No one should have to choose between their health and the right to vote. Pandemic conditions have created uncertainty, but the LWV is committed to helping you stay safe while you support democracy in action. Click here to learn more about what steps the LWVIL took to prepare for November 2020.
Governor Pritzker recently signed SB1863 into law. Consequently, August ballot applications were automatically sent to anyone who voted in 2018, 2019, and 2020 (or anyone who applied for an absentee ballot). Such individuals received their ballots in early fall.
Now that this legislation is in effect, please stay tuned for details on the LWV's plans to contact/support local election authorities to confirm they can make the appropriate changes to their websites/other contact media to comply with the new regulations.
As Wendy Weiser, Democracy Program Director of the Brennan Center for Justice, recently said, "You are still more likely to be struck by lightning than to find mail ballot fraud.” Nevertheless, members of the LWV have been encouraged to independently research this issue and to help further voter education. The following resources contain additional information:
- The Brennan Center for Justice: "The False Narrative of Vote-by-Mail Fraud"
- The New York Times: "We Should Never Have to Vote in Person Again."
- Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research: "New Research on Voting by Mail Shows Neutral Partisan Effects."
- Nonprofit Quarterly: "It's Time to Dispense with the Myths and Have Fair Elections."
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Vox: "How Voting by Mail Could Save the U.S. Election" (Or view the embedded video at the end of this page.)
It should be noted that many states have moved entirely to vote by mail for their primary elections. These include Ohio, Alaska, Hawaii Wyoming, Maryland, Kansas, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Utah. Click here for more information.
