SPRINGFIELD – State Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) voted in opposition to a plan proposed by House Democrats and Governor JB Pritzker that would dramatically increase Illinois’ vote by mail program.
“My office was overwhelmed by a huge amount of feedback from constituents expressing their opposition the Democrats’ expansion of Illinois’ vote by mail program,” Severin said. “People feel voter fraud will increase exponentially. Tonight’s debate revealed that those concerns are valid. We were left with far too many unanswered questions.”
Severin says local county clerks may be faced with significant cost and manpower burdens if the bill signed into law.”
Severin expressed concerns he has that came about during floor debate.
“We learned that the bill allows for ‘vote drop boxes’ to be placed in various parts of different voting districts,” Severin said. “I have serious concerns about the safety and the integrity of the ballots that would potentially be placed in these locations. Other concerns I have involve the potential for ballot harvesting and ballot stuffing. I do not feel that these questions were answered fully in either the bill or in the debate.”
Severin says the fate of the bill rests with the Illinois Senate.
“There are many flaws with this massive vote by mail expansion,” Severin said. “Let’s hope the Illinois Senate will recognize this bill’s many flaws and make adjustments to secure the integrity of our election process.”
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