Illinois State House District 95 issued the following announcement on Jan. 22.
Springfield, IL… With early and absentee voting set to start on February 6, U.S. Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville), and Illinois State Representatives Avery Bourne (R-Farmersville), Tim Butler (R-Springfield), Mike Murphy (R-Springfield), Dan Brady (R-Bloomington), and CD Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) are demanding accountability and immediate action to preserve the integrity of the March 17 primary election.
On December 18, the Illinois Secretary of State’s office notified the State Board of Elections that a “programming error” led to well over 500 non-citizens being registered to vote over a 17-month period. The letter was not made public until last week. As a result of this “keypad glitch”, as many as 574 non-US citizens were registered to vote. According to the State Board of Elections, during the 17-month period when non-eligible voters were added to the rolls, 19 ballots were cast by the individuals registered in error.
“This is a widespread issue that needs an immediate fix,” said Assistant Republican Leader Avery Bourne. “Democrats have said election security is a major concern, yet when there are real instances of non-citizens voting, House Democrat leadership is silent.”
Upon learning of the error, Assistant Republican Leader Tim Butler and other House Republicans who serve on the House Executive Committee sent a letter to Speaker Mike Madigan asking for an immediate hearing of the House Executive Committee to investigate the situation and hear testimony directly from those involved with the improper implementation of Illinois’ automatic voter registration law.
“If this error can happen at just one state agency, what’s going to happen when this program fully expands to other state agencies, as prescribed by law?” asked Rep. Bourne. “This is a major problem that needs to be resolved immediately. The Automatic Voter Registration program should be suspended until comprehensive reforms and safeguards are put in place, even if it requires action by the General Assembly. Our constituents deserve to know that we are doing everything we can to protect the integrity of our elections.”
Original source can be found here.
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