Senate Bill 861 Summary

• Appropriates $10,987,295 in federal CARES Act funds and $2,120,497 in state matching funds to the State Board of Elections for 2020 elections, including personal protective equipment, poll worker incentives, and absentee ballot postage.

• Eliminates residency requirements for poll workers, allows 16-year-old students to serve as poll workers, and permits competitive pay rates set by county boards of elections.

• Establishes online portal for absentee ballot requests and allows absentee ballot request forms to be submitted by mail, email, fax, or in person for 2020 elections.

• Reduces absentee ballot certification requirement from two witnesses or notary to one witness, and provides prepaid postage for voted absentee ballots.

• Suspends photo ID requirement for 2020 general election, extends voter registration deadline to Saturday before election for mail submissions, and designates election day 2020 as paid state holiday for state employees and public schools.