Illinois Senate Democrats have proposed a plan to automatically register qualified residents to vote when they apply for a drivers license or some other form of State ID unless they decline. The current law requires someone to opt in.
Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said his proposal would reduce red tape, save money and increase voter participation. “The current process creates an unnecessary barrier for citizens to exercise their fundamental right to vote,” Manar told a Senate subcommittee last week. “And it’s an inefficient use of taxpayer dollars.”
Critics worry that it might lead to registering noncitizens, increasing voter fraud and expense, and lengthening lines at drivers license facilities.
The plan in Illinois contrasts with efforts in many Republican-led states in recent years to restrict voter eligibility, such as by requiring voters to show specific forms of ID. Republicans say they are fighting fraud; Democrats say such fraud is rare and the real GOP goal is disenfranchising groups that tend to support Democrats.
Figures used by the Illinois Senate show that the state has 9.7 million residents 18 or older and only 7.6 million registered voters. Last November, with one of the more heated gubernatorial races in recent memory, fewer than half voted.
Under Manar’s plan, people would be asked to register when they went to get a drivers license or state ID, or to update an address or change a name. If they agree, the information would be passed on to election officials.
The Brennan Center for Justice reports that 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed or are considering such measures.
Barry Burden, a political scientist and director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, suggested that the voter fraud fears are overblown, pointing out that the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, which licenses drivers, already knows more about voters: height, weight, eye color, than voter registration officials would ever know.
But Secretary of State Jesse White, a Democrat, has concerns. Spokesman Dave Druker said White’s staff is unsure whether drivers facilities employees would have to be trained as election authorities, meaning more education and expense. And White is worried about reversing the gains he has made in reducing long lines at drivers facilities.
States who have implemented this had to train workers on which persons have their records forwarded to election officials.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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