Republicans filed House Bill 5875 earlier this month and lined
up sponsors. The measure would make it a Class 4 felony for any
non-citizen that registers to vote or for anyone who knowingly
registers non-citizens to vote.
Asked about the effort Wednesday, Pritzker dismissed the
measure.
“That’s a stunt,” Pritzker said. “It is already illegal to vote
if you are a non-citizen, so you can’t register to vote without
ID and you can’t vote if you are a non-citizen.”
Pritzker said it’s an effort by Republicans to make it an issue
heading into the November election.
“But we have no signs that there are people that are voting or
have been over the last bunch of elections in Illinois who are
non-citizens,” he said.
State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, who is a chief co-sponsor
of the measure, acknowledged the Republicans’ measure likely
won’t advance anytime soon.
“In the state of Illinois, obviously it’s not going to go
anywhere, but we need to keep filing bills like this and as
Republicans we need to stand united against illegal immigration
and safeguard our elections and safeguard our communities,”
Niemerg told The Center Square.
Niemerg said his concerns are real with the millions of
non-citizens that have crossed the border under the Biden-Harris
administration.
“We all see where this is going,” he said. “We see the
[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] facilities being closed
throughout the state of Illinois. We know that this is a massive
Democrat voter registration drive and if we do not get ahead of
this, they will be allowed to vote. Illegal immigrants will be
allowed to vote.”
Early voting for the Nov. 5 general election begins Thursday. |
|