By JIM TALAMONTI
Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO, Ill. (IRN) — A legal case is moving forward against the Illinois State Board of Elections over allegations that the state failed to maintain voter registration lists.
Former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, said the National Voter Registration Act requires the state to perform list maintenance and remove ineligible voters.
U.S. District Court Judge Sara L. Ellis dismissed two plaintiffs from the case last week, but Ives’ group, Breakthrough Ideas, was not dismissed and retains standing as a plaintiff along with Illinois Family Action.
The groups filed suit with Judicial Watch attorneys in March of 2024.
Ives said it’s obvious that voter lists are not well-maintained in Illinois.
“This creates extra costs people should not have to incur and it wastes time as well, not to mention it invites fraud when you do not have cleaned-up voter lists,” Ives told The Center Square.
Ives said the dead have voted in Illinois.
“I’ve pointed out a couple of dead people that I know casted votes, and there was no adequate explanation for why that occurred. Because they were not cleaned off the voter roll, it invited fraud one way or another. In the state of Illinois, this becomes even more problematic when you have permanent vote by mail,” Ives explained. “So you will have ballots being sent to people that are possibly moved or dead, which makes list maintenance even more important in the state of Illinois.”
Ives said 23 Illinois counties with a combined registration list of 980,089 voters reported removing only 100 registrations over a two-year period.
“That is an absurdly small number. There is no possible way those counties were conducting a general program that makes an effort to clean up the voter rolls, because only a hundred people died in 23 counties? Nobody believes that, so we know that they’re not doing what they should do,” Ives said.
On July 8, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a 15-page statement of interest in the case.
“When Illinois voters cast their ballots, they should be confident that their vote is given its due weight, undiluted by ineligible voters,” the statement began.
“It is critical to remove ineligible voters from the registration rolls so that elections are conducted fairly, accurately, and without fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a press release regarding the statement of interest. “Under the NVRA, states have the responsibility to conduct a robust program of list maintenance. The Department of Justice will vigorously enforce those requirements to ensure compliance.”
Ives said the case could have ramifications across the country. She said it is possible that the DOJ will file its own lawsuit.
As for what’s next, Ives said parties were waiting for a written ruling and it’s possible there could be a hearing later this month.
Ives said she suspects there could be a settlement in the case.
