Paul Sassone

You would think that our elected officials, more than anyone, would be eager to increase the number of people who vote.

That certainly is borne out by how Illinois legislators of both parties voted on the so-called Motor-Voter law. The bill passed the House passed 86-30; the Senate 50-7.
So, why did Gov. Bruce Rauner veto the bill?

The bill provided that when anyone received or renewed a driver’s license that person would automatically be registered to vote unless he or she said no. Right now, the law is that people getting a driver’s license are asked if they want to register to vote.

So, the bill Rauner vetoed would have encouraged people to vote, streamlined government and reduced expenses because voter registration would be automatic.
So, why would Rauner, who says he wants to make state government better and more efficient, veto the Motor-Voter bill?
Precisely because the bill would add voters.

Many states with Republican governors are attempting to make it difficult for people to register to vote. They fear that new voters might be the wrong kind of voters, that is voters who might vote for Democrats.

These governors have pushed through rules and regulations that make it difficult for poor and minority residents to register, claiming they do so to eliminate actually nonexistent vote fraud. And that’s the reason Rauner gives for vetoing the Motor-Voter law.

But the federal courts are seeing through these schemes to deny Americans the right to vote. In recent months the courts have ruled against such laws in Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Kansas.

The Illinois Motor-Voter law would have taken effect in January of 2018, coincidentally the very year Rauner would be up for re-election. Another reason for him to seek to limit the number of voters?

To attempt to win elections by eliminating those who would vote against you — or people you think might be vote against you — from the practice of democracy is contemptible. You want to win? Then adopt policies that meets the needs if citizens, then they may vote for you.
There are motor-voter laws now operating in Oregon, California, Vermont, West Virginia and Connecticut — and no vote fraud.

There are an estimated 2 million unregistered voters in Illinois. A motor-voter law would reduce that number significantly.

In the name of, and for the sake of, democracy, the legislature should override the governor’s veto.

–General Assembly should  override governor veto on Motor-Voter Law–