ward ........, I, ......................., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that: I am a citizen of the United States; I am 18 years of age or older; I have resided in this State and in this precinct for 30 days preceding this election; I have not voted in this election; I am a duly registered voter in every respect; and I am eligible to vote in this election. Signature ...... Printed Name of Voter ....... Printed Residence Address of Voter ...... City ...... State .... Zip Code ..... Telephone Number ...... Date of Birth ....... and Illinois Driver's License Number ....... or Last 4 digits of Social Security Number ...... or State Identification Card Number issued to you by the Illinois Secretary of State........
        (ii) A box for the election judge to check one of
    
the 3 reasons why the person was given a provisional ballot under subsection (a) of Section 18A‑5.
        (iii) An area for the election judge to affix his or
    
her signature and to set forth any facts that support or oppose the allegation that the person is not qualified to vote in the precinct in which the person is seeking to vote.
    The written affidavit form described in this subsection (b)(2) must be printed on a multi‑part form prescribed by the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be.
    (3) After the person executes the portion of the written affidavit described in subsection (b)(2)(i) of this Section, the election judge shall complete the portion of the written affidavit described in subsection (b)(2)(iii) and (b)(2)(iv).
    (4) The election judge shall give a copy of the completed written affidavit to the person. The election judge shall place the original written affidavit in a self‑adhesive clear plastic packing list envelope that must be attached to a separate envelope marked as a "provisional ballot envelope". The election judge shall also place any information provided by the person who casts a provisional ballot in the clear plastic packing list envelope. Each county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, must design, obtain or procure self‑adhesive clear plastic packing list envelopes and provisional ballot envelopes that are suitable for implementing this subsection (b)(4) of this Section.
    (5) The election judge shall provide the person with a provisional ballot, written instructions for casting a provisional ballot, and the provisional ballot envelope with the clear plastic packing list envelope affixed to it, which contains the person's original written affidavit and, if any, information provided by the provisional voter to support his or her claim that he or she is a duly registered voter. An election judge must also give the person written information that states that any person who casts a provisional ballot shall be able to ascertain, pursuant to guidelines established by the State Board of Elections, whether the provisional vote was counted in the official canvass of votes for that election and, if the provisional vote was not counted, the reason that the vote was not counted.
    (6) After the person has completed marking his or her provisional ballot, he or she shall place the marked ballot inside of the provisional ballot envelope, close and seal the envelope, and return the envelope to an election judge, who shall then deposit the sealed provisional ballot envelope into a securable container separately identified and utilized for containing sealed provisional ballot envelopes. Ballots that are provisional because they are cast after 7:00 p.m. by court order shall be kept separate from other provisional ballots. Upon the closing of the polls, the securable container shall be sealed with filament tape provided for that purpose, which shall be wrapped around the box lengthwise and crosswise, at least twice each way, and each of the election judges shall sign the seal.
    (c) Instead of the affidavit form described in subsection (b), the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, may design and use a multi‑part affidavit form that is imprinted upon or attached to the provisional ballot envelope described in subsection (b). If a county clerk or board of election commissioners elects to design and use its own multi‑part affidavit form, then the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall establish a mechanism for accepting any information the provisional voter has supplied to the election judge to support his or her claim that he or she is a duly registered voter. In all other respects, a county clerk or board of election commissioners shall establish procedures consistent with subsection (b).
    (d) The county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, shall use the completed affidavit form described in subsection (b) to update the person's voter registration information in the State voter registration database and voter registration database of the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be. If a person is later determined not to be a registered voter based on Section 18A‑15 of this Code, then the affidavit shall be processed by the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, as a voter registration application.
(Source: P.A. 93‑574, eff. 8‑21‑03; 93‑1071, eff. 1‑18‑05; 94‑645, eff. 8‑22‑05.)

    (10 ILCS 5/18A‑10)
    Sec. 18A‑10. Sealing and transporting provisional ballots.
    (a) Upon the closing of the polls, 2 election judges not of the same political party shall return to the county clerk or board of election commissioners the unopened sealed securable container containing the provisional ballots to a location specified by the county clerk or board of election commissioners in the most direct manner of transport. The county clerk or board of election commissioners shall keep the securable container secure until such time as the provisional ballots are counted in accordance with Section 18A‑15.
    (b) Upon receipt of materials returned from the polling places, the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall update the State voter registration list and the voter registration database of the county clerk or board of election commissioners, as the case may be, by using the affidavit forms of provisional voters.
(Source: P.A. 93‑574, eff. 8‑21‑03.)

    (10 ILCS 5/18A‑15)
    Sec. 18A‑15. Validating and counting provisional ballots.
    (a) The county clerk or board of election commissioners shall complete the validation and counting of provisional ballots within 14 calendar days of the day of the election. The county clerk or board of election commissioners shall have 7 calendar days from the completion of the validation and counting of provisional ballots to conduct its final canvass. The State Board of Elections shall complete within 31 calendar days of the election or sooner if all the returns are received, its final canvass of the vote for all public offices.
    (b) If a county clerk or board of election commissioners determines that all of the following apply, then a provisional ballot is valid and shall be counted as a vote:
        (1) The provisional voter cast the provisional
    
ballot in the correct precinct based on the address provided by the provisional voter. The provisional voter's affidavit shall serve as a change of address request by that voter for registration purposes for the next ensuing election if it bears an address different from that in the records of the election authority;
        (2) The affidavit executed by the provisional voter
    
pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of Section 18A‑5 contains, at a minimum, the provisional voter's first and last name, house number and street name, and signature or mark; and
        (3) the provisional voter is a registered voter
    
