Illinois: Washington County disputes voter roll allegations | SE Illinois News

Washington County is “NOT in violation” of Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act, County Clerk Nancy Heseman told the SE Illinois News in an email recently. Heseman was responding to allegations by a Washington-based conservative group known as Judicial Watch, which sent a letter to Illinois accusing 24 counties of being in violation off election laws. The Illinois State Board of Elections has since filed a response to Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch president, saying the group was wrong. “Since the advent of the statewide voter database in Illinois, the SBE has continuously monitored voter registration levels in various jurisdictions,” the letter said. “You are either working from bad data, or are misunderstanding the data you have.”

Illinois: House expected to amend automatic voter registration bill to address elections board concerns | Illinois News Network

The state House is expected to amend a measure to automatically register people to vote when they interact with a state agency because of concerns shared by the Illinois State Board of Elections. State Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said his legislation, Senate Bill 1933, which has been in the works for a couple of years, shows bipartisan solutions are possible. “Democrats and Republicans can work together on an issue that oftentimes just goes right down the partisan hole of the legislature,” Manar said. The bill passed unanimously Friday.

Illinois: Voter Registration Database Hackers Home in on Galesburg Residents | Government Technology

Hackers viewed the information of more than 14,000 Galesburg residents in the state of Illinois’ voter registration database last year — more than any other Illinois location. Staff from the Illinois State Board of Elections provided an update to the Illinois Senate’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity on Thursday, revealing that in last summer’s cyberattack on the state’s database, Galesburg records had been viewed more than those from elsewhere in Illinois. Kyle Thomas, executive director of the board, and Kevin Turner, IT director for the board, said the board sent letters to 14,121 Galesburg residents last fall to notify them that some aspect of their information had been viewed. The hacked information included names, birth dates, addresses, driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of social security numbers.

Illinois: Senators advance bipartisan automatic voter registration bill | Chicago Tribune

Senate lawmakers again advanced legislation Friday that could automatically register many Illinoisans to vote, a victory for now for supporters who saw a similar effort last year vetoed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. Both Democrats and Republicans voted for the revamped proposal after sponsoring Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, incorporated changes pushed by Rauner — a rare attempt at compromise in a statehouse that’s been marked by years of dysfunction and partisan bickering. “That is without question going to lead to more people, more citizens of our state, regardless of where they live, regardless of party affiliation, participating in our electoral process,” Manar said. “And regardless who wins an election, we all win as citizens of the state of Illinois.”

Illinois: Election Hack Hit 80,000 Illinois Voters | NPR

The State Board of Elections says hackers gained access to the information of 80,000 Illinois voters — including their social security numbers and driver’s licenses. Elections officials say hackers had access to Illinois’ system for nearly three weeks before they were detected. They did get access to personal information, but officials say that’s about it. “I don’t know why they selected Illinois. Perhaps they tried other states and weren’t able to get in, they just happened to find the hole in our dike, so to speak,” said State Board of Elections IT Director Kevin Turner. Turner says they’ve added security measures to prevent a similar data breach.

Illinois: Elections Board Offers More Information on Hacking Incident | WSIU

The State Board of Elections says hackers gained access to the information of 80-thousand Illinois voters — including their social security numbers and driver’s licenses. Elections officials say hackers had access to Illinois’ system for nearly three weeks before they were detected. They did get access to personal information, but officials say that’s about it. Senator Michael Hastings from Tinley Park says the source of the breach matches an address the FBI has linked to Russian state security. He says future elections could be in danger. “If they know how to operate through our system, not only at our state level, but through our municipalities, there’s no telling what they can do.”

Illinois: Voting records hack didn’t target specific records, says IT staff | The Hill

The hackers that breached the Illinois election database do not appear to have been looking for anything in particular, IT professionals told the state Senate subcommittee on cybersecurity during a hearing Thursday. In August, federal intelligence agencies believe one of the same Russian hacking operations that struck the Democratic National Convention last summer breeched an online voter database in Illinois. A similar attack struck Arizona as well, the only other known state breach attributed to Russia in the 2016 election season. Reports emerged in August that hackers broke into the database by taking advantage of a common coding error in web forms that allows visitors to trick the database into running commands. That is known as an SQL injection, where SQL, pronounced “sequel,” is the type of database in use.

