Bill Text: IL HB2399 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Election Code. Provides that, no later than December 31, 2025, the State Board of Elections shall implement an application programming interface to allow third-party organizations approved by the State Board of Elections to submit complete voter registration applications in a standardized data format. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-25 - Assigned to Ethics & Elections [HB2399 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB2399-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2399 Introduced , by Rep. Maurice A. West, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
10 ILCS 5/1A-16.5
Amends the Election Code. Provides that, no later than December 31, 2025, the State Board of Elections shall implement an application programming interface to allow third-party organizations approved by the State Board of Elections to submit complete voter registration applications in a standardized data format. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
HB2399 LRB104 09421 SPS 19481 b
AN ACT concerning elections.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
Section 1A-16.5 as follows:
(10 ILCS 5/1A-16.5)
Sec. 1A-16.5. Online voter registration.
(a) The State Board of Elections shall establish and
maintain a system for online voter registration that permits a
person to apply to register to vote or to update his or her
existing voter registration. In accordance with technical
specifications provided by the State Board of Elections, each
election authority shall maintain a voter registration system
capable of receiving and processing voter registration
application information, including electronic signatures, from
the online voter registration system established by the State
Board of Elections.
(b) The online voter registration system shall employ
security measures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of
voter registration applications submitted electronically
pursuant to this Section.
(b-5) No later than December 31, 2025, the State Board of
Elections shall implement an application programming interface

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to allow third-party organizations approved by the State Board
of Elections to submit complete voter registration
applications in a standardized data format.
(c) The Board may receive voter registration information
provided by applicants using the State Board of Elections'
website or another electronic method approved by the State
Board of Elections using an application programming interface,
may cross reference that information with data or information
contained in the Secretary of State's database in order to
match the information submitted by applicants, and may receive
from the Secretary of State the applicant's digitized
signature upon a successful match of that applicant's
information with that contained in the Secretary of State's
database.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person
who is qualified to register to vote and who has an authentic
Illinois driver's license or State identification card issued
by the Secretary of State may submit an application to
register to vote electronically on a website maintained by the
State Board of Elections or through another electronic method
approved by the State Board of Elections using an application
programming interface.
(e) An online voter registration application shall contain
all of the information that is required for a paper
application as provided in Section 1A-16 of this Code, except
that the applicant shall be required to provide:

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(1) the applicant's full Illinois driver's license or
State identification card number;
(2) the last 4 digits of the applicant's social
security number; and
(3) the date the Illinois driver's license or State
identification card was issued.
(f) For an applicant's registration or change in
registration to be accepted, the applicant shall mark the box
associated with the following statement included as part of
the online voter registration application:
"By clicking on the box below, I swear or affirm all of the
following:
(1) I am the person whose name and identifying information
is provided on this form, and I desire to register to vote in
the State of Illinois.
(2) All the information I have provided on this form is
true and correct as of the date I am submitting this form.
(3) I authorize the Secretary of State to transmit to the
State Board of Elections my signature that is on file with the
Secretary of State and understand that such signature will be
used by my local election authority on this online voter
registration application for admission as an elector as if I
had signed this form personally.".
(g) Immediately upon receiving a completed online voter
registration application, the online voter registration system
shall send, by electronic mail, a confirmation notice that the

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application has been received. Within 48 hours of receiving
such an application, the online voter registration system
shall send by electronic mail, a notice informing the
applicant of whether the following information has been
matched with the Secretary of State database:
(1) that the applicant has an authentic Illinois
driver's license or State identification card issued by
the Secretary of State and that the driver's license or
State identification number provided by the applicant
matches the driver's license or State identification card
number for that person on file with the Secretary of
State;
(2) that the date of issuance of the Illinois driver's
license or State identification card listed on the
application matches the date of issuance of that card for
that person on file with the Secretary of State;
(3) that the date of birth provided by the applicant
matches the date of birth for that person on file with the
Secretary of State; and
(4) that the last 4 digits of the applicant's social
security number matches the last 4 digits for that person
on file with the Secretary of State.
(h) If the information provided by the applicant matches
the information on the Secretary of State's databases for any
driver's license and State identification card holder and is
matched as provided in subsection (g) above, the online voter

