Illinois Compiled Statutes
10 ILCS 5/ - Election Code.
Article 18A - Provisional Voting

(10 ILCS 5/Art. 18A heading)

(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:
(b) The procedure for obtaining and casting a provisional ballot at the
polling place
shall be as follows:
(i) an affidavit stating the following:
(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. 100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)

(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:
(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.
Within 2 calendar days after the election, the election authority shall transmit by electronic means pursuant to a process established by the State Board of Elections the name, street address, e-mail address, and precinct, ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, of each person casting a provisional ballot to the State Board of Elections, which shall maintain those names and that information in an electronic format on its website, arranged by county and accessible to State and local political committees. The provisional voter may, within 7 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 7-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. 97-766, eff. 7-6-12; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-691, eff. 7-1-14; 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)

(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.)

(10 ILCS 5/18A-218)
Sec. 18A-218. Interpretation of Article 18A. The Sections of this Article following this Section shall be supplemental to all other provisions of this Article and are intended to provide procedural requirements for the implementation of the provisions of this Article. In the case of a conflict between the Sections following this Section and the Sections preceding this Section, the Sections preceding this Section shall prevail.

(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)

(10 ILCS 5/18A-218.10)
Sec. 18A-218.10. Definitions relating to provisional ballots.
(a) As used in this Article:
(b) Procedures for Voting Provisionally in the Polling Place.
(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)

(10 ILCS 5/18A-218.20)
Sec. 18A-218.20. Counting procedures for provisional ballots cast in an incorrect precinct within the same election authority's jurisdiction.
(a) The election authority shall:
(b) Once it has been determined by the election authority that the voter was entitled to vote a provisional ballot, even though it had been cast in an incorrect precinct, the election authority shall select a team or teams of 2 duly commissioned election judges, one from each of the two leading established political parties in Illinois, to count the votes that are eligible to be cast on the provisional ballot. In those jurisdictions that use election officials as defined in subsection (h) of Section 18A-15 of this Code, these duties may be performed by those election officials.
(c) For provisional ballots cast at a partisan primary election, the judges shall use a duplicate ballot of the correct ballot style for the same political party as the ballot chosen by the voter.
(d) At least one qualified pollwatcher for each candidate, political party, and civic organization, as authorized by Section 17-23 of this Code, shall be permitted to observe the ballot remaking process.

(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)

(10 ILCS 5/18A-218.30)
Sec. 18A-218.30. Counting procedures for provisional ballots cast in an incorrect precinct within a different election authority's jurisdiction.
(a) The election authority having possession of the provisional ballot shall first notify the election authority having jurisdiction over the provisional voter that the voter cast a provisional ballot in its jurisdiction and provide whatever information is needed for the election authority to comply with the notification requirements set forth in subsection (d) of Section 18A-15 of this Code. For purpose of determining which election authority has jurisdiction over the provisional voter, the election authority having possession of the provisional ballot shall use the address listed on the provisional ballot affidavit that was provided by the voter. If that address is different from the address at which the voter is registered, the ballot shall be rejected; however, the affidavit shall serve as a request to register at that address. If a voter cast a provisional ballot in an incorrect precinct located in the jurisdiction of an election authority other than the election authority having jurisdiction over the voter's correct precinct, but where the precinct is located within the same county as the 2 election authorities (e.g., a voter is registered in the City of Chicago, but casts a provisional ballot in suburban Cook County), the election authority in whose territory the provisional ballot was cast shall, after receipt of the provisional ballot, transmit it, along with the provisional voter's affidavit and any other documentation provided to the election judges, to the office of the election authority having jurisdiction over the voter's correct precinct. The ballot shall be sealed in a secure envelope or other suitable container and transmitted within 8 business days after the election at which it was cast. If the locations of the election authorities' offices are such that it is feasible to hand deliver the ballot, the ballot shall be sealed in a secure envelope and transmitted in that manner by 2 election judges (or election officials), one from each of the 2 leading political parties. If the locations of the 2 election authorities are such that it is not feasible to hand deliver the ballot, the election authority having jurisdiction over the incorrect precinct shall cause the ballot to be sealed in a secure envelope and transmitted via express mail within 8 business days after the election at which the ballot was cast, with a delivery date no later than the second business day following the mailing date. Upon receipt of the ballot by the election authority having jurisdiction over the correct precinct, the election authority shall proceed to remake, and count the votes on, the provisional ballot in accordance with the procedures described in Section 18A-218.20, including the determination of eligibility to cast a provisional ballot. Any information provided to the election authority within the 7 day period provided for in Section 18A-15 of this Code shall be sealed in a secure envelope and transmitted to the office of the election authority having jurisdiction over the voter's correct precinct, along with the provisional ballot of that voter.
(b) Incorrect precinct is located in a different county from the county where the voter is registered, but is located in the same municipality or legislative district as the one in which the voter is registered:
For purposes of determining which election authority has jurisdiction over the provisional voter, the election authority having possession of the provisional ballot shall use the address listed on the provisional ballot affidavit that was provided by the voter. If such address is different from the address at which the voter is registered, the ballot shall be rejected, however the affidavit shall serve as a request to register at such address.

(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)

(10 ILCS 5/18A-218.40)
Sec. 18A-218.40. Follow-up procedures for provisional ballots. The original provisional ballot cast by the voter shall be stored separately from other ballots voted in the election and shall be preserved in the same manner as original ballots that had to be remade for other reasons, such as a damaged ballot or as a result of a voter over-voting an office.

(Source: P.A. 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)