Sen. Chris Nybo (R-Elmhurst) adamantly spoke against a bill that intends to end the state's participation in the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program.
“For the sake of the integrity of the election process and making sure that the election board can do all it can do to make sure the people voting in our election are authorized and entitled to vote, I urge a no vote on this," Nybo said during Wednesday’s Senate floor debate, noting instead of engaging in a back-and-forth due to time constraints with the State of the State address about to begin, he thinks more conversation should take place over the bill.
Saying his legislation will prevent cybersecurity risks and discriminatory purging of voter rolls, SB2273 sponsor Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) explained that the legislation allows that the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) shall be the exclusive interstate voter recording program, which also allows for the state to enter into a data-sharing agreement with a neighboring state, but prohibits the Illinois State Board of Elections from sharing Illinois voter data with any other interstate data sharing program.
“Senator, I certainly understand why you are moving this bill and I understand that there are certain pressures from some organizations and groups to have some activity on this, but let’s keep in mind the federal government requires us to purge, scrutinize and keep accurate voting records on who can vote in elections,” Nybo said.
Nybo said the system Raoul was asking legislators to get rid of “is the only system that is used by two of our biggest neighboring states, Indiana and Missouri.”
“I want everybody to understand that if this becomes law, we will effectively lose the opportunity to check and make sure that we have accurate voting records for people who might be moving to Indiana or Missouri or from Indiana and Missouri,” Nybo said.
But even more importantly, Nybo said it was important to address the very security concerns and the possibility of a breach Raoul was concerned about.
“I think that it is important to note that the State Board of Elections has already voluntarily made the decision not to share any information with the system you are trying to get rid of here until the operators of the crosscheck system have improved security measures to the point where the State Board of Elections is confident that no data will be compromised,” Nybo said.
Nybo called the measure “extreme and drastic.”
“If we take measure we are going to lose the ability to do what the federal government is asking us to do, which is to ensure voting records are accurate,” Nybo said.
Nybo asked legislative members to slow down before they voted.
“This is a serious subject and we should not just react when groups ask us to take certain action until we are confident that it is the right action to be taken,” Nybo said.
The Senate voted 35-17 to approve SB2273, and the measure was sent to the House.
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