Today, Governor Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2090 into law, which requires county jails and election authorities to collaborate in creating a process that ensures pre-trial detainees in jail can cast their ballot during elections. The law also assures that eligible citizens leaving Illinois prisons and jails receive a voter registration application and information about their voting rights being restored.

The following can be attributed to Khadine Bennett, Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois:

“Nothing is more fundamental to participating in our society than voting and it’s shown to reduce recidivism. This new law fixes gaps in Illinois voting practice, gaps that left behind hundreds of thousands of eligible voters detained in jail pre-trial and released from prisons and jails.  

Thank you to Governor Pritzker for signing this bill into law and making it possible for thousands of returning citizens to know about their right to vote upon release. We will be working across the State of Illinois to implement this new law in all parts of the state.”