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* Greg Bishop…
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White said Wednesday he put his employees on notice over problems with the state’s automatic voter registration program after it was revealed that more than 570 people who said they weren’t U.S. citizens were improperly registered to vote.
One of those 570 people actually voted, officials said at a hearing Wednesday in Springfield.
In his first public comments on the issue Wednesday at the state capitol, White apologized and said his office had corrected the issue.
“I’m angry at what happened,” he said. “I’ve put my staff on notice. Zero tolerance will be the order of the day with the Secretary of State’s office going forward.”
* Neal Earley…
Election officials confirmed during the hearing that one non-citizen voted in Downstate Champaign County in the 2018 general election. But they believe nine of the 16 self-identified non-citizens found to have cast ballots are actually U.S. citizens because they appear to have been legitimately registered to vote before the snafu, said Matt Dietrich, a spokesman for the state electoral board.
“That means they already had signed a legal document attesting to their citizenship when they registered previously, which is the legal requirement for voting,” Dietrich told the Sun-Times later in an email. “That attestation stands despite their checking of the noncitizen box.”
The citizenship status of the other six who went on to vote despite checking the non-citizen box was still in doubt, Dietrich said.
White, who sat quietly as officials from his office answered most of the questions from the lawmakers, apologized, saying “the entire staff has been put on notice.”
* Dan Petrella…
Working with the State Board of Elections, Secretary of State Jesse White’s office determined that the individual who voted in Champaign County used an immigration document as a form of identification when applying for a driver’s license, office spokesman Henry Haupt said.
There were no elections decided by a single vote in Champaign County in the last general election, and that voter’s registration has been canceled, officials said.
Election officials have not yet been able to account for six other voters, including two in Chicago, three in suburban Cook County and one in DuPage County.
They can’t just contact them in person? They have their home addresses, after all.
* Hannah Meisel…
In a letter last week addressed to White and Sandvoss, members of the Just Democracy Coalition said it was close to filing suit if violations of the automatic voter registration law were not fixed. White has until Feb. 17 to respond.
The coalition said it has repeatedly offered help to White’s office, but has been rebuffed and ignored. White on Wednesday said he had not heard from them.
“Tell them to give me a call,” White said. “Just tell them to call me personally.”
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights spokesperson Timna Axel told The Daily Line her organization was frustrated by both White’s office and the potential “chilling effect” the debacle could have on civic participation from those who have in the past had less access to the ballot box.
“Is there a phone number we can call to get us to a table with the Secretary of State to solve these incredible issues?” Axel asked. “If so, we would love to have it…this isn’t the first time we’ve raised any of these issues. We’ve had to send multiple legal notices. All we’re seeing is a car accident pile-up.”
The letter is here.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 9:59 am
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“Zero tolerance will be the order.” Unless, that is, you need to get a state I.D. Or a driver’s license or any other service from SOS office.
Comment by My turn Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 10:09 am
if read some reports and commentary the entire Illinois voting system is no good. lol
I understand the need by some to curtail voting rights of others. They see it in Georgia and Texas all the time and think we should do the same here to prevent voters from voting.
Comment by truthteller Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 10:31 am
If White has not heard from Just Democracy it is because his staff has hidden commonincations from them.
Comment by Jimbo26 Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 10:34 am
Yep. Politicians never blame themselves, rather blame each other, but always blame the staff.Take responsiblity and move on.
Comment by Just a guy... Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 10:46 am
As the scandals rack up, the question becomes, will Jesse White own this, or will he skate away scot free?
Comment by Just Another Anon Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:05 am
Jesse White, I would like to call you personally about giant cranes built on giant trucks that you allow to drive on our roads without license plates. A lot of other states make them buy a truck plate based upon their weight. Is this an oversight? Why don’t you call this to the attention of lawmakers? Everyone else has to pay. These monster size truck-cranes really tear up the roads.
Comment by DuPage Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:25 am
Zero tolerance should have been the order from the beginning. Now the “massive vote fraud” conspiracy theorists have a talking point, however specious it is.
Comment by Independent Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:25 am
Time for Jesse to tumble into retirement.
Comment by pool boy Thursday, Feb 6, 20 @ 11:37 am