Illinois: Democrats guard district-drawing privileges | St. Louis Public Radio

It’s a sentiment shared by Democratic politicians and liberal pundits: disgust over how Republicans drew up favorable (for them) legislative districts after the 2010 Census. Redistricting is blamed for Congress’ relative lack of legislative production and the rise of stringent partisanship, and has prompted Democrats to fight back in several states. Even former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is getting in on it, leading the National Democratic Redistricting Committee to crusade against gerrymandering (aka the act of drawing legislative districts to benefit a political party). But one place that isn’t a battleground is Illinois, where Democrats could be seen as the bad guy, having drawn legislative boundaries in 2011 that put the GOP at a disadvantage. And that has some wondering whether Democrats’ broader push for “fair” maps is really about politics more than principle.

Illinois: Voter registration bill sent to governor’s desk | Tribune Star

A measure sponsored by state Rep. Clyde Kersey aimed at improving voter turnout cleared the Indiana House on Wednesday and now awaits the signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb. House members concurred with Senate changes to House Bill 1178. The measure is the only piece of election reform that appears likely to pass this session, according to Kersey, D-Terre Haute. House Bill 1178 requires Bureau of Motor Vehicles employees to ask each person conducting business at the local license branch if they would like to register to vote. If the answer is yes, the employee must provide the proper forms to register, then provide additional information on how to file the paperwork with the county voter registration office.

Illinois: Both sides agree legislative mapping should change, details on how and when are murky | Illinois News Network

Republicans and Democrats apparently agree. The way Illinois draws legislative district maps needs to change. But there’s disagreement on how and when to get it done. After every 10-year Census, the majority political party – Democrats for decades in Illinois – redraws the state’s legislative maps. Critics say that lets politicians pick their voters instead of voters picking their politicians. Even former President Barack Obama supports redistricting reform. A citizen-led effort to change the process failed to get in front of voters last year after an attorney with ties to the state’s leading Democrats, including Speaker Michael Madigan, successfully blocked the initiative just before a ballot-printing deadline.

Illinois: Automatic voter registration advanced again in state Senate | News-Gazette

Illinois would implement automatic voter registration in time for the 2018 general election under a bill approved by the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday. Similar legislation passed the Senate and House last year but was vetoed by Gov. Bruce Rauner. Under the measure, Illinois residents who interact at secretary of state driver service facilities or several other state-agency offices would be automatically registered to vote, unless they opt out. A new version of the legislation, SB 1933, was approved by the Senate committee, 10-3, along party lines. “There are two significant differences following the governor’s veto last year,” said Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, the sponsor of the measure.

Illinois: Automatic voter registration moves to Illinois Senate floor | Associated Press

A Senate committee approved a new automatic voter registration plan Wednesday, sending to the floor a proposal that advocates say is tighter than one Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner rejected last year. Democratic Sen. Andy Manar’s plan would allow residents to automatically register to vote when they visit certain state agencies. The Senate committee endorsed Manar’s measure Wednesday with a 10-3 vote. Rauner vetoed similar legislation last year, fearing it did not contain enough safeguards to prevent voter fraud. Rauner’s spokeswoman, Eleni Demertzis, wouldn’t say whether he supports the new plan. The updated version requires residents to confirm their eligibility before information is passed along to election officials or confidentially opt out instead. Its predecessor would have filed applications regardless, leaving election officials to follow up.

Illinois: GOP board members defend DuPage election commission merger process | Chicago Tribune

Republican members of the DuPage County Board defended the proposed merging of the county election commission with the office of county clerk’s office in the face of criticism leveled at last week’s board meeting. During public comments made at the Feb. 14 meeting, several people expressed concern over such issues as new election commissioner salaries and the merger provision that allows board Chairman Dan Cronin, a Republican, to nominate the Democrat serving on an expanded five-member election board.

