Lake Co. Clerk Wants Voters To Show ID In Certain Precincts (UPDATED)

[WhiskeyGirl]

Lake Co. Clerk Wants Voters To Show ID In Certain Precincts (UPDATED)

by Angela Caputo on October 21, 2008 - 2:19pm

A Republican election official in north suburban Lake County is using a slew of "compromised" voter registration forms to stoke concern about the potential for election fraud on November 4.  If she gets her way, County Clerk Willard Helander may even institute a de facto voter ID law in certain precincts, which has the potential to disenfranchise countless voters.

Starting in mid-August, Helander's staff began flagging questionable mail-in voter registration applications -- over 1,000 in total by the time the October 7 registration deadline passed. All told, those cards make up a fairly small fraction of the 28,020 new registrations fielded by the clerk since the summer. They've since been set aside for investigation by the county's state's attorney and sheriff offices.

Even though the "compromised" registrations have not been added to the voter rolls, Helander has asked the state's attorney whether she could legally require voters to present some form of identification in the precincts where most of the problematic forms originated. Incidentally, those areas -- Waukegan, North Chicago, and Zion -- tend to lean Democratic. As such, this proposal raises questions about whether the Republican official is simply intent on overseeing a fair election or using broad concerns about "voter fraud" to suppress Democratic votes in the county, which will play a pivotal role in the tight race for the 10th Congressional District.

"There's a clear difference between registration problems and election fraud," said University of Illinois at Chicago political science professor Dick Simpson when asked about the case. "Probably some of them are legitimate mistakes.  The election fraud comes down to whether you actually try to vote dead people."

Other problematic registrations were delivered to the Lake Co. Clerk's office by hand. Many of those applications featured addresses that "did not exist in Lake County."

But now that the faulty registrations have been weeded out, the real problem could be Helander's idea to enforce an ID requirement in certain precincts -- just two weeks before Election Day -- thereby potentially blocking legitimate voters who don't bring along the required identification.

 

Helander counters that such disenfranchisement is not her intention. "I don't care where you live, what your interests or who you support," she said. "My job is to make sure that everyone has the fair opportunity to vote."

UPDATE (4:50pm): Archpundit adds this points to this section of the voter registration instructions (PDF) in Illinois:

If you do not have a driver’s license, State Identification Card or social security number, and this form is submitted by mail, and you have never registered to vote in the jurisdiction you are now registering in, then you must send, with this application, either (i) a copy of a current and valid photo identification, or (ii) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. If you do not provide the information required above, then you will be required to provide election officials with either (i) or (ii) described above the first time you vote at a voting place or by absentee ballot.

Why wouldn't someone have a government issued ID?

http://progressillinois.com/2008/10/21/lake-co-clerk-voter-id-attempt

[WhiskeyGirl]

I'm thinking that those lenders that helped caused the great mortgage/loan crisis/bailout of 2008 probably asked borrowers for more identification than election officials will ask for next month...look where all those loans are now...