House Republicans aim to increase election integrity in Illinois
House Republicans introduced several initiatives this year aimed at increasing election integrity in Illinois. The bills targeted the State Board of Elections to set up and maintain a system to track all mail-in ballots, required voter ID cards or another form of ID to vote, and ensured deceased individuals are removed from voter rolls.
“I would love to be in a situation where the state of Illinois, for voting, is not relying on election judges and their signature match-up expertise to make sure that we have done all we can to reduce voter fraud,” stated State Representative Ryan Spain, ranking Republican on the House Ethics & Elections Committee. “What we should be doing is what most states in our country do. Red states, blue states, swing states and the vast majority of states have a simple fix and it is voter ID. You show an ID when you go to vote.”
Illinois voters are not required to show government ID when they show up to vote in person on Election Day, with an exception if the voter registered for the first time by mail and didn’t submit their driver’s license, state ID number, or the last four digits of their social security number. Those individuals must show an accepted form of ID with their home address on it.
The pandemic and the November 2020 election may have forever changed how some people vote in Illinois and across the country. The popularity of voting by mail is expected to continue to grow in the future, which makes strengthening its overall system critically important.
Instances of someone impersonating a deceased person and voting in their name are rare, but nonetheless it is important to keep voter rolls updated. This is one part of the integrity of the election process, and House Republicans in Illinois are determined to move these initiatives forward. Democrats continue to ignore these common-sense reforms and instead play politics with a process that should not be compromised in any way.