Plaintiff optimistic, DOJ interested in case against Illinois elections
board
[August 02, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A legal case is moving forward against the
Illinois State Board of Elections over allegations that the state failed
to maintain voter registration lists.
Former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, said the National Voter
Registration Act requires the state to perform list maintenance and
remove ineligible voters.
U.S. District Court Judge Sara L. Ellis dismissed two plaintiffs from
the case last week, but Ives’ group, Breakthrough Ideas, was not
dismissed and retains standing as a plaintiff along with Illinois Family
Action.
The groups filed suit with Judicial Watch attorneys in March of 2024.
Ives said it’s obvious that voter lists are not well-maintained in
Illinois.
“This creates extra costs people should not have to incur and it wastes
time as well, not to mention it invites fraud when you do not have
cleaned-up voter lists,” Ives told The Center Square.
Ives said the dead have voted in Illinois.
“I’ve pointed out a couple of dead people that I know casted votes, and
there was no adequate explanation for why that occurred. Because they
were not cleaned off the voter roll, it invited fraud one way or
another. In the state of Illinois, this becomes even more problematic
when you have permanent vote by mail,” Ives explained. “So you will have
ballots being sent to people that are possibly moved or dead, which
makes list maintenance even more important in the state of Illinois.”
Ives said 23 Illinois counties with a combined registration list of
980,089 voters reported removing only 100 registrations over a two-year
period.
[to top of second column]
|
The Illinois State Board of Elections office in Springfield -
BlueRoomStream
“That is an absurdly small number. There is no possible way those
counties were conducting a general program that makes an effort to
clean up the voter rolls, because only a hundred people died in 23
counties? Nobody believes that, so we know that they’re not doing
what they should do,” Ives said.
On July 8, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a 15-page statement
of interest in the case.
“When Illinois voters cast their ballots, they should be confident
that their vote is given its due weight, undiluted by ineligible
voters,” the statement began.
“It is critical to remove ineligible voters from the registration
rolls so that elections are conducted fairly, accurately, and
without fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon
of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a press release
regarding the statement of interest. “Under the NVRA, states have
the responsibility to conduct a robust program of list maintenance.
The Department of Justice will vigorously enforce those requirements
to ensure compliance.”
Ives said the case could have ramifications across the country. She
said it is possible that the DOJ will file its own lawsuit.
As for what’s next, Ives said parties were waiting for a written
ruling and it’s possible there could be a hearing later this month.
Ives said she suspects there could be a settlement in the case.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
