The Illinois General Assembly returns to Springfield for three days this week to act on an abbreviated agenda that includes measures to protect the Nov. 3 election from consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BGA supports many provisions of the omnibus election bill (SB1863), including offering curbside voting and maintaining Election Day super-centers.
But the measure doesn’t do enough to facilitate mail-in voting, the safest and most effective way to maximize voter participation. It would require elections officials to send an application for a mail-in ballot to everyone who voted in elections held in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
In written testimony, BGA Policy Analyst Joann Wong urged lawmakers instead to send a postage-paid mail-in ballot to all registered voters. Her testimony is shared below.
