Proof Fair and Honest Elections are Vital

Written by IFA Staff Report

While we are working to get the best conservative candidates across Illinois on the ballot for election or re-election in 2022, there is a reality we must deal with: doing all we can to ensure our elections are conducted fairly and accurately.

In 2020 we saw many examples of voting irregularities, even outright voter fraud, in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. In Illinois we have seen serious election integrity issues in DuPage, Kane, and Peoria counties, and of course there are historic problems in Chicago and Cook County. The 2018 election for Macon County Sheriff was finally overturned in June 2021. What are the most egregious issues?

When Election Day became Election Month. Expanding the number of voting days increases the opportunity for organized misdeeds. Instead, combat fraud by establishing shorter early voting periods and reducing the time allowed to count votes after the election. Illinois currently allows 14 days after the election to receive votes by mail. Two weeks is too long and invites fraud.

Vote by Mail (VBM) System. A lack of careful verification of matching signatures from the mailed ballot and the voter registration on file is a huge problem. Some counties and states have totally automated this process. In counties such as Kane (northeastern Illinois), no election judge oversight or ballot initialing is required.

Unsolicited VBM applications and/or ballots. Automatically sending voter applications and ballots to people who have not requested them is another opportunity for voter fraud. When there are unrequested (i.e., extra) ballots in circulation, the voting process is wide-open for illegal ballots to be submitted.

Drop-off ballot boxes. Reformers call these “ballot harvesting” boxes and they allow for suspiciously gathered votes to be anonymously dumped. As these ballots do not require a stamp and are not handled by the United States Postal Service, bad actors who are caught cannot be charged with Federal mail fraud, but instead are charged with the lesser charge of vote tampering.

Out-of-date voter rolls. This issue is due to County Clerks who do not update their voter rolls when voters die or move out of the voting jurisdiction. An Illinois organization that provides resources and strategies to address this specific problem, and many others, is the Illinois Election Integrity Program, founded by Carol Davis, Jan Shaw, and others who began as Freedom Fighters with the DuPage Tea Party Patriots.

Look at what they have written about the voter fraud and election integrity:

WHY CLEAN THE VOTER ROLLS?

• Helping to maintain clean voter rolls is non-partisan.

• Every voter, no matter their political party, should want to make sure their vote is not cancelled by an ineligible voter who fraudulently votes.

• Inaccurate voter rolls are a major problem across the U.S. costing taxpayers $$$.

• Local Election Authorities (EAs)/County Clerks might not make cleaning voter rolls a priority.

• Did you know that Federal law mandates that local EAs must clean and maintain the voter rolls?

• The law is spelled out in section 8(i) of the Federal National Voter Registration Act (NVRA, signed into law in 1993).

• The Federal NVRA preempts state law.

• If your local EAs/County Clerks aren’t maintaining the rolls, they are in violation of FEDERAL LAW.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CLEAN VOTER ROLLS?

• Clean rolls can be a significant cost-savings for EAs/County Clerks and taxpayers

• Accurate rolls make it easier to vote and harder to cheat

• Anyone can play an important role in helping to clean and maintain the voter rolls

Take ACTION: Our friends at the Illinois Conservative Union have recently launched their Illinois Election Integrity Program. Please visit their extensive web site at ieip.org and consider partnering with them on the problems addressed there and in this article. Remember, you cannot govern if you do not win, and you cannot win a fair election if it is rigged.

Thank you!