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registration system shall:
(1) retrieve from the Secretary of State's database
files an electronic copy of the applicant's signature from
his or her Illinois driver's license or State
identification card and such signature shall be deemed to
be the applicant's signature on his or her online voter
registration application;
(2) within 2 days of receiving the application,
forward to the county clerk or board of election
commissioners having jurisdiction over the applicant's
voter registration: (i) the application, along with the
applicant's relevant data that can be directly loaded into
the jurisdiction's voter registration system and (ii) a
copy of the applicant's electronic signature and a
certification from the State Board of Elections that the
applicant's driver's license or State identification card
number, driver's license or State identification card date
of issuance, and date of birth and social security
information have been successfully matched.
(i) Upon receipt of the online voter registration
application, the county clerk or board of election
commissioners having jurisdiction over the applicant's voter
registration shall promptly search its voter registration
database to determine whether the applicant is already
registered to vote at the address on the application and
whether the new registration would create a duplicate

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registration. If the applicant is already registered to vote
at the address on the application, the clerk or board, as the
case may be, shall send the applicant by first class mail, and
electronic mail if the applicant has provided an electronic
mail address on the original voter registration form for that
address, a disposition notice as otherwise required by law
informing the applicant that he or she is already registered
to vote at such address. If the applicant is not already
registered to vote at the address on the application and the
applicant is otherwise eligible to register to vote, the clerk
or board, as the case may be, shall:
(1) enter the name and address of the applicant on the
list of registered voters in the jurisdiction; and
(2) send by mail, and electronic mail if the applicant
has provided an electronic mail address on the voter
registration form, a disposition notice to the applicant
as otherwise provided by law setting forth the applicant's
name and address as it appears on the application and
stating that the person is registered to vote.
(j) An electronic signature of the person submitting a
duplicate registration application or a change of address form
that is retrieved and imported from the Secretary of State's
driver's license or State identification card database as
provided herein may, in the discretion of the clerk or board,
be substituted for and replace any existing signature for that
individual in the voter registration database of the county

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clerk or board of election commissioners.
(k) Any new registration or change of address submitted
electronically as provided in this Section shall become
effective as of the date it is received by the county clerk or
board of election commissioners having jurisdiction over said
registration. Disposition notices prescribed in this Section
shall be sent within 5 business days of receipt of the online
application or change of address by the county clerk or board
of election commissioners.
(l) All provisions of this Code governing voter
registration and applicable thereto and not inconsistent with
this Section shall apply to online voter registration under
this Section. All applications submitted on a website
maintained by the State Board of Elections or through another
electronic method approved by the State Board of Elections
using an application programming interface shall be deemed
timely filed if they are submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on
the 16th day prior to an election. After the registration
period for an upcoming election has ended and until the 2nd day
following such election, the web page containing the online
voter registration form on the State Board of Elections
website and the home page of another electronic method
approved by the State Board of Elections using an application
programming interface shall inform users of the procedure for
grace period voting.
(m) The State Board of Elections shall maintain a list of

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the name, street address, e-mail address, and likely precinct,
ward, township, and district numbers, as the case may be, of
people who apply to vote online through the voter registration
system or through another electronic method approved by the
State Board of Elections using an application programming
interface, and those names and that information shall be
stored in an electronic format on its website, arranged by
county and accessible to State and local political committees.
(n) The Illinois State Board of Elections shall develop or
cause to be developed an online voter registration system able
to be accessed by at least the top two most used mobile
electronic operating systems by January 1, 2016.
(o) (Blank).
(p) Each State department that maintains an Internet
website must include a hypertext link to the homepage website
maintained and operated pursuant to this Section 1A-16.5. For
the purposes of this Section, "State department" means the
departments of State Government listed in Section 5-15 of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois (General Provisions and
Departments of State Government).
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14;
98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 99-522, eff. 6-30-16.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.