April 21, 2022
MDW SC Update: Early Voting – Or Not
Today the Senate gave third reading to a much-amended version of H. 4919, which would provide two weeks of no-excuse early voting and related changes in absentee voting. With the incorporation of elements of H. 3444, the Senate version also addresses aspects of statewide election administration. This discussion will be lengthy, but these important and complex issues require our attention, even though – as we will discuss – it is quite possible that this entire bill will die next week
Early and Absentee Voting
The Senate has successfully addressed some issues in H. 4919. They retained a very important provision permitting Risk Limiting Audits (RLAs) while removing an unfortunate requirement that at least 5% of ballots be audited. That percentage was arbitrary and in conflict with the multi-stage process entailed in RLAs.
We had hoped that the election certification period for local elections would be expanded from the current three days following the election, a change that is especially needed with the stronger audit requirements in the bill. This expansion was not made.
We also hoped that a process of notice and cure for ballot defects would be added. As the election process becomes more complex, the need to allow qualified electors to correct technical deficiencies in absentee ballots becomes increasingly important. This did not succeed.
Perhaps the most important request from county officials also failed. Today’s Senate version of H. 4919 requires that internal ballot envelopes be opened and ballots made ready for scanning only on election day, putting another great burden on already overworked election offices. If this is enacted as currently written, we can expect delayed election reports. We can also expect legislators to complain loudly about those delayed election results.
State Election Administration
Other major concerns about the final Senate version of H. 4919 involve the insertion of major provisions from H. 3444, a bill directed toward state election administration. The amended bill would require Senate advice and consent for appointments of SEC commissioners and executive director and would add provisions related to county oversight by the State Election Commission (SEC). The House and Governor have strongly rejected Senate advice and consent for all SEC positions and have indicated that the inclusion of those provisions will doom the bill. We can only watch and see whether the parties resolve this conflict. If they do not, all the other issues mentioned here become relevant only in another year, another session, another bill.
Another concern in material inserted into H. 4919 from H. 3444 relates to SEC oversight of county offices. The League supports SEC regulations to ensure that counties conform to state and federal law in a consistent manner while leaving sufficient flexibility for counties to address local conditions. The current Senate bill’s Section 7-3-10(G) language addressing this is sound. We support regulations as a vehicle to ensure consistency because their adoption requires public vetting and input and a level of transparency that would help to ensure well-considered nonpartisan rules for everyone.
However, as currently defined in H. 4919 regulations would define a set of standard procedures, but it is not clear that the “standard procedures” repeatedly referenced subsequently in the bill would always be those same regulations developed through the accountable regulatory process. To avoid ambiguity, all references to “standardized procedures” following Section 7-3-10(G) should be to “regulations,” not to “standardized procedures.”
There are other points in H. 4919 that are important, but this is already a very long message. We hope that our legislators and governors will find a way forward for this bill, with appropriate amendments.
Convention of States Resolution
As a final note tonight, the Convention of States Resolution, H. 3025, passed the Senate and the House concurred in Senate amendments. It has been signed by the Governor. We can only hope that other states exercise better judgment.