based on information available to the county clerk or board of election commissioners provided by or obtained from any of the following:
            i. the provisional voter;
            ii. an election judge;
            iii. the statewide voter registration database
        
maintained by the State Board of Elections;
            iv. the records of the county clerk or board of
        
election commissioners' database; or
            v. the records of the Secretary of State.
    (c) With respect to subsection (b)(3) of this Section, the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall investigate and record whether or not the specified information is available from each of the 5 identified sources. If the information is available from one or more of the identified sources, then the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall seek to obtain the information from each of those sources until satisfied, with information from at least one of those sources, that the provisional voter is registered and entitled to vote. The county clerk or board of election commissioners shall use any information it obtains as the basis for determining the voter registration status of the provisional voter. If a conflict exists among the information available to the county clerk or board of election commissioners as to the registration status of the provisional voter, then the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall make a determination based on the totality of the circumstances. In a case where the above information equally supports or opposes the registration status of the voter, the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall decide in favor of the provisional voter as being duly registered to vote. If the statewide voter registration database maintained by the State Board of Elections indicates that the provisional voter is registered to vote, but the county clerk's or board of election commissioners' voter registration database indicates that the provisional voter is not registered to vote, then the information found in the statewide voter registration database shall control the matter and the provisional voter shall be deemed to be registered to vote. If the records of the county clerk or board of election commissioners indicates that the provisional voter is registered to vote, but the statewide voter registration database maintained by the State Board of Elections indicates that the provisional voter is not registered to vote, then the information found in the records of the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall control the matter and the provisional voter shall be deemed to be registered to vote. If the provisional voter's signature on his or her provisional ballot request varies from the signature on an otherwise valid registration application solely because of the substitution of initials for the first or middle name, the election authority may not reject the provisional ballot.
    (d) In validating the registration status of a person casting a provisional ballot, the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall not require a provisional voter to complete any form other than the affidavit executed by the provisional voter under subsection (b)(2) of Section 18A‑5. In addition, the county clerk or board of election commissioners shall not require all provisional voters or any particular class or group of provisional voters to appear personally before the county clerk or board of election commissioners or as a matter of policy require provisional voters to submit additional information to verify or otherwise support the information already submitted by the provisional voter. The provisional voter may, within 2 calendar days after the election, submit additional information to the county clerk or board of election commissioners. This information must be received by the county clerk or board of election commissioners within the 2‑calendar‑day period.
    (e) If the county clerk or board of election commissioners determines that subsection (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(3) does not apply, then the provisional ballot is not valid and may not be counted. The provisional ballot envelope containing the ballot cast by the provisional voter may not be opened. The county clerk or board of election commissioners shall write on the provisional ballot envelope the following: "Provisional ballot determined invalid.".
    (f) If the county clerk or board of election commissioners determines that a provisional ballot is valid under this Section, then the provisional ballot envelope shall be opened. The outside of each provisional ballot envelope shall also be marked to identify the precinct and the date of the election.
    (g) Provisional ballots determined to be valid shall be counted at the election authority's central ballot counting location and shall not be counted in precincts. The provisional ballots determined to be valid shall be added to the vote totals for the precincts from which they were cast in the order in which the ballots were opened. The validation and counting of provisional ballots shall be subject to the provisions of this Code that apply to pollwatchers. If the provisional ballots are a ballot of a punch card voting system, then the provisional ballot shall be counted in a manner consistent with Article 24A. If the provisional ballots are a ballot of optical scan or other type of approved electronic voting system, then the provisional ballots shall be counted in a manner consistent with Article 24B.
    (h) As soon as the ballots have been counted, the election judges or election officials shall, in the presence of the county clerk or board of election commissioners, place each of the following items in a separate envelope or bag: (1) all provisional ballots, voted or spoiled; (2) all provisional ballot envelopes of provisional ballots voted or spoiled; and (3) all executed affidavits of the provisional ballots voted or spoiled. All provisional ballot envelopes for provisional voters who have been determined not to be registered to vote shall remain sealed. The county clerk or board of election commissioners shall treat the provisional ballot envelope containing the written affidavit as a voter registration application for that person for the next election and process that application. The election judges or election officials shall then securely seal each envelope or bag, initial the envelope or bag, and plainly mark on the outside of the envelope or bag in ink the precinct in which the provisional ballots were cast. The election judges or election officials shall then place each sealed envelope or bag into a box, secure and seal it in the same manner as described in item (6) of subsection (b) of Section 18A‑5. Each election judge or election official shall take and subscribe an oath before the county clerk or board of election commissioners that the election judge or election official securely kept the ballots and papers in the box, did not permit any person to open the box or otherwise touch or tamper with the ballots and papers in the box, and has no knowledge of any other person opening the box. For purposes of this Section, the term "election official" means the county clerk, a member of the board of election commissioners, as the case may be, and their respective employees.
(Source: P.A. 93‑574, eff. 8‑21‑03; 94‑645, eff. 8‑22‑05; 94‑1000, eff. 7‑3‑06.)

    (10 ILCS 5/18A‑20)
    Sec. 18A‑20. Provisional voting verification system. In conjunction with each county clerk or board of election commissioners, the State Board of Elections shall establish a uniform free access information system by which a person casting a provisional ballot may ascertain whether the provisional vote was counted in the official canvass of votes for that election and, if the vote was not counted, the reason that the vote was not counted. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a county clerk or a board of election commissioner from establishing a free access information system described in this Section so long as that system is consistent with the federal Help America Vote Act.
(Source: P.A. 93‑574, eff. 8‑21‑03.)

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