This policy update highlights key developments related to election administration and voting access, with a focus on recent changes to vote-by-mail processes and ongoing efforts to expand language access in elections. The update below outlines federal and state policy shifts, legal challenges, and proposed legislation shaping how ballots are cast, counted, and accessed, along with the broader implications for equitable participation, particularly for South Asian and language minority voters.
Election Administration Policy & Voting Access
- Historical Trends
Though mail-in voting has been available in the United States for decades, the number of mail-in ballots sharply increased with COVID social-distancing measures in 2020. Since then, mail-in voting has only continued to grow. 192,000 mail-in ballots were cast in the 2024 primary presidential election in Illinois, and about one in three Americans voted by mail in 2024.
Currently Illinois (like many other states) allows no-excuse absentee/mail-in voting. This means that any registered voter can request a mail-in ballot without providing a reason, and that ballots will be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and received within two weeks of it. Moreover, Illinois voters can check the status of their ballot once they submit it via their county clerk’s office, with many counties offering the service online.
Though vote by mail remains a secure, reliable and trusted method of voting, a new rule passed by the USPS on December 24th, 2026 could significantly impact elections.
In prior elections, mail-in ballots were postmarked on the day that they were received by the US Post Office, but under the new policy, they will be postmarked on the day that they are processed. This can take several days after a ballot is placed in the mail and received by USPS. Because ballots are only valid if they are postmarked by Election Day, these changes could render many ballots – especially those sent in on Election Day itself – invalid, and ineligible to be counted.
To avoid this scenario, election officials urge voters to return their ballots as early as possible or, within a week of Election Day, to physically bring ballots to their post office or a secure ballot drop-box, instead of dropping them into a mailbox. However, many leaders, including Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon, have expressed concerns about the potential impact on voter access and participation.
Despite the growing popularity of vote-by-mail, it has faced criticism from the Trump administration, which has called for ending mail-in ballots and raised concerns about potential fraud, while election officials and studies have found that instances of fraud are generally rare. In 2025, President Trump signed an executive order requiring voters to show proof of US citizenship when registering to vote, prohibiting states from counting mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day, mandating that the attorney general take action against states with mail ballot receipt grace periods, and more.
Furthermore, the Department of Justice has sued two dozen states for sensitive voter data, prompting debate about voter privacy and how such actions could affect voter participation.
As of March 2026, many of these provisions have been blocked or are facing ongoing legal challenges. At the same time, there has been increased federal activity related to absentee ballots, voter ID requirements, and other voting procedures. In this context, there is growing discussion around statewide legislation aimed at voter access and election processes. To this end, recent challenges, Illinois legislation, and related efforts are outlined below.
- Legal Battles
There has been an increase in challenges to mail-in voting nationwide, including in Illinois.
In May 2022, Illinois representative Mike Bost, joined by two Republican officials, sued the Illinois State Board of Elections around Illinois mail-in voting laws. Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections alleged that the state’s mail-in ballot receipt deadlines (that allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted for up to fourteen days after) violated federal law by extending Election Day and diluting votes placed beforehand. It requested the Court to prohibit Illinois election officials from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.
Though an Illinois District Court dismissed the lawsuit in 2023, the plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In January of 2026, the Supreme Court held that as a candidate for office, Congressman Michael Bost has standing to challenge the rules that govern the counting of votes in his election, reviving the lawsuit. Similar litigation across states could reshape vote-by-mail rules, deadlines and processing procedures nationwide. If courts rule against Illinois current election policy, ballots arriving Election Day – even if mailed on time – may no longer be counted, raising questions about potential impacts on voter participation.
In July 2025, Illinois was asked to turn over its full voter rolls, including personal information such as voters’ full names, dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, and more. Illinois refused to turn over this information, and the DOJ filed a lawsuit against the Director of the Illinois Board of Elections in December (United States v. Matthews).
In response, multiple labor and voting rights groups in Illinois (including Common Cause, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, ACLU Illinois, and Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights) have filed a motion to legally intervene. Community advocacy groups in Illinois continue to engage in efforts related to federal policies affecting voting and election processes.
- Recent Legislation
In response to recent federal actions and administrative considerations around election administration, the Illinois General Assembly has introduced several bills addressing voter access and election infrastructure.
Following federal involvement in election-related activities, including the potential for ICE presence, some states have introduced legislation addressing the presence and activities of federal agents near polling places.
One proposal, Illinois Senate Bill 2726, was introduced in October 2025 by Senator Julie A. Morrison (D). The bill’s stated purpose is to address voter intimidation at polling locations by restricting the presence of law enforcement and federal agents and prohibit actions that could intimidate or discourage voters.
Other legislation focuses on vote-by-mail administrations. Illinois House Bill 5114 aims to expedite the processing of mail-in ballots and reporting of election results. Currently, mail-in ballots in Illinois are counted after the polls close on Election Day. Currently, mail-in ballots in Illinois are only counted after the polls close on Election Day. This schedule can extend the time needed to process ballots and report election results. HB 5114 would modify the Election Code to allow the counting process to begin seven days before Election Day, while still prohibiting the release of results until after the polls close. Supporters of the bill note that it may affect the timing of vote counting as mail-in voting continues to increase.
Additional proposals relate to Election Day procedures, which can involve long lines and wait times.
Illinois Senate Bill 3511 would designate Election Days in even-numbered years as a state holiday and mandate that voters in line at closing time are still permitted to vote. The bill outlines procedures to manage Election Day operations and allow all eligible voters in line at closing to cast a ballot.
