Lawmakers look at proposal allowing counties to move primarily to vote by mail

URBANA (WGEM) - Members of the Illinois House Ethics and Elections Committee discussed a proposal Wednesday allowing counties to go primarily to a vote-by-mail system.

In hearing looking at ways to expand access to the polls, they discussed a bill sponsored by state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana. She sits on the committee.

The bill would allow counties to move to the vote-by-mail system. They would choose to send every registered voter a ballot instead of making them request one or go to a polling place.

Among those testifying were elections officials from Utah and Washington state. Those two state already have primarily vote-by-mail systems.

“That move has been incredibly successful for us. Speaking as somebody who’s run both polling places elections and vote-by-mail elections, I can tell you from experience that vote-by-mail elections are significantly easier to administer,” said William Cavecche, from the King County, Wash. Elections Department.

He said vote-by-mail elections are also more secure since professionals count votes in a secure central location.

Cavecche is not the only one advocating for vote by mail.

Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, the husband of bill-sponsor Carol Ammons, would also like to see it become the norm.

“My experience as a voter and as a county clerk tells me there is no greater voter access than voting from the comforts of your home,” he said.

If counties make vote by mail the norm, there would still be polling places and in-person voting. The number would be reduced, however, as fewer people are likely to physically go to the polls.

In addition to vote by mail, committee members also discussed ideas making it easier for people with visual impairments to vote.

The committee’s discussions and proposals will not effect the 2024 primary election. It’s set for March 19. Early voting starts Feb. 8.

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