Fixing Illinois’ Broken Electoral Systems

It has been almost three months since the Illinois General Assembly passed Automatic Voter Registration with unanimous support from both parties. With only a few days remaining before Governor Rauner must make his decision, here is why Illinoisans from both parties are urging the Governor to sign the bill:

Reduce costs. Right now, our tax dollars pay government employees to sit at a computer and manually type in information from paper registrations. This wastes taxpayer money. Instead of relying on expensive paper registrations, Automatic Voter Registration will reduce government waste by implementing electronic registrations that cost only three cents.

Speed up the voting process. Automatic Voter Registration will register citizens to vote any time they visit the DMV or a number of other state agencies, unless they choose to opt out. By reducing the number of people registering on Election Day, we can shorten lines and streamline the voter registration process. That means more time at home and less time waiting for your turn at the ballot box.

Secure the voter lists. Under the current system, 1 in 8 registrations in America are either invalid or contain significant errors. By using only reliable and frequently updated voter information, the new law will continue to ensure that only eligible citizens can cast a ballot.

Our elected officials have taken note. In a time of deep political partisanship both in Washington and at home, Democrats and Republicans in both houses of the State Legislature voted unanimously for Automatic Voter Registration. The current system is outdated and expensive. Governor Rauner should sign Automatic Voter Registration into law without delay.