§ 1A-25 — Centralized statewide voter registration list

Illinois § 1A-25

• Jurisdiction: Illinois
• Topic: GOVERNMENT
• Ch. 10: ELECTIONS
• Act 10 ILCS 5/: Election Code.
• Art.: Article 1A - State Board Of Elections

Text

(a) The centralized statewide voter registration list required by Title III, Subtitle A, Section 303 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 shall be created and maintained by the State Board of Elections as provided in this Section. (1) The centralized statewide voter registration list shall be compiled from the voter registration data bases of each election authority in this State. (2) With the exception of voter registration forms submitted electronically through an online voter registration system, all new voter registration forms and applications to register to vote, including those reviewed by the Secretary of State at a driver services facility, shall be transmitted only to the appropriate election authority as required by Articles 4, 5, and 6 of this Code and not to the State Board of Elections. All voter registration forms submitted electronically to the State Board of Elections through an online voter registration system shall be transmitted to the appropriate election authority as required by Section 1A-16.5. The election authority shall process and verify each voter registration form and electronically enter verified registrations on an expedited basis onto the statewide voter registration list. All original registration cards shall remain permanently in the office of the election authority as required by this Code. (3) The centralized statewide voter registration list shall: (i) Be designed to allow election authorities to utilize the registration data on the statewide voter registration list pertinent to voters registered in their election jurisdiction on locally maintained software programs that are unique to each jurisdiction. (ii) Allow each election authority to perform essential election management functions, including but not limited to production of voter lists, processing of vote by mail voters, production of individual, pre-printed applications to vote, administration of election judges, and polling place administration, but shall not prevent any election authority from using information from that election authority's own systems. (4) The registration information maintained by each election authority shall be synchronized with that authority's information on the statewide list at least once every 24 hours. (5) The vote by mail, early vote, and rejected ballot information maintained by each election authority shall be synchronized with the election authority's information on the statewide list at least once every 24 hours. The State Board of Elections shall maintain the information required by this paragraph in an electronic format on its website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local political committees. (i) Within one day after receipt of a vote by mail voter's ballot, the election authority shall transmit by electronic means the voter's name, street address, email address and precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, to the State Board of Elections. (ii) Within one day after receipt of an early voter's ballot, the election authority shall transmit by electronic means the voter's name, street address, email address and precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, to the State Board of Elections. (iii) If a vote by mail ballot is rejected for any reason, within one day after the rejection the election authority shall transmit by electronic means the voter's name, street address, email address and precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, to the State Board of Elections. If a rejected vote by mail ballot is determined to be valid, the election authority shall, within one day after the determination, remove the name of the voter from the list transmitted to the State Board of Election. (6) Beginning no later than January 1, 2024, the statewide voter registration list shall be updated on a monthly basis by no sooner than the first of every month; however, the information required in paragraph (5) shall be updated at least every 24 hours and made available upon request to permitted entities as described in this Section. (b) To protect the privacy and confidentiality of voter registration information, the disclosure of any portion of the centralized statewide voter registration list 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: (1) 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 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; or (2) as may be required by an agreement the State Board of Elections has entered into with a multi-state voter registration list maintenance system. (c) Except during the 27 days immediately preceding any election, the State Board of Elections shall make available to the public the statewide voter registration list, allowing for redaction of telephone numbers, social security numbers, street numbers of home addresses, birth dates, identifiable portions of email addresses, and other highly sensitive personal information. Information released under this subsection shall be used only for the purposes defined within the federal National Voter Registration Act, 52 U.S.C. 20507(i), ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters. The State Board of Elections may charge a reasonable fee under this subsection, consisting of the cost of duplication plus a 15% fee for administration. No sooner than 14 days after a request for voter registration records is made under this subsection, the State Board of Elections shall publicly disclose the request on a publicly accessible website regardless of whether the request was approved or denied. Voter registration records or data shall not be used for any personal, private, or commercial purpose, including, but not limited to, the intimidation, threat, or deception of any person or the advertising, solicitation, sale, or marketing of products or services. The State Board of Elections shall deny a request made under this subsection to any person or entity that is the subject of a court order finding a violation of this subsection. Upon the entry of a court order finding that a person or entity has violated this subsection, the clerk of the circuit court shall forward a copy of the order to the State Board of Elections.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 103-467, eff. 8-4-23; 103-600, eff. 7-1-24.)