Illinois House Passes Vote-By-Mail Expansion Bill for the 2020 General Election.
Thursday evening, May 21, the Illinois House voted 72-43 to pass SB 1863, vote-by-mail legislation for the 2020 General Election amid COVID-19 concerns. The measure passed along party lines, with Democrats, who hold a supermajority in the House, advancing the bill. See how your representative voted.
SB 1863 was introduced last year as an education bill and passed by the Senate. This week, the original bill language was removed (gutted) in the House and replaced with the election language via Amendment 5.
SB 1863 will now move to the Illinois Senate.
If passed, the bill will amend current election laws and does the following for the 2020 General Election:
- Provides for changes to vote by mail. Under the bill, voters who have cast a ballot since 2018 will automatically be sent a vote-by-mail application.
- Designates November 3, 2020, a State holiday applying to all public schools, and state and local government offices across the state.
- Provides the State Board of Elections with emergency rulemaking authority.
- Gives County Clerks the authority to extend early voting.
- Allows students 16 years of age and older to serve as an election judge in polling places.
- Repeals the election law changes on January 1, 2021.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker described the Democrat-crafted bill as a “reasonable compromise.” Republicans fear it will invite voter fraud.
Take Action
- Contact your state senator and urge him/her to oppose SB 1863. Tell him/her to leave the present election laws in place. Click here to find your senator’s contact information. Be sure to tell them you are a member of Concerned Women for America of Illinois.
- Forward this alert to your family, friends, as well as churches in your area.
Please join me in prayer that the state of Illinois will have honest elections free from voter fraud.
Debbie Leininger
State Director