This past June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Ohio’s draconian process for removing voters from the rolls if they fail to vote for two years and do not return a postcard mailed to their address.
Will you protect Illinois voters from “purges” that may remove eligible voters from the rolls, while retaining voter security? If so, how? If not, why?
ERIKA HAROLD:
DID NOT RESPOND.
BUBBA HARSY:
A voter purge after failing to vote for two years is beyond problematic. That being said, Illinois needs to do something in order to eliminate deceased individuals from voter rolls in an effort to maintain voting security and integrity. I believe this problem would take care of itself by requiring voter ID’s and by providing voter ID’s to individuals who could not otherwise afford one at no cost.
KWAME RAOUL:
Illinois has some of the strongest voter protections in the country, and during my time in the state Senate, I have worked to safeguard the right to vote and prevent the disenfranchisement we have seen in other states under the guise of preventing voter fraud. I sponsored the Illinois Voting Rights Act as well as a constitutional amendment prohibiting discrimination against eligible voters on the basis of race, sex, income, national origin, religion and sexual orientation. I have consistently spoken out against vote suppression and the burdensome and discriminatory requirements, such as voter ID laws, that many other states have adopted.
I joined the current attorney general and my colleagues in the legislature to block the actions of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, and I recently passed legislation – which Gov. Rauner vetoed – to end the state’s use of Crosscheck, which is proven to put personal data at risk and wrongly flag eligible voters as improperly registered.
As attorney general, I will immediately investigate any interference with Illinois elections and advocate for secure voter information systems that ensure all eligible voters are allowed to register and cast a ballot.