(1) The election commissioner or county clerk shall appoint two or more registered voters to the absentee ballots counting board. One registered voter shall be appointed from the political party casting the highest number of votes for Governor or for President of the United States in the county in the immediately preceding general election, and one registered voter shall be appointed from the political party casting the next highest vote for such office. The election commissioner or county clerk may appoint additional registered voters to serve on the absentee ballots counting board and may appoint registered voters to serve in case of a vacancy among any of the members of the absentee ballots counting board. Such appointees shall be balanced between the political parties and may include registered voters unaffiliated with any political party. The absentee ballots counting board shall meet as directed by the election commissioner or county clerk.
(2) The absentee ballots counting board shall place all absentee voter identification envelopes in order for counting. The absentee ballots counting board shall compare the voter's name on the identification envelope with the name on the absentee voter's book or with the application for an absentee ballot. If the name on the identification envelope appears to be that of a registered voter to whom an absentee ballot has been issued, the identification envelope shall be accepted for opening without further questioning. In counties using optical scanners, the absentee ballots counting board may, on the day before the election, check the names on the identification envelopes received and open all identification envelopes which are approved, and if the signature of the election commissioner or county clerk or his or her employee is on the ballot, the ballot shall be unfolded, flattened for purposes of using the optical scanner, and placed in a sealed container for counting on election day. In other counties, the absentee ballots counting board shall, on election day, check the names on the identification envelopes received on election day and open all identification envelopes which have been received and approved on or before election day, and if the signature of the election commissioner or county clerk or his or her employee is on the ballot, the ballot shall be placed without unfolding into a ballot box.
(3) The absentee ballots counting board shall reject an absentee voter identification envelope if the signature of the registered voter is missing or if the name and address on the identification envelope do not match the registered voter's voter registration. If an identification envelope is rejected, the absentee ballots counting board shall not open the identification envelope. If the ballot is rejected after opening the identification envelope because of the absence of the official signature on the ballot, the ballot shall be marked Rejected, no official signature. The absentee ballots counting board shall place the rejected identification envelopes and ballots in a container labeled Rejected Absentee Ballots and seal it.
(4) As soon as all ballots have been placed in the ballot box and rejected identification envelopes or ballots have been sealed in the Rejected Absentee Ballots container, the absentee ballots counting board shall count the absentee ballots the same as all other ballots and an unofficial count shall be released to the election commissioner or county clerk. No results shall be released prior to the closing of the polls on election day.