State Representative Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) issued a statement following passage of an expanded vote-by-mail program for the November 2020 General Election by the House of Representatives today:
“The Democratic majority and the Governor refuse to address redistricting reform or ethics reform, but they have passed a bill that will spend millions to mail ballot applications to an estimated five million voters and create more opportunities for fraud in a politically-motivated election bill. There are zero safeguards in this bill to prevent voter fraud or vote-by-mail ballot harvesting by partisan political operatives There are no protections to ensure that local election authorities are cleaning the voter rolls every two years, as state law requires. Democrats are using the Coronavirus pandemic as cover to make changes to election laws designed to benefit their own prospects in the November election.”
The legislation, SB 1863, passed the Illinois House of Representatives by a vote of 72-43.