By GREG BISHOP
Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) – A Republican state senator is looking to require voter ID in Illinois.
State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said requiring voter ID is popular.
“This signature check thing is ridiculous, it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Rose told The Center Square. After voters sign for their ballots, poll workers currently compare them to the signatures when they first registered. “And in this day and age, when everybody’s got a driver’s license or some form of ID, why are we relying on a signature check?”
Rose’s bill goes beyond requiring photo ID to vote. He also wants to eliminate ballot drop boxes and make ballot harvesting a crime.
Senate Bill 181 provides “that any person who, during an early voting period, gathers on behalf of another and submits to an election authority more than 3 vote by mail ballots shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.”
As for how he thinks the measure will be handled by the Democratic supermajority at the Illinois General Assembly, Rose knows the political landscape.
“I understand the state that I’m in but I also realize that there’s the federal government at play, which last time I checked is Republican controlled and now has a Republican president,” Rose said.
Rose’s measure, Senate Bill 181, has been filed and sits in the Senate Committee on Assignments. The Illinois Legislature returns to the capitol Tuesday.
“I think you’re going to see reforms across the country in states and also at the federal level,” Rose said. “And for what it’s worth, I think we need to be on record supporting the safety, security and integrity of the franchise to make sure that every person’s vote counts.”
In addition to requiring voter ID, making ballot harvesting a felony and prohibiting ballot drop boxes, Senate Bill 181 also would remove the state’s permanent vote by mail status and prohibit food and drink handouts around polling places.
The measure sits in the Senate Committee on Assignments. The Illinois Legislature returns to the capitol Tuesday.
