Voter Registration Legislation Change Considered

There are about 2 million unregistered voters in Illinois, in spite of the federal “Motor Voter” law that permits citizens to register to vote where we get our driver’s license, in addition to other agencies. This is possible because of the required verification of identity and residency needed for such facilities to function. In fact, the information needed to get a driver’s license is more stringent than what is needed for voter registration.

Part of the problem is that, since voting needs to be tied to residency, voter registration must be changed along with the many other things we have to attend to when someone moves, an easy detail to miss.

SB-250 is aimed at addressing that problem while increasing voter registration accuracy. Based off of laws enacted in Oregon and California, this bill would make voter registration automatic for those eligible to vote, although the individual could still out. The data collected for identity and residency verification at these agencies would automatically be sent to voter registration records and the individual would be notified of their new voting registration information. Instructions on what a person needed to do to opt out of becoming a registered voter would be included in that notification. Separating citizens from non-citizens would partly occur automatically if the proof of identity used also verified one’s citizen status (ie. green card or birth certificate). Additional information would be requested if other forms of identification were used. This bill is scheduled to pass the Illinois Senate on May 13 when it will be sent to the Illinois House.

This modernization of system is proposed to save money, and very possibility be more accurate, because it would combine two processes into one. It is known that electronic registration is much less expensive than managing paperwork. Cook County Clerk David Orr says the state already has technology in place

More information will be provided to the public at the Schaumburg Township library, Saturday May 14 from 10:00 – 11:30 (130 S. Roselle rd, Schaumburg). Abe Scarr, a Co-Coordinator of the Just Democracy Coalition will be providing information about this bill.

The LWVIL is not yet advocated for this bill. As the final wording of the bill is still being crafted, LWVIL is checking to ensure that the process of record transmission is timely and accurate.