Chapter 3 — Registering To Vote
E. Documentation Needed To Register To Vote, continued.
5. Challenge to Registration Address.
If there is a challenge to the address of the person registering to vote AND that challenge is sustained by a majority of Election Judges, then there are three methods of continuing registration:
5a. Affidavit & Additional ID
The person registering to vote shall fill out an affidavit, THEN provide a second piece of identification with the voter's current address.
Since the voter registering has already shown proof of the voter's current address and is only being asked to confirm that address, the voter registering can use their Driver's License, State ID, or other identification with long expiration dates to establish their identity, if it shows the same address as the other IDs. sOtherwise, the voter registering will have to produce a third ID with the current address.
Note: No matter what choice of additional ID is produced only one ID can be an envelope addressed to the person registering and that envelope must be postmarked within 30 (thirty) days of Election Day.
5b. Witness & Oath
If the person registering to vote is accompanied by a person known to the Election Judge, the person known to the Election Judge can be witness to the person registering to vote.
Upon taking an oath administered by the Election Judge, the person registering to vote will not have to sign an affidavit or show additional ID.
5c. Vote a Provisional Ballot
As always, voting a provisional ballot is a voter's last choice.
What the Poll Watcher Is Looking For.
See: Chapter 10G, Voting a Provisional Ballot.
Address Challenges to Homeless or Unhoused Persons Registering to Vote
The first option of signing an affidavit is not available to the homeless or unhoused persons registering to vote because the affidavit asks that the person registering to vote to affirm their residency and not their mailing address.
The homeless and unhoused have a different address criteria. They only have to show that they have a mailing address within the precinct or district and that they are able to receive mail at that address.
See: Chapter 3E4, Homeless or Unhoused Votersopens in a new browser tab.
If you notice a patter of challenges or sustained challenges against the homeless or unhoused, note it and report it.
6. Providing A Social Security Number.
Persons registering to vote and voter are not required to provide their Social Security number, partial Social Security number, or Social Security card.
Persons registering to vote cannot be refused to register to vote for not providing their Social Security number, partial Social Security number, or Social Security card.
Voters cannot be refused a ballot for not providing their Social Security number, partial Social Security number, or Social Security card.
Registrants and voters can voluntarily offer their Social Security number, partial Social Security number, or Social Security card.
Election Judges or Registrars cannot be challenged for asking for a Social Security number, partial Social Security number, or Social Security card.
"I'm not challenging you asking for a Social Security number, but the voter should know..."
What the Poll Watcher Is Looking For.
Voter registration forms, on paper and online, contain the following notice:
In Grace Period registration, the registration questions are read to the registrant, the caution is not included.
If the poll watcher chooses to challenge asking for the Social Security number, the poll watcher must state two points in the challenge:
- 1. Registrant or voter can voluntarily provide their Social Security number.
- 2. The poll watcher is not challenging the Election Judge because the Election Judge has a right to ask.
7. Temporary Visitor Driver's License (TVDL).
The Temporary Visitor Drive's License is an ID for a non-citizen with legal, temporary entry into the country and who is temporarily residing in Illinois.
Although it is issued by the state, is not an acceptable ID for voting.
A poll watcher can recognize a TVDL by its distinctive purple header.
What the Poll Watcher Should Know.
Legislation was passed in 2023 to no longer issue the TVDL.
TVDL should be phased out by the 2028 election cycle.
TVDL Example.
8. New Construction.
A problem which is sometimes, but rarely, seen is when an address cannot be found in the voter registration system because it is new construction and the records have not been updated.
It is not the fault of the voter or of the election authority, it is simply an oversight.
The voter can vote a provisional ballot. The voter will have to provide the same information and produce the same documentation as a regular voter registration, but all the registration information will be recorded on the provisional ballot envelope to be updated by the election authority after the election.
The voter should be advised to provide the election authority (i.e., County Clerk or Board of Election Commissioners) the documentation supporting their new address; such as, but not limited to, property sales document, the first page of the mortgage documents, and/or the first page of the property lease.