New law allows high school juniors to work on Election Day
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, November 09, 2007
Cook County Clerk David Orr’s voting rights legislation cleared its final hurdle on Friday when Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich signed Senate Bill 662 into law.
“I applaud the governor for signing this very important legislation, which not only benefits voters, but election judges as well,” Orr said. “It will also help my office on Election Day. This bill will help us recruit more teen judges and correct a serious flaw that has disenfranchised a large number of first-time voters.”
Orr’s package was included in an omnibus election bill which was passed overwhelmingly by both houses in August.
Under the new law, high school juniors will now be able to serve as election judges, beginning with the February 5, 2008 Presidential Primary Election. Currently, seniors in high schools can already serve as election judges.
The provision will expand Orr’s growing Teen Judge program. The Clerk’s office has already recruited more than 600 students to act as election judges for the primary. In suburban Cook County, nearly 12,000 election judges are needed to fill positions at 2,290 polling places.
“Recruiting students when they’re juniors means they can serve for more than one year,” said Orr, who started the Teen Judge program in 1999. “They’ll get the same training, pay and responsibilities as every other poll worker on Election Day and a terrific influence in hands on democracy.”
"Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher to serve as an election judge," Orr said.
The legislation also removes the requirement that voters who register by mail must vote in person the first time. Previously, any person who registered by mail had to vote in-person to verify their identity.
“As a result, voters who couldn’t return to their home precinct on Election Day were disenfranchised in large numbers,” Orr said. “College students, in particular, were affected by this measure.”
Now, anyone who registers by mail or through the Motor Voter form will be able to cast an absentee ballot, Orr said.
To learn more about the Teen Judge program or how to register to vote, visit the Clerk’s web site at voterinfonet.com.
We owe thanks to Senators Terry Link, James Meeks and Susan Garrett for their efforts on behalf of this bill. In the House, thanks are also due to Representatives Elaine Nekritz, Barbara Flynn Currie, William B. Black, Julie Hamos, LeShaun K. Ford, Timothy L. Schmitz, Jack D. Franks, John D’Amico, Sydney H. Mathias and John Fritchie for their support.