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AQUINO BILL EXPANDING VOTING ACCESS TO INDIVIDUALS IN JAIL PASSES SENATE

04/10/2019

SPRINGFIELD – A bill sponsored by State Senator Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) designed to provide better voting opportunities to incarcerated individuals passed the Illinois Senate today.

“Voting rights don’t apply to people only when it’s convenient,” said Aquino. “There are about 20,000 people detained before trial who are eligible to vote, and it is the responsibility of the election authority to make sure that they do.”

Under the Illinois Election Code, individuals in jail who are awaiting trial and have not been convicted of a crime are still eligible to vote. Senate Bill 2090 would require each election authority in a county to work with the county jail to provide an opportunity to vote by mail for those individuals.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton introduced an identical bill when she was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. Aquino was the chief sponsor in the Senate.

Aquino’s legislation also requires election authorities to proactively reach out to individuals who have completed their sentence with information about their restored voting rights.

“Outreach, I believe, is the single most important thing about this bill,” said Aquino. “Many people who served their sentence are not aware that they can vote again. They shouldn’t be disenfranchised due to a past mistake and the negligence of election authorities.”

Senate Bill 2090 now heads to the House for consideration.