Absentee voting in certain residential care facilities and retirement homes and court determinations of incompetency and ineligibility to vote

This bill requires the administrator, or the administrator's designee, to provide notice by email of the dates and times when the deputies will be visiting the residential care facility or qualified retirement home to each individual designated as a contact by the occupant who intends to vote by absentee ballot with the special voting deputies.

Determinations of incompetency Under current law, no person who is incapable of understanding the objective of the elective process or who is under a guardianship may vote unless a court has determined that the person is competent to vote. Current law also allows any voter in a municipality to petition a circuit court to determine whether a person residing in the municipality is incapable of understanding the objective of the elective process. If the court determines that the person is incapable of such understanding, the person is not eligible to register to vote or to vote. Current law requires the clerk of the circuit court to communicate the court's determinations, in writing, to the election officials who are responsible for determining challenges to registration and voting that may be brought against the person.

This bill requires the circuit court to notify the Elections Commission, by email, of the court's determination regarding incompetency and ineligibility to vote. Under the bill, when the commission receives a determination of incompetency and ineligibility to vote, the commission must, within two business days, change the status of the voter subject to the determination to inactive on the official voter registration list, note on the list that the voter is ineligible to vote, and notify the voter and the voter's municipal clerk of the voter's change in status. The bill also provides that if a court reviews a determination of incompetency and ineligibility to vote and restores the voter's right to vote, upon receipt of that determination by email, the commission must, within two business days, notify the voter that the voter is eligible to vote and that the voter is required to complete a new registration to vote if the voter intends to vote. Under the bill, the clerk must examine the registration list before issuing a ballot to any potential voter.

Finally, under current law, an individual who votes at an election but who does not have the necessary qualifications to vote is guilty of a Class I felony. Under the bill, the penalty does not apply to an individual who has been determined ineligible to vote due to incompetency, but the individual's vote is excluded from the final tally for that election.