10 ILCS 5/18A-15
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 10 - ELECTIONS|10 ILCS 5/ - Election Code.|Article 18A - Provisional Voting

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:(1) the provisional voter cast the provisional ballot     in the correct precinct based on the address provided by the provisional voter. The provisional voter's affidavit shall serve as a change of address request by that voter for registration purposes for the next ensuing election if it bears an address different from that in the records of the election authority. Votes for federal and statewide offices on a provisional ballot cast in the incorrect precinct that meet the other requirements of this subsection shall be valid and counted in accordance with this Article.  As used in this item, "federal office" is defined as provided in Section 20-1 and "statewide office" means the Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer.  Votes for General Assembly, countywide, citywide, or township office on a provisional ballot cast in the incorrect precinct but in the correct legislative district, representative district, county, municipality, or township, as the case may be, shall be valid and counted in accordance with this Article.  As used in this item, "citywide office" means an office elected by the electors of an entire municipality. As used in this item, "township office" means an office elected by the electors of an entire township;(2) the affidavit executed by the provisional voter     pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of Section 18A-5 contains, at a minimum, the provisional voter's first and last name, house number and street name, and signature  or mark;(3) except as permitted by item (5) of subsection (b)     of this Section, the provisional voter is a registered voter based on information available to the county clerk or board of election commissioners provided by or obtained from any of the following:i. the provisional voter;ii. an election judge;iii. the statewide voter registration database         maintained by the State Board of Elections;iv. the records of the county clerk or board of         election commissioners' database; orv. the records of the Secretary of State; and(4) for a provisional ballot cast under item (6) of     subsection (a) of Section 18A-5, the voter did not vote by mail ballot in the election at which the provisional ballot was cast; or(5) for a provisional ballot cast under item (7) of     subsection (a) of Section 18A-5, the voter provides the election authority with the necessary documentation within 7 days of election day.(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.)