The Illinois State Senate is considering a bill that would significantly change the state’s automatic voter registration program. The changes could result in noncitizens being registered to vote and potentially casting ballots in the November election. Senate Bill 496, sponsored by State Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago), would strike current language in Illinois state election law requiring voter registration applications to adhere to requirements laid out in the federal REAL ID Act of 2005.
In June 2023, Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) signed legislation allowing noncitizens to obtain a state-issued driver’s license. Meanwhile, Illinois election law stipulates that any resident who applies for — or renews — a state-issued license or identification card will be automatically registered to vote. By removing the REAL ID Act provisions from Illinois election law, state lawmakers would effectively end the only safeguard against noncitizens being enrolled as voters.
Republicans in the Illinois state legislature have raised serious concerns over Villivalam’s proposed changes to the state’s election law. During a recent hearing, State Sen. Sue Rezin (R) pressed her Democrat colleague as to whether the changes would require in-person documentation for automatic voter registration.
“Can you point to somewhere in the bill where it would say you have to be present in order to present all the documentation in order to be enrolled in the AVR program?” she asked. According to the Illinois Secretary of State, voter registration applicants must sign a form attesting to the truthfulness of their documentation.
At the same hearing, Villivalam dismissed concerns regarding noncitizen voters, stating that applicants presenting immigration documents would be excluded from automatic voter registration. “Programming is in place to prevent the [automatic] voter registration process from launching,” the Illinois Democrat insisted.
