From State Senator Don DeWitte:
Legislation Proposed to Protect Election
 |
Following the discovery that the Pritzker Administration is sending voter registration forms to noncitizens, potentially leading to voter fraud, Senate Republicans are filing new legislation to protect the integrity of Illinois elections.
A Republican Senator from downstate Litchfield was notified by an immigrant rights advocate that when noncitizens apply for state aid, the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) is sending packets to them that include voter registration forms already addressed to local county clerks’ offices. The department includes an electronic version of the packet on its website, including a voting application, here: https://www.dhs.state.il.us/onenetlibrary/12/documents/forms/il444-2378b.pdf
Concerns arose that recipients may feel obligated to fill out all of the forms in their packet in their entirety, and that, because they may not be fluent in the same language as the forms are written, they may incorrectly apply to vote.
Making the situation worse, recent legislation signed into law by Governor Pritzker created a new system of driver’s licenses, where noncitizens, even those who are here illegally, are given the same licenses as citizens. Previously, the licenses were marked if they were issued to noncitizens. County clerks have no way to verify if someone is a citizen based on their driver’s license.
Legislation passed in 2017 authorizes DHS to use applications for aid in a dual role, where the information from the aid application can be used to register someone to vote.
However, in that situation, the law instructs DHS to verify that the individual is authorized to vote before the application reaches the county election officials.
That law does not authorize the use of paper applications to be sent straight from the applicant to county clerks, who, unlike DHS, are unable to verify citizenship status.
If noncitizens do file to vote, not only would they be jeopardizing the legitimacy of Illinois elections, but they would be committing a crime, which would ruin any chance they have to become citizens.
The new legislation, which will be filed before the end of January, will require the Illinois Secretary of State’s office to create a database for all noncitizens who have Illinois driver’s licenses, so that County Clerks can verify that voting applicants are indeed citizens who are legally authorized to vote.