Some proposed legislation would impose new ID requirements on voters. Illinois Senate Bill 3373 would amend the Election Code and Secretary of State Act to require the Secretary of State to establish a secure database to verify U.S. citizenship for driver’s licenses and state IDs. Election officials would use this database to verify voter registration eligibility and could require additional proof of citizenship from applicants whose status is marked incomplete or unverified. The bill would require additional documentation, an appearance before the County Clerk, and establish a database. These provisions represent a change from Illinois’ current voter registration process.
While these proposals remain in the early stages of the legislative process, they are part of the broader discourse around election administration, and the role of state legislatures in setting election policies.
- Impact on South Asian Americans and Language Minority Voters
Changes to the USPS postage practice affects voters who rely on the postal service to cast their ballots, including disabled and elderly voters, overseas citizens, or voters experiencing transportation challenges, who live in rural areas or far from any post offices.
Illinois’ election system includes vote-by-mail and limited voter ID requirements, benefiting immigrant and language-minority voters by lowering structural barriers to voting. Language barriers can affect multiple steps of the voting process, including understanding voter registration forms, interpreting ballot questions and candidate information, and more.
Illinois offers in-language assistance for voting, as stipulated by federal protections such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as state laws including the IL Voting Rights Act of 2011. Whether assistance in a particular language is offered is determined by whether that community meets a specific population threshold within a given jurisdiction. Many language communities minority populations, including South Asian American voters with limited proficiency in English, sometimes use community or family support for ballot translation and other aspects of the voting process, including vote-by-mail/absentee voting.
Changes to election administration can affect access to voting systems. Federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, have implemented policies and guidance that influence how these systems operate for different immigrant communities.
Language Access & Equity in Elections
- Trends in Language Access Requirements
Illinois continues its fight to codify expanded language access infrastructure into its election code. Illinois voter protections are currently limited to those stipulated by the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965, along with provisions in its 2011 state Voting Rights Act.
However, an updated, state-level VRA is imperative and overdue, as voting rights face mounting attacks nationwide and federal protections continue to erode. Illinois’ current VRA framework lacks provisions that are common to other, stronger state-level VRAs, including state-level language access requirements for local election authorities to provide language assistance (like translated ballots, materials, bilingual poll workers, and interpretation) where demographic thresholds for Limited English Proficient (LEP) voters are met.
Nevertheless, the fight towards codifying and expanding language access requirements has shown growing momentum in policy and advocacy.
At the federal level, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) unanimously approved its report examining language access for LEP voters. After a yearlong investigation led by Commissioner Glenn Magpantay examining the impact that language barriers pose to accessing essential government services and healthcare, the report will advise the nation’s leaders on how language access is currently provided, best practices for strengthening language access services, and where gaps remain; however, the scope of its implementation remains to be determined.
In Illinois, as of February 2026 one language access bill remains pending in the legislature, but one more was recently introduced.
- SB3170 – Executive Summary
On February 2nd, 2026, SB3170 – the Voting Rights Act of 2026 – was introduced in the Illinois Senate. It was filed with the State Secretary by Democratic State Senator Graciela Guzmán, and includes Democratic State Senator Ram Villivallam as the chief co-sponsor, and Democratic State Senators Emil Jones, III and Mark L. Walker as co-sponsors.
If passed, Illinois Senate Bill 3170 would build upon the 2011 Illinois Voting Rights Act by amending the state’s Election Code. It would update and strengthen the state’s voting right framework by enacting the Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2026 and the Language Access in Elections Article.
The latter would allow Illinois to set state-specific thresholds for language assistance at the polls, potentially capturing more languages relevant to the state’s demographics. This would potentially broaden the number of languages which would be eligible for assistance, expanding coverage to LEP voters who were previously excluded.
- Impact on South Asians and Language Minority Voters
Federal requirements often leave out many LEP South Asian language groups in many parts of Illinois, simply because their population numbers do not meet the threshold required for coverage. Moreover, the implementation of these protections are not legally mandated; voters in many jurisdictions were inadequately protected in previous elections.
SAAPRI’s research shows that “language barriers continue to shape civic participation for South Asian voters in Chicago.” Without these resources and protections, many (LEP) South Asian voters experience language barriers that prevent them from exercising their rights as voters.
- Legislative Updates – What’s New? What’s Different?
HB3047, covered in SAAPRI’s January Democracy and Civic Action Policy Update, is a very similar bill that was introduced in the House on February 6th, 2025. In March of 2025, it was re-referred to the Illinois House Rules Committee.
The House Rules Committee must decide on whether to advance HB3047 to the full House for a vote; if approved, it would move to the Senate for consideration. Today, the bill continues to await further movement, with no new actions or votes reported since.
Though they aren’t explicitly stated as companion bills, HB3047 and SB3170 share nearly identical titles and policy goals, designed to amend the Illinois Election Code to create a state-level Voting Rights Act in Illinois, and to codify, at the state level, language access requirements for elections. Both establish and clarify definitions for protected classes, as well as mechanisms for enforcement.
The bills differ in a few notable ways. HB 3047, introduced in the House, had a stated effective date of July 2025, whereas SB 3170, introduced in the Senate, is intended to take effect in July 2026. Both bills create a Voter Outreach and Education fund, and outline remedies and enforcement processes, including court-imposed fines for non-adherence.
The key difference between the two lies in how the State Finance Act is amended; overall, the language is slightly more specific in HB3047. Whereas HB3047 specifies the fund’s purpose for voter education, SB3170 ostensibly establishes the fund as a conforming addition, and does not include as detailed language on revenue sources, how interest is handled or specific fund uses.
Introducing similar bills in consecutive sessions is a common, strategic move which allows the legislature to maintain momentum, refine language, and move legislation through both chambers efficiently. Together, these bills indicate that the fight for language access continues onward in the Illinois legislature.