Illinois (ECWd) –
Voters in Illinois have been receiving a form letter addressed to “Elector” with a concerning claim that the local election authority, which would be your County Clerk, had indicated you have not yet applied for a ballot.
As we always ask, Says Who and With What Proof?
I contacted our Edgar County Clerk and asked if he had informed the Secretary of State of the information referenced in the form letter.
“I asked that same question to the SOS office. By law, we mailed out vote by mail (vbm) apps to everyone who voted in one of the last three elections. When those apps come in, they are scanned into our database. I did not initiate the transmission of any data to the SOS. The SBE pulled the data from every Election Authority’s database and provided it to the SOS.”
The very first sentence told me all I need to know. The fact our actual election authority asked the same question tells me the Secretary of State’s form letter was a lie. Not only had our County Clerk not indicated to the SOS as claimed, but it is also clear from the information provided by our County Clerk that the information was actually obtained by the State Board of Elections (SBE) and then shared with the Secretary of State in what appears to be a colluded effort to push the vote by mail option in Illinois.
Regardless of anyone’s position on voting by mail, the form letter that was not necessary and cost an estimated $1.2 Million dollars. It also costs every county an additional unfunded expense of sending out the notices to every registered voter at a time when neither the State nor local government can afford such an expense. The figure we used was a rough estimate using approximately 6 Million registered voters and a bulk mail cost of .187 cents per mailing. We suspect the actual cost to be higher though in light of information obtained from Judicial Watch.
Judicial Watch has sued the State of Illinois over access to the voter roll data. According to JW, the suit was filed on September 21, 2020. How many news agencies in this state informed the public of this lawsuit? According to JW, “In Illinois, Judicial Watch’s research found that 14 out of 102 counties (14% of all counties) have more registered voters than citizens over 18, while Illinois as a whole has 660,000 inactive registrants.”
Considering we heard testimony last spring during petition objections claiming over 400 dead people were still on the voter rolls in St. Clair County, it should concern every person that understands the importance fraud-free elections have in a Constitutional Republic.
When the State Board of Elections has to be instructed by the Illinois Appellate Court to actually do their job as was the case not once, but twice in the Frank Mautino scandal, how can we trust that same organization to ensure dead people’s information is not being used to obtain vote by mail ballots?
Protecting the public from COVID was the justification for the new vote by mail law. If this entire vote by mail law was actually about protecting people’s health, why does the law only apply to the 2020 General Election and then expires on January 1, 2021? We must assume COVID is only a challenge during a Presidential election.
Considering the form letter, at least for those in Edgar County, is based on a lie, we must question the real motives behind the letter. We asked the SOS why the letter contained false information and will update the article if we actually get a response.
UPDATE:
We received a response from the SOS office on the matter and it appears the legislature created the unnecessary expense to the state. The SOS advised the letter in question was required by passage of the new law. As if the first letter was not a big enough expense to a State that is already broke, the new law requires yet another letter to be sent out no later than October 15, 2020.
(10 ILCS 5/2B-30)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2021)
Sec. 2B-30. Public dissemination of information prior to the 2020 general election.
(a) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly through October 30, 2020, all election authorities shall include information about registering to vote and encouraging electors to vote by mail or during early voting with any pamphlet, brochure, flyer, or newsletter related to the 2020 General Election. Any such documents shall substantially include the following, “Due to COVID-19, all 2020 General Election voters are encouraged to cast a ballot prior to Election Day, either by mail or during early voting. Voting by mail is an easy option for voters and you can request a vote by mail ballot through email, mail, or in person. An application is available from your local election authority or at https://elections.il.gov/ election operations/VotingByMail.aspx. To register to vote or check your registration status, visit https://ova.elections.il.gov.”.
(b) The Secretary of State shall include in any pamphlet or materials produced in accordance with the Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act the following language, “Due to COVID-19, all 2020 General Election voters are encouraged to cast a ballot prior to Election Day, either by mail or during early voting. Voting by mail is an easy option for voters and you can request a vote by mail ballot through email, mail, or in person. An application is available from your local election authority or at https://elections.il.gov/ election operations/VotingByMail.aspx. To register to vote or check your registration status, visit https://ova.elections.il.gov.”.
(c) No later than September 15, 2020, the Secretary of State shall send a notice to any elector who received an application but has not yet applied for a vote by mail ballot. The list of electors to receive the notification shall be provided by the State Board of Elections. The notice shall include, at a minimum: (1) notice that the elector previously received correspondence from the applicable election authority with information on how to apply for a vote by mail ballot, that the election authority has indicated the elector has not yet applied for a ballot, and the elector still has time to request a vote by mail ballot; and (2) a reference to a phone number, email address, and website the elector can visit to complete an application, return an application, or get additional information about vote by mail.
(d) No later than October 15, 2020, the Secretary of State shall send a notice to any elector who received the notice required in subsection (c) but has not yet applied for a vote by mail ballot. The notice shall include, at a minimum: (1) a statement that the elector has time to request a vote by mail ballot; and (2) a reference to a phone number, email address, and website the elector can visit to complete an application, return an application, or get additional information about vote by mail.
(Source: P.A. 101-642, eff. 6-16-20.)
