Voting Rights

“There are a lot of advocates and community members who thought the bill was signed, a switch was flipped. That we won. In fact, that’s not the case,” said Jay Young of Common Cause Illinois, which backed automatic voter registration. “This is exceptionally frustrating.” Illinois gained national attention in 2017 when then-Gov. Bruce Rauner was among the first Republican governors to support automatic voter registration. The law set a July 2018 deadline for the secretary of state’s office to offer automatic voter registration.

On February 10, Common Cause Illinois will honor Eliseo Medina with the 2016 Champion of Democracy Award.

Common Cause Illinois staff are lobbying lawmakers to expand and protect Election Day Registration.

Today marks an historic day in Illinois election history as hundreds of primarily African American voters show up at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center located at 43rd and Cottage Grove on the South Side of the city to register and vote for the first time.

Today marks an historic day in Illinois election history as hundreds of primarily African American voters show up at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center located at 43rd and Cottage Grove on the South Side of the city to register and vote for the first time.