Kendall Co. Residents Encouraged To Vote By Mail Amid Pandemic

KENDALL COUNTY, IL — County residents who are worried about the coronavirus pandemic are being encouraged to send in their votes by mail for the Nov. 3 election. In a press release Friday, Kendall County Clerk Debbie Gillette said county voters should consider voting by mail as a "safe, secure and convenient" alternative to in-person voting.

She said the Illinois General Assembly passed an election bill earlier this year that provides many safeguards against the spread of coronavirus in the voting process for the November election. Among the safeguards, she said, are provisions to increase voting by mail throughout Illinois.

• All voters who voted in either the March 2020 General Primary, April 2019 Consolidated or November 2018 General Election will receive by mail an application for a vote-by-mail ballot.
• Those who registered to vote or updated their registration between March 18 and July 31 will be mailed an application for vote-by-mail ballot.
• The state’s online voter registration site now allows users to request a mail ballot when they register.
• Kendall County has an online application at co.kendall.il.us/VBMApplication

Ballots will be mailed to applicants beginning Sept. 24, which is also the first day of early voting. The deadline for applying for a mail ballot is 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 29. After Oct. 29, voters can still receive a mail ballot by applying in person at 111 W. Fox St., Yorkville. Ballots must be postmarked no later than Nov. 3 to be accepted, and properly postmarked ballots will be accepted through Nov. 17.

The new law also establishes protocols to ensure proper verification of ballots before they are accepted and to inform voters in a timely manner if their ballot is rejected. This begins with a review of the voter’s signature by a panel of three election Judges within two days of receipt of the ballot.

A ballot may be rejected for an invalid signature only by unanimous decision of the judges.
The ballot may be rejected if two of the three judges agree that:

• The ballot envelope was delivered opened
• The certification envelope contains no signature
• The voter has already cast a ballot
• The voter voted in person on Election Day
• The voter is not a duly registered voter

If a ballot is rejected based on a signature or lack of signature or because the ballot envelope was delivered opened, the voter must be notified within two days or within one day if the rejection occurs after Election Day. The new law contains provisions for the voter to address these problems.

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