Illinois: Biss introduces ranked-choice voting bill | The Daily Northwestern

A bill introduced by State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) earlier this month would set up a ranked-choice voting system for state elections. The bill, which Biss introduced Feb. 1, would amend the state election code to have ranked-choice voting in elections for the following positions: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, secretary of state, treasurer and General Assembly member. According to the bill, voting would proceed in rounds, with voters ranking candidates and the last-place candidate being eliminated after each round. When two candidates remain, the candidate with the higher vote total would win.

Illinois: DuPage Looking To Merge Election Commission With County Clerk | CBS Chicago

DuPage County officials said they are fine-tuning a plan to merge their election commission with the county clerk’s office. County clerks manage election operations in Lake and Will counties, and the Cook County suburbs, as well as many other counties in Illinois, but DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin said his merger proposal would preserve bipartisan oversight. “DuPage Election Commission is managed and governed by a bipartisan three-member board, and so I don’t want to simply discard that model. I want to improve that,” she said.

Illinois: Democrats critical of DuPage merger plan | Daily Herald

The DuPage Democratic Party chairman says he wants the county to revise its proposal to consolidate the election commission and county clerk’s office to make the move “truly bipartisan.” DuPage officials plan to ask state lawmakers to return election oversight power to the clerk’s office by merging it with the election commission. If approved, the commission would become a division of the clerk’s office. In addition, a five-member board of election commissioners would be created to set policy, hold meetings and receive public comment. The county clerk would serve as the panel’s chairman. Supporters say the plan keeps the election commission board, which currently has three seats and must have representatives from both major political parties. Republicans hold two of the three seats. But Robert Peickert, the DuPage Democratic Party chairman, says he’s concerned about increasing the election commission board to five members because county board Chairman Dan Cronin, a Republican, still would have the power to appoint four of them. “Bipartisan means you have the participation of the Democratic Party, which he has ignored,” Peickert said. “This is not bipartisan.”

Illinois: DuPage County proposes merger of clerk, Election Commission | mySuburbanLife

A long-gestating piece of DuPage County reform may finally see its day on the voting block in Springfield, as the County Board chairman, clerk and Election Commission have proposed the consolidation of the latter two offices. Chairman Dan Cronin formally introduced the idea during the Dec. 14 board meeting, saying the move could both realize savings for the county as well as keep and expand the appointed, bipartisan Board of Election Commissioners. “When it comes to elections, there’s something very sacred about it,” Cronin said. “We here in DuPage County want to make sure we have the faith and trust and confidence of the public.” The proposal, which will need to be approved by the state legislature, would expand the board from three to five members, including two representatives from each major political party, appointed by the County Board chairman, and the county clerk as chairman.

Illinois: With automatic voter registration bill dead, many eyes turn to GOP alternative | Illinois News Network

After legislation on voting that would have automatically registered people who visit any one of several state agencies could not survive Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto, a Republican state senator’s bill may be the best option. On one of the last scheduled sessions of the year, lawmakers in Springfield didn’t have the votes to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill that would have automatically added millions to the state’s voter rolls. While Rauner agreed with the concept of the bill, his central objection was that it would have left the state vulnerable to voter fraud. State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, said her bill addresses that while still automatically registering voters at agencies such as the DMV. “This bill would give individuals a clear opportunity to opt out of the registration application and would be required at that time to testify by signature that they meet voter registration requirements on the front end,” Rezin said.

Illinois: GOP lawmakers introduce their own automatic-voter registrations bills | Illinois News Network

With the fate of an automatic voter registration bill in question, Republicans in Springfield have filed automatic voter registration legislation, saying theirs would better ensure honest elections. “This bill balances our desire to register to vote along with our need to ensure that only eligible voters are being registered to vote,” State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, said. Rezin said the biggest difference between her bill and one sponsored by Democrats is that it requires the state to screen citizenship records before automatically registering an individual. “My bill allows that to be done in one step right at the DMV with a person that is signing a sheet promising that all of that information is accurate. This supports voter integrity and lessens the chance that you will have someone in the system who should not be able to vote,” she said.

