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State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said he was notified by
an immigrant rights advocate that when noncitizens apply for
state aid, the Illinois Department of Human Services is sending
packets to them that include voter registration forms already
addressed to local county clerks’ offices.
“This is essentially entrapment,” said McClure. “You’ve got all
the forms and then you send it back, because if you don’t fill
this out you are not going to get your benefits. That’s a real
problem.”
McClure said making the situation worse, recent legislation
signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker created a new system of
drivers’ licenses, where noncitizens, even those who are here
illegally, are given the same standard licenses as citizens.
Previously, the licenses were marked if they were issued to
noncitizens.
"If we receive these applications, and the person has a driver’s
license number, and checks the box that says they are a citizen,
whether intentionally or not, we have no way to verify that they
are indeed a citizen of the United States,” said Sangamon County
Clerk Don Gray. “This opens the process up to serious potential
for fraud.”
Illinois mistakenly registered more than 500 non-citizens to
vote when it rolled out a new automatic voter registration in
2018. The Illinois Secretary of State’s office at the time
called it a computer error.
McClure said he is filing legislation that will require the
Illinois Secretary of State’s office to create a database for
all noncitizens that have Illinois drivers’ licenses, so that
county clerks can verify that voting applicants are indeed
citizens who are legally authorized to vote.
“Free, fair and honest elections are essential for our
government to properly function,” said McClure. “We have to make
sure that people, who are not legally allowed to vote, are not
casting ballots.” |
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