The 2022 election season could look quite a bit different under a new voting bill that passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly over the weekend.
Voters across the state would vote in the primaries on June 28 instead of mid-March, as is the standard date. Other states have also been pushing for a delayed primary date next year due to delays in processing U.S. Census data from last fall. Early voting would open on May 19 if Governor J.B. Pritzker signs the bill. Candidates would be able to circulate petitions on January 13 and would need to have them turned in by March 14. The general election date of November 8 would also be designated as a state holiday, as it was last year.
Other provisions in the bill include a permanent vote-by-mail registration process, tighter election security measures including cyber-security scans and risk protection software, and a process where county jail inmates who have not been convicted of a crime could be allowed to cast a ballot. The latter provision is currently only available in Cook County.
