Trump’s election integrity order expected to impact Illinois
[March 27, 2025]
By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Opinions differ at the Illinois Statehouse about
the motive behind President Donald Trump’s executive order on election
integrity.
Trump’s order signed Tuesday said the patchwork of voting methods across
the country can lead to basic chain-of-custody problems. The order was
also critical of mass voting by mail.
“Further, while countries like Denmark and Sweden sensibly limit mail-in
voting to those unable to vote in person and do not count late-arriving
votes regardless of the date of postmark, many American elections now
feature mass voting by mail, with many officials accepting ballots
without postmarks or those received well after Election Day,” the order
said.
The U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security are
tasked with evaluating the patchwork of voting systems and voting
processes across the country and to require citizenship for voter
registration applications.
State Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, who chairs the House Elections and
Ethics Committee, called Trump’s move an attack on Illinois’ elections.
“This new effort comes after years of promoting bizarre, false election
conspiracy theories, eroding trust in our democracy and its civic
institutions,” West said in a statement. “Trump is attempting to hand
down illegal orders to interfere with our electoral process and
potentially disenfranchise millions of people.”
Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, see’s Trump’s order differently.
[to top of second column]
|
President Donald Trump signs an executive order.
The White House | YouTube
“What the president is attempting to do is … ensure the integrity of
our elections, to make sure that, again, citizens are the ones
casting ballots, that ballots are counted appropriately,” Windhorst
told The Center Square.
Another part of Trump’s order says there is not adequate enforcement
of federal election requirements that prohibit states from counting
ballots received after election day. He tasked the U.S. Attorney
General to enforce the provision.
Illinois counts mail-in ballots up to two weeks after election day.
The Illinois State Board of Elections said they are reviewing the
president’s order, but had no further comment.
Windhorst said the courts may have to correct Illinois.
“There have been lawsuits filed because our U.S. Constitution says
that we have an election day and by having ballots counted after
election day does that violate the U.S. Constitution,” Windhorst
said.
Trump’s order also tasks the U.S. Attorney General to prosecute
election crimes.
West said he will continue to work and “ensure our votes are free
from illegal interference by an outside actor – including the
president.” |
