In 2014, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law creating a system for Election Day voter registration in Illinois. The law is unlike any other state’s voter registration law because it does not make Election Day registration equally available in all counties. The statute requires Illinois counties with populations of 100,000 or more to offer Election Day voter registration at every precinct polling place, but it does not require counties with smaller populations to offer Election Day voter registration at polling places.
In other words, Illinois guarantees citizens in the 20 counties with a population of 100,000 or more the right to register and vote at their local precinct polling places on Election Day – but does not guarantee that right to citizens in the state’s 82 counties with a smaller population.
The Liberty Justice Center is challenging Illinois’ Election Day registration statute for violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because the state should not be allowed to give select citizens better opportunities to vote than it gives to others. If the state wants to have Election Day voter registration at polling places, it should do so statewide without playing favorites among the electorate.
Jacob Huebert serves as the president of the Liberty Justice Center. He previously served as the Liberty Justice Center’s Director of Litigation. In that role, he successfully litigated cases to protect economic liberty, free speech and other constitutional rights. Jacob and his work have appeared in numerous national media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Fox News Channel.
Jeffrey M. Schwab is a Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, where he litigates cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property and other Constitutional rights in both federal and state courts across the country.
James McQuaid is a staff attorney at Liberty Justice Center where he assists in cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property, and other Constitutional rights in courts across the country.
(San Diego Union Tribune)—A federal lawsuit has raised questions about whether Illinois’ new Election Day voter registration rules are constitutional, a situation that could complicate how polling sites are run this November. Illinois tested same-day registration in the 2014 governor’s race, with all election authorities required to offer it in...
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