Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) says his proposed legislation is based on "common sense" checks against voter fraud. | Bailey's website
Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) says his proposed legislation is based on "common sense" checks against voter fraud. | Bailey's website
State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) is launching legislation focused on election integrity in Illinois.
Bailey, a gubernatorial candidate, posted a press release to Twitter noting he is backing a package of bills that would focus on election integrity issues.
“My team and I are dedicated to ensuring the integrity of our election process in Illinois,” he tweeted. “Thousands of Illinoisans are concerned with the process, and we must work to improve and restore confidence in our elections moving forward.”
He said the measure will include changes to make the voting process more efficient and trustworthy.
“This means we put in place common-sense processes that make it easy for Illinoisans to register and vote and easy for us to identify and eliminate any potential fraud,” he said. “I'm proposing annual cleaning of voter rolls in every county, individual ballot tracking of mail-in ballots, a random 1% audit of voter signatures and ballots for every election, and mandatory voter ID while allowing free IDs for those who do not already have a driver's license or state ID.”
A recent poll placed Bailey ahead of all other Republican challengers, according to WSILTV.
“These are necessary steps to ensure voter integrity and restore confidence in our election system, so every Illinoisan can ensure their ballot is counted, and their voice is heard,” continued. “As a senator and as your next governor, I'll always fight for fair, honest, and transparent elections and to ensure the precious right to vote for every Illinoisan.”
Primary elections for Illinois are in June.
Within Illinois, election integrity came to the forefront in the wake of former DuPage County Auditor Bob Grogan's failed bid for re-election, DuPage Policy Journal reported. Grogan claims there are irregularities with vote tallies and was granted a recount, which was just completed this October. Results are pending. Grogan had ended Election Day as the race’s winner, but in subsequent days vote uploads by a Democrat clerk of court overturned the race in favor of his opponent by only 75 votes.
Grogan’s team found 100 unopened ballots in their recount, according to DuPage Policy Journal, in addition to postdated ballots he said should have been nullified as well as "hundreds" of ballots lacking an appropriate signature from a judge upon receipt.
Bailey said the legislation will have a specific focus on recounts like that Grogan is undergoing now.
“My legislation will help move any potential recounts along faster and help uncover any potential fraud or inconsistencies to ensure all elections are fair, honest and transparent,” Bailey said
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