Randolph County Clerk Melanie Johnson on Sept. 18 issued the following statement concerning the recent letter sent from the secretary of state’s office about voting by mail:
Over the past few days, many Randolph County voters have received a letter from Secretary of State Jesse White’s office alerting them that they have not applied for a vote by mail ballot. This letter also instructs voters to contact our office to complete their application.
The letters are mandated in SB 1863, the election bill passed by the Illinois legislature in May as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It requires election authorities to send a vote by mail application to every voter who has voted in any of the past three elections.
The law also stipulates that the secretary of state shall send, by Sept. 15, 2020, a notice to any voter in Illinois who received a vote by mail application, but according to the State Board of Elections records, has not yet applied for a mail ballot.
For more information, please see this week’s print edition.