SB 1096 Summary

• Redefines "mailed" in election law to include delivery by United States Postal Service or any commercial carrier, courier, or messenger service approved by the Secretary of State, effective October 1, 2019.

• Allows applicants applying for absentee ballots due to unforeseen illness, disability, or hospitalization within six days of an election to designate a person to deliver the ballot, with specific requirements for documenting the illness/disability and obtaining the designee's signed consent.

• Clarifies that "immediate family" in voting assistance provisions has the same meaning as defined in section 9-140b, and specifies that persons assisting electors cannot be their employer, employer's agent, union officer/agent, or candidates for office unless the elector is an immediate family member.

• Makes voter intimidation, ballot suppression, vote miscounting, and false election result announcements class C felonies; previously these offenses carried varying penalties.

• All amendments become effective October 1, 2019.