Illinois: Senate overrides governor’s automatic-voter veto | The Web Times

The Illinois Senate has rejected the governor’s veto of automatic voter registration legislation, however, Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, has proposed an alternative bill. The Senate’s 38-18 vote sends the initial measure to the House to consider when it returns Nov. 29 to Springfield. The bill is SB250. The Legislature adopted the plan in the spring with strong bipartisan support. It would allow visitors to a handful of state agencies to be automatically registered to vote unless they opt out. Rauner vetoed it in August, fearing fraud. He said the plan doesn’t meet federal requirements about a person’s participation in the registration process and puts too much of a burden on the State Board of Elections to verify eligibility. Democratic Sen. Any Manar of Bunker Hill says record-keeping and state automation are advanced enough to prevent mischief.

Illinois: Lawmakers to try for veto override on automatic voter registrati | KFVS

Lawmakers in Illinois are pushing to override the governor’s veto of a bill aimed at increasing voter registration. That move would automatically register eligible Illinois residents to vote at the time they apply for a driver’s license or state-issued I-D. After receiving overwhelming support from both houses in the spring session, the effort was stopped cold in August when Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner issued a full veto on the bill, forcing lawmakers to either override his veto, or start from scratch. An override would require a three-fifths majority in both houses. A separate, new bill would take at least a year to be drafted and move through the house and senate.

Illinois: Judge rejects bid to expand voting rights | Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

A federal judge has dealt a setback to former Illinois residents who are blocked from voting by absentee ballot in next week’s presidential election because they now live in certain U.S. territories. In a written opinion last week, U.S. District Judge Joan B. Gottschall rejected the argument that the Illinois Military Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act violates the equal protection clause by treating former Illinois voters differently depending on their current residence. Illinois’ MOVE Act bars former state residents living in Puerto Rico, Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands from voting by Illinois absentee ballot in federal elections, but allows their counterparts in American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands to do so. The disparate treatment, Gottschall held, “is rationally related to legitimate state interests.”

Illinois: Election officials work to protect your vote from high tech threats | WLS-TV

On Chicago’s South Side is a sprawling secure warehouse where election officials are testing every single piece of Chicago’s voting equipment to make sure it’s working right. “We know our reputation, we know what happened 50-60 years ago and we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Jim Allen, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. But as voting technology changes new threats emerge. “You’re always concerned that hackers could try to target any part of your system but you try to take enough steps to mitigate the risk,” Allen said. Chicago’s answer to high-tech threats of hackers attempting to manipulate votes is actually a very old technology: paper. Each of the city’s electronic voting machines has a paper record so that voters can check their ballots before they’re cast and so that there’s a hard copy that can be examined in the case of a problem.

Illinois: Despite Trump claim, officials say technology means vote fraud thing of past | Chicago Tribune

Claims from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that voting is rigged to help Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8 have served to dredge up Chicago’s controversial history of vote stuffing, ballot boxes floating in the river and dead people voting. But state and city elections officials contend the massive voting fraud of the past is history, citing new technology and changes in voting laws have made the potential for fraud a fraction of what existed in the past. They say the concern now is voter intimidation techniques. “We don’t claim perfection. We know we’re trying to live down the history of this agency from our parents’ and our grandparents’ generations,” said Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. … “To give some context, in the last 10 years we’ve had 10 referrals of suspicious activity to the state’s attorney’s office and at the same time we’ve had 9 million ballots cast,” Allen said. One referral led to the convictions of two men on misdemeanor charges of manipulating absentee ballots in a 50th Ward aldermanic contest in 2007.

Illinois: Automatic voter registration veto could be overturned | Gazette Chicago

Overturning Governor Bruce Rauner’s August veto of an automatic voter registration (AVR) bill passed by both houses of the Illinois General Assembly is not a sure outcome, despite bipartisan support of the bill (SB250) by both Republican and Democratic legislators. “Governor Rauner makes it clear he will attack those not in agreement; some Republicans will ‘peel off’ over a veto” and not vote to override it, said Cook County Clerk David Orr, an AVR bill proponent. “This is good legislation,” Orr noted. “It cleans the rolls and protects people. But it’s tough to fight a veto.” Senate Bill 250, sponsored in the state Senate by Sen. Andy Manar (D-Decatur) and in the House by State Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), passed the legislature in May with broad bipartisan support: 86-30 in the House, 50-7 in the Senate. Rauner vetoed the bill Aug. 12. Legislators are scheduled to reconvene and consider an override in mid-November.

