Expansion of same-day voter registration hits snag?
A change in Illinois law forcing large counties to provide same-day voter registration at polling places is drawing opposition from those charged with implementing it.
The law requires same-day registration at all polling places in counties and municipalities with populations of more than 100,000. Illinois had tried same-day voter registration at a few polling places in each county during the November 2014 election. A month later, state legislators passed the law, which became effective June 1.
With the exception of the special election to replace congressman Aaron Schock, county clerks are eyeing the change for 2016 elections. But early cost estimates of seven figures have several suburban officials - Democrats and Republicans alike - balking.
Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham estimates the cost of same-day registration at $1.8 million. That's for $16,000 worth of equipment per polling place, plus training two people to register the voter.
Kane County had same-day registration at five sites in November 2014; the new law requires same-day registration at 96 more sites in the county.
"It's a real burden," Cunningham said.
His fears are about more than just money. The five sites with same-day registration in 2014 had as many as 50 people still in line when polls were set to close. Because the law prevents the counting of ballots until all polling places are closed, election results came in much more slowly as a result, Cunningham said.
Lake County has even more polling places than Kane - 123 in total. County Clerk Carla Wyckoff said the process of registering voters on the same day of the November 2014 election took about 17 minutes per person. To get around that, she will put those folks in a separate line than voters who are already registered. Her larger concern is the $1 million estimated cost.
One of the larger headaches, she said, is a provision that requires Lake County's 14 early voting places to become universal voting sites. Every ballot style, from every other polling location, must be available at the early voting sites.
"I hope the taxpayers appreciate it, because it's going to cost them a lot of money," Wyckoff said. "The sad thing is that it hasn't really resulted in better voter turnout."
DuPage County officials said they have not yet considered the costs of implementing the law. Will County Clerk Nancy Schults Voots did not respond to an interview request.
Perturbed county clerks might have one of their own to blame.
Cook County Clerk David Orr's office played a major role in crafting the new law. It will cost Orr about $500,000 to get his 1,100 polling places up to speed, and most of that cost is for personnel. Cook County already has the machines that represent the bulk of the costs in the collar counties. Orr said his colleagues are fixating on the Election Day costs but ignoring savings the law creates elsewhere.
Provisions in the law about sharing registration data, both in Illinois and with other states, will create cleaner voting rolls, Orr said. Voters who die or move and surrender their eligibility will be removed from rolls and not receive the voting literature that clerks must distribute. That will save money in printing and mailing costs. Plus, now that voters can register essentially every day of the year and duplicate registrations will be eliminated by better data sharing, fewer people will be registering on Election Day as time goes on, Orr said.
"These are not pipe dreams," Orr said. "It's going to work."
Kane County Board Member Brian Pollock, an Aurora Democrat, said he's all for people having access to the polls. But he's not a fan of state lawmakers placing a $1.8 million cost in Kane County's lap without money to pay for it. He will lobby the General Assembly for change because he's not convinced same-day registration is needed at every polling place.
"There's really like two days a year now where you can't register to vote," Pollock said. "We don't want to deny people the right to vote, but come on, people."