Springfield, IL. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Sangamon County has introduced a range of measures to enhance the security and accessibility of voting in upcoming elections, including the availability of permanent mail-in ballots, early voting options and the use of new hardened voting equipment.

Mail-in ballots

“Access has certainly increased since the COVID-19 pandemic era. Illinois has continued to put a real emphasis and focus on expansion of vote by mail,” said County Clerk Don Gray.

Voters in Sangamon County can now opt for permanent mail-in ballots, allowing them to automatically receive a ballot for every election without needing to reapply each time. Sangamon County has close to 22,000 thousand registrants on the list, according to Gray.

Video-monitored and tamper-proof ballot return drop boxes are available. Gray said mail-in ballots dropped in return boxes, up until when the polls close on Election Day, will be counted in election night returns. He added voters can also track the progress of their mail-in ballot.

Voters who opt to receive a mail-in ballot, but then choose to vote in person, are advised to surrender the mail-in ballot at the polling place. If the mail-in ballot is not surrendered, only a provisional ballot can be cast.

“It’s basically quarantining that ballot to make sure the ballot you didn’t have with you doesn’t come back to the election authority,” said Gray. The provisional ballot will be counted 14 days after the election, provided the mail-in ballot is not received.

Early voting

Sangamon County offers early voting options, allowing residents to cast their ballots beginning Thursday, September 26 and through Monday, November 4.

New equipment

Voters who prefer to cast their ballots in person will use new “hardened” voting equipment. Gray said the county invested in new modern tabulation equipment last year.

The new hardware does not connect to a network at the polling place. Gray said as much as the public yearns for instant results, having voting equipment connected to a network leaves it vulnerable to hackers.

Equipment that has no possible access via modems and other systems is the best, according to Gray. “You also want equipment that has dual-authentication and encryption programming, and we do all of that here.”

Ballot information transfer

If there’s not a connection, how does ballot information transfer from the polling place to the election authority? In Sangamon County, election judges watch the encrypted drives as they are removed from the voting machines and sealed into envelopes. They are then transported to the clerk’s office with both democratic and republican election judges escorting the drives.

Gray says accessing the encrypted information on the drives requires authentication codes, and he said they would know instantly if a “fake” was substituted.

When are votes counted?

Illinois law allows for mail-in ballots and early voting ballots to be processed, validated, qualified and tabulated when early voting begins. That provides the election authority 40 days to process every vote by mail that comes in in real time, according to Gray. There are teams of election judges just like at the polling places on Election Day to oversee the process, he said.

Poll watchers

Anyone can come and witness the voting process. “We encourage poll watchers from candidates, parties, integrity teams, and the public that are interested in holding the authority accountable. We want eyes and ears on the process, so we know it is done correctly.” Poll watchers do need to register and must be sanctioned by a candidate, a party or a qualified organization.

Signature verification vs. identification

Ever wonder why you don’t have to show identification at the polling place? Gray said Illinois statute calls for signature comparison to authenticate the voter. It would require a legislative change to require an ID. In terms of a signature comparison, he said it’s like a thumbprint with identifying things you can see that are important.

Despite that, he agrees that the manner in which IDs are common practice throughout all areas of how we conduct our lives in society and America, that it shouldn’t be any different in terms of using a photo identification vetted from a third party such as a Secretary of State or government to be used in the electoral process.

“It’s important to election officials that there is trust and confidence in the system, and if photo identification is going to bring trust and confidence into the system, election officials want that.”

Penalty for voting more than once

What if someone finds a way to vote twice? Gray stated it is a felony and the offender will be prosecuted, and the crime is punishable by a serious fine and time in jail.

Final thought

Gray had one final thought when talking to Capitol City Now about the upcoming election in November. “I want to encourage people to take part. Our democracy and our electoral process is so much stronger when more people engage in it.”