Illinois: Judge clears way for Election Day registration in polling places | Chicago Sun-Times

Chicagoans may be able to register to vote on Election Day in their polling places, after all. A federal appellate judge on Tuesday halted a lower court judge’s decision to bar Election Day voter registration in polling places, after the Illinois Attorney General’s office argued last week that the statute doesn’t inhibit, but enhances the right to vote. The attorney general’s office on Sept. 30 filed a motion for a stay of the lower court ruling, pending appeal. A judge on Tuesday granted that motion, while also giving the defendants until Thursday to provide a statement about why they believe the appeals should be expedited, according to court records. The decision means same day registration in polling places will continue this Election Day, on Nov. 8. A federal judge on Sept. 27 ruled that the Illinois State Board of Elections must stop enacting Election Day voter registration in polling places because the practice doesn’t treat big cities and rural areas equally. The preliminary injunction by U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan came on National Voter Registration Day, a day aimed at ensuring voters are registered for the November election.

Illinois: Legal interpretation expands same-day voting registration opportunities | Northwest Herald

Legal interpretation of a federal ruling curtailing expanded same-day registration will allow the practice at early voting stations. The state’s county clerks, after a conference call last week, agreed that early voting stations still would be allowed to register people to vote, McHenry County Clerk Mary McClellan said. Legal counsel for the Illinois State Board of Elections concurred with the interpretation, she said. U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan slapped a preliminary injunction on a state law that requires counties with more than 100,000 residents to implement a system by which voters can register at the same time they cast ballots at any polling place through Election Day.

Illinois: Judge blocks Election Day registration at Illinois polling places | Chicago Tribune

A federal judge Tuesday blocked Election Day voter registration at polling places in Illinois, declaring a state law allowing the practice unconstitutional because it created one set of rules for cities and another for rural areas. Voters will still be able to register Nov. 8 and cast a ballot for president but only at a limited number of sites, including the county clerk’s office, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. The ruling, handed down on National Voter Registration Day, is the latest front in a broader battle between Democrats led by House Speaker Michael Madigan and Republicans led by Gov. Bruce Rauner. Democrats pushed through the same-day registration law in the lame-duck session that followed the November 2014 election, weeks before Rauner took over from then-Democratic-Gov. Pat Quinn. It was billed as a way to get more people involved in the democratic process after a trial program resulted in long lines, particularly in Chicago, where it was used at five sites by nearly 2,900 people, some who waited hours to vote.

Illinois: State Supreme Court rejects new hearing for redistricting amendment | Chicago Tribune

The Illinois Supreme Court has rejected a request to reconsider its split decision that removed from the Nov. 8 ballot a proposed state constitutional amendment aimed at removing much of the politics from the redrawing of state legislative district boundaries. Without comment, the high court’s 4-3 Democratic majority reaffirmed its decision that the proposed amendment was unconstitutional because it did not conform to the narrow legal window for petition-driven citizen initiatives to appear before voters. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who backed the proposal, said Tuesday that the decision was “not unexpected.” He urged lawmakers this fall to move on their own to put before voters a pair of proposed amendments he has adopted as part of his “turnaround agenda.”

Illinois: Same-Day Voter Registration at Issue in Lawsuit | Associated Press

A federal lawsuit has raised questions about whether Illinois’ new Election Day voter registration rules are constitutional, a situation that could complicate how polling sites are run this November. Illinois tested same-day registration in the 2014 governor’s race, with all election authorities required to offer it in at least one location. It was popular, with long lines on Election Night, particularly in Chicago. When lawmakers made same-day registration permanent the next year, they expanded it, ordering highly populated areas to make it available at all polls. That change is at the heart of a federal lawsuit brought by Republicans, who argue it’s an unfair and unequal system because voters in less populated and GOP-leaning areas don’t have equal access. They’re asking a judge to end all precinct-level Election Day registration, which would impact voters in 21 of 102 counties and five cities: Chicago, Aurora, Rockford, Bloomington and East St. Louis.