SB 593

Absentee voting in certain facilities

Under current law, under certain circumstances, a municipal clerk must

dispatch special voting deputies to a residential care facility or qualified retirement

home so that the occupants of the facility or home may cast an absentee ballot in

person with the special voting deputies rather than vote in person at the appropriate

polling place or request and complete an absentee ballot by mail. Under current law,

a retirement home is a facility occupied as a primary residence by 10 or more

unrelated individuals. A qualified retirement home is a retirement home that has

a significant number of occupants who lack adequate transportation to the polling

place, need assistance in voting, are aged 60 or over, or are indefinitely confined.

Under current law, the special voting deputies must arrange with the

administrator of the residential care facility or qualified retirement home one or

more convenient times to visit the facility or home. The administrator of the facility

or home may, upon the request of a relative of an occupant of the facility or home,

notify the relative of the time or times when special voting deputies will conduct

absentee voting at the facility or home.

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