October 2024

It is almost Halloween, and voter suppression and intimidation are scary topics. You won’t find a costume or a mask for them at your local Halloween store, but these are real problems voters are facing in November. 

All voters have the right to cast their ballot without fear and intimidation.

What does voter suppression and intimidation look like? Groups and individuals may try to:

• Threaten voters for exercising their right to vote
• Threaten election officials and volunteers for registering people to vote
• Impersonate election officials
• Discourage voter registration
• Aggressively ask about someone’s voting record
• Demand validity of someone’s registration status outside of designated voting locations
• Accuse volunteers or voters of committing voter fraud
• Spread false information with regard to voting machine tabulation
• Block mail-in ballot drop boxes and discouraging mail ballots
• Directly ask voters about party affiliation
• Make phone calls warning voters not to vote
• Act deceptively to make voters fear voting

Know your rights. You may ask a poll worker to double-check their registration list if they cannot find your voter registration. If your registration is still denied, you can cast a provisional ballot. Document incidents thoroughly using your phone (outside the polling place) or by taking notes.

What can you do? Don’t directly confront anyone. Avoid engaging with groups or individuals employing intimidation, but report it! Report incidents of voter intimidation to the Illinois State Board of Elections, and/or call the Election Protection Hotline: 

• English: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)
• Spanish: 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682)
• Asian Languages: 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683)
• Arabic: 844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287)

Becky Simon, President

bsimon@lwvil.org

Truth, Disinformation and the Media in the 2024 Election

Award-winning journalist and media executive Eric Schurenberg will join us on Wednesday, October 23 at 6:00 pm to explore the current news and election landscape.

You’ll come away with an understanding of how social media and digital economics shape today's information environment, how partisan actors exploit our all-too-human vulnerability to misinformation, and how those economic and psychological forces have shaped the coverage of this presidential campaign. 

This virtual event is free and open to the public. Register to attend.

The Importance of Voting Down-Ballot

It’s no secret that there is a presidential election on November 5. We are inundated with news, social media and campaign ads on a daily basis. And yes, the League of Women Voters of Illinois encourages all eligible citizens to register and vote in this important presidential election. But the fact that other critical national and state level candidates are also on the ballot next month can sometimes get lost in the noise.

The US president does not make US laws or allocate how your tax dollars are spent. Under the US Constitution, that power is given only to Congress. Voting “down the ballot” will likely have an even greater impact on your life than voting for the US president. Here’s why: If you are concerned about the national budget or immigration or the environment, for example, you should make it a priority to vote for a US senator and representative who will best represent your views when such laws are made.

Members of the US Senate have enormous power to shape the judicial system and the “administrative state” in general through their power to approve Presidential appointments. They are also responsible, along with the US House, for holding the president accountable as part of the balance of powers afforded to Congress in the US Constitution. 

Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States has granted greater and greater authority to state governments. This is the case for voting rights, reproductive rights and other issues that have recently come before the Court. The elevated role of state authority makes it imperative that voters elect the state officials who will best represent them for matters now delegated to state lawmakers. 

Like the US Congress, only state legislators (i.e. state senators and state representatives) can make laws and pass a budget for their states.

Finally, the people you elect in Illinois (both state and local) have the authority to impact how elections are run, how Congressional maps are drawn, govern their own code of ethics, and a number of other functions that are the cornerstones of our democratic system of government.

Just as every vote matters, every vote you don’t cast may matter more. 

LWVIL has made it easy for you to learn more about candidates running for office. Please look for a League of Women Voters candidate forum near you and check out our Illinois Voter Guide for unbiased candidate information. 

Safeguards Ensure Only US Citizens Are Automatically Registered to Vote

Noncitizens cannot register to vote and are NOT voting in our federal and state elections. It is illegal and rarely occurs—if for no reason other than noncitizens who attempt to register to vote could face prison and deportation. Why would they take the risk?

The Brennan Center found only 30 suspected cases of noncitizen voting out of 23.5 million votes in the 2016 election. Additionally, according to the Brennan Center, “Every legitimate study ever done on the question shows that voting by noncitizens in state and federal elections is vanishingly rare.” 

Illinois passed new driver’s license legislation (HB 3882) that allows noncitizens to apply for standard driver’s licenses. This law went into effect in July 2024. Despite the cited statistics, there are those who are concerned that noncitizens will use these new driver’s licenses to register to vote. 

There are two avenues to become registered to vote. 

First, Illinois is one of 24 states where, when an eligible voter interacts with certain government agencies, like the Secretary of State's driver's licensing department, they are automatically registered to vote or their existing registration is automatically updated. The recent change in the law allowing noncitizens to apply for a standard driver's license has raised fears that noncitizens will also be automatically registered to vote. In order to ensure this does not happen, updated safeguards were put in place.

Second, this new driver’s license law does not affect operations and procedures of county clerks, boards of elections or deputy registrars. Under federal law, election officials are prohibited from asking about or requiring proof of citizenship as a condition of registration. The new iteration of the standard driver's license could be issued to either a citizen or a noncitizen. It is not up to anyone on the election side of things to question its validity as identification required to register to vote.

The intent of issuing noncitizens the same standard driver’s license as any other driver is twofold: it reduces discrimination previously faced by those carrying a Temporary Visitor's Driver's License (TVDL) and, by removing that stigma, encourages more Illinois residents, citizens or not, to obtain valid driver’s licenses, which results in safer roads for all.

Support Our Get Out the Vote Efforts in 2024

The League of Women Voters of Illinois has been safeguarding democracy for over 100 years. There are a lot of other organizations out there in the Illinois civics arena, but there is still nothing like the League, providing consistent nonpartisan work and getting results.

Today, democracy is under unprecedented threat, so we are in full gear for the 2024 election. You can do your part by helping to support the League of Women Voters of Illinois. Our goal is to raise $75,000 for our work empowering voters and defending democracy in 2024. We will be focusing on get out the vote efforts, publishing a voter guide, hosting candidate forums, and fighting misinformation and disinformation.

Here is how your donation can help LWVIL defend democracy:

• $100 can buy printing and postage for 100 postcards
• $500 can buy media advertising space
• $1000 can buy a full year of smart voter data access for all Illinois Leagues
• $2500 can buy a month of billboard advertising for LWVIL
• $5000 can buy two months of intern salaries to help with GOTV efforts

Now is the time to defend democracy. Make your donation to LWVIL today.

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