Pritzker sounds alarm on DOJ voter data request; conservatives call
response paranoid
[October 18, 2025]
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – The debate over Illinois’ voter rolls intensifies
after the U.S. Department of Justice requests full voter data to enforce
federal law, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker raising alarm and conservatives
calling his response paranoid.
In a video shared on social media, Pritzker claimed the DOJ’s request
signals something more sinister.
“What they seem to be looking for, remember back to the 2020 elections,
is voter fraud, which lots of organizations have been looking for for a
long time. There’s very little voter fraud going on, very little,” said
Pritzker. “They’re calling for all these databases so they can look
through them, and yet they won’t tell you when they’ll come up with any
conclusions about whatever it is they’re looking for.”
Pritzker went further, suggesting the DOJ’s request could be a pretext
for election interference, warning it might lead to voter intimidation
or even armed individuals seizing ballot boxes during the next election.
“You’re going to have soldiers or people dressed as soldiers at polling
places, saying they’re protecting your voting rights,’” Pritzker said.
“And then there’s the possibility they’ll do what Michael Flynn urged in
2020, seize ballot boxes so the military can conduct a so-called fair
count.”
Illinois Conservative Union Chairman and election integrity advocate
Carol Davis called the governor’s comments “a delusional overreaction”
“Pritzker’s recent statement regarding the DOJ request once again proves
he is living in his own scary little world of delusion and paranoia,”
Davis said. “Tragically, many on the left are showing increasing signs
of mental instability.”
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The exterior of the Illinois State Board of Elections office is
shown in Springfield. Photo: Greg Bishop / The Center Square
Davis said the DOJ’s request is standard oversight under federal
law, not political intimidation
“The DOJ made it very clear their due diligence is to ensure states
comply with the National Voter Registration Act,” Davis told The
Center Square. “Governor Pritzker, take a deep breath and calm down.
What you’re seeing are responsible leaders fulfilling their oaths of
office.”
Recently, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security
Advisor Stephen Miller also criticized Pritzker, asserting, on
social media, that the governor refused the DOJ’s request to remove
ineligible voters, including illegal aliens, from Illinois’ voter
rolls.
Pritzker maintains his administration is protecting voter privacy
and election integrity.
“Put all the things happening right now together, the fight over
whether the 2020 election was stolen, the January 6th riot, the
pardons, and ask yourself: does what I just said seem completely
ridiculous?” Pritzker asked. “With Trump as president, Stephen
Miller in the White House, and the same advisers operating at the
edges of the law, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.”
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