On June 24, 2020, Julie Pryde, Director of Champaign Urbana Public Health District, gave an update on COVID-19 and its local impacts. If you missed it, this meeting was recorded and posted on the League YouTube channel. You can find it at this link, along with previous presentations. 

WILL-TV's American Experience presents the two-part documentary on the efforts by women to get the vote in this county.  The Vote airs at 8 pm Monday and Tuesday, July 6 and 7. Patterns magazine notes, "The Vote delves deeply into . . . controversies that divided the nation in the early 20th century---gender, race, state's rights, and political power." The two-part series reminds us that the 19th Amendment was not a "simple turning point" for all women, or for our country, but rather part of a much larger effort for social and political justice that continues today. For details, see the lead article here.​

Join an online session on Tuesday, June 30, at 7 p.m. CDT to hear about important privacy and civil liberties issues that have been amplified by the global health pandemic, protest movement, and increasing police use of technology.

On the panel will be ACLU-IL Senior Staff Attorney, Rebecca Glenberg; ACLU-IL Board Member and Legal Advisor on Privacy and Technology, Peter H. Hanna; and technologist Harper Reed.  
 
More information from ACLU 's action link. 

​As the county gears up to extend registering and voting by mail to provide a safe, secure way to vote during the pandemic, charges of fraud are making people hesitate to use this option. And yet the facts show that these suspicions are baseless.
 
Fraudulent use of mailed ballots over the past two decades is statistically insignificant. According to a database on voter fraud compiled by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, of 250 million votes cast by mail nationally, only 143 involved fraud resulting in criminal conviction. This is 0.00006 percent of the total votes cast.
 
The data also shows that this fraud is practiced by individuals, not groups. In Oregon, for the period 2000-2019, only 14 cases of vote-by-mail fraud were found. In Colorado, from 2005 to 2018, there were only eight.
 
Another charge is that there is no assurance that the ballot mailed to a voter is filled out and returned by that person. But signatures are checked at the county clerk’s office, where staff also verify the voter’s information. Processing of mailed ballots takes place in the presence of a Republican and Democratic representative.
 
There is little evidence either that vote-by-mail advantages one political party. A recent study by Stanford’s Institute for Economic Policy Research concludes that both parties benefit from a modest increase in voter participation. Vote-by-mail makes sense for the coming general election. Voters should be assured that they can vote easily and safely from home, confident in the integrity of the process.
 
KAREN FRESCO
Urbana
 

"Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863.”  (Quote from  http://buyblackchambana.com/juneteenth/ website.) 

The group HV Neighborhood Transformation, most recently known for their protests in both Champaign and Urbana, has organized a Juneteenth Celebration with a peace walk starting at Western Bowl ending at Beardsley park stopping several times for 8 mins and 46 seconds to pay homage to George Floyd.  Upon arrival at Beardsley Park, there will be  events celebrating the  cultural and historical importance of Juneteenth. The peace walk begins at 4:00 pm on Friday, June 19.  Everyone is welcome. More information on the walk and events at:  http://buyblackchambana.com/juneteenth/. 

On Saturday, June 20, bring family and friends to Douglas Park for a Juneteenth celebration, including including a performance by Chicago-based Ayodele Drum & Dance. The event is sponsored by  Champaign Public Library Friends and the Champaign Park District. More information at the Facebook event or on the library site.

Today, the governor signed  the much-anticipated SB 1863 bill. This legislation has several expansions and provisions for voting and vote-by-mail, including a statewide public education program, sending of applications to previous voters, possible collection sites for postage-free return of mail-in ballots and more. It also makes the General Election date (November 3, 2020) a state holiday.  See our earlier post for more details. ​ Watch for more details on implementation of this legislation as they become available. 

(From the Illinois League of Women Voters summary.) 

​Significant strides in ensuring wide access to voting were made when SB 1863 passed both the House and Senate of the General Assembly. This bill now awaits the Governor’s signature in order to become law. Major provisions of the bill that apply to all election authorities include:

• Registered voters may apply for a ballot online as soon as the bill is signed into law;
• Expands vote-by-mail by automatically sending ballot applications, no later than August 1, 2020, to those who applied to vote in 2018, 2019, and March 2020 either by mail or voted in person at the polls.
• New registrants or change of address registrants will be allowed to apply for a mail-in ballot at time of registration;
• Mandates a statewide vote-by-mail public education program in cooperation with the Secretary of State office, State Board of Elections and local election authorities;
• Allows Election Authorities to establish a 3 member election judge panel to process (not tally) mail-in ballots as received. This 3 member election judge panel must be unanimous in its decision to reject a completed ballot;
• Election Authorities will accept mail-in ballots even if insufficient or no postage.
• Election Authorities may establish collection sites for postage free return of mail in ballots;
• Expansion of early voting hours will include weekends and holidays;
• Recruitment of election workers as young as 16, to avoid putting elderly workers at risk should there be a resurgence of COVID-19;
• Those receiving unemployment payments may be paid as an election judge without penalty;
• Election Day on November 3rd 2020 becomes a state holiday allowing schools to safely be used as polling places;
• Each polling site must comply with Illinois Department of Public Health safety and health practices;
• Curbside voting will be allowed as a safe alternative to in-person voting;
• Local Election Authorities will be able to apply for reimbursement for funds incurred by implementing the bill. 

The Illinois League says, "SB 1863 is a step in the right direction to increasing wide access to the polls. Importantly, the provisions of the bill are only for the November 2020 election. LWVIL advocacy must continue in the future to work towards the goal of a ballot being sent to every voter. LWVIL will work with local Leagues on partnering with their local election authorities and educating voters about the new law. Voter access is not a partisan issue, but a right that the League has championed for 100 years, and we are not done yet."