From the Southern Illinoisan

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Voice of The Southern: Time to get rid of ‘ghost voters’ across the state

Posted: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 1:00 am Our view: We must restore voters’ confidence that Illinois elections are fair-and-square tallies.

When Gov. Pat Quinn braced state residents for a “rendezvous with reality” in the new budget year, he split many people into camps opposing and supporting various items on a laundry list of austerity measures.

But while there are disagreements over the specific budget cuts — for example, we vigorously oppose the closing of Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro and Tamms Correctional Center — there is general agreement over his basic premise. Illinois is in financial trouble; deep financial trouble.

Without a sudden and miraculous spike in state revenue, it will be necessary to cut state services and residents’ expectations for state services. But those cuts must not impact any efforts to remove the culture of corruption stain from the fabric of Illinois governmental life.

One such effort, Senate Bill 3654, would require the state Board of Elections to conduct an audit to determine whether voter registration numbers are current and accurate. The effort would address problems with voting rolls in at least 16 Illinois counties – notably Alexander County in our region. As we’ve reported and condemned previously, Alexander County somehow has more registered voters than actual residents.

It would be possible for someone with knowledge of the identities of non-resident voters to orchestrate a fraudulent voting drive, one that might come in very handy for favored candidates struggling for votes in the November General Election. It wouldn’t be easy, but Illinois must do everything possible to eliminate the mere appearance of impropriety.

With Alexander and other counties having more registered voters than actual residents, and low voter turnout, how is it known the majority of voters are legitimate? Are ghost voters as numerous as legitimate voters?

Because the voter cleanup proposal is Republican backed, there is no assurance of the bill gaining approval in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly. The need for action is obvious.

State Sen. Chris Lauzen, R-Aurora, said another 40 counties are hovering near the tipping point of having more registered voters than residents age 18 or older. That means there are concerns about more than half of the state’s 102 counties. Shall we wait until the concern spreads to all counties?

What’s needed is an audit of the voter rolls statewide, followed by a purge of all invalid voters. It’s a task that won’t be easy or inexpensive for the county clerks expected to do the work. Concern already has been expressed by a spokesman for Cook County Clerk David Orr, who serves the massive population of Chicago. The task doesn’t automatically become easier in a smaller county such as Alexander.

Alexander County Clerk Francis Lee said last week the situation in her county remains unresolved. The county could apply to be reimbursed by the state for the $20,000 cost of a purge, but no action has been taken thus far. “I’m still trying to work with the state board,” Lee said.

Restoring faith in state elections is a critical step in overcoming the culture of corruption. A statewide audit and purge of all voter rolls is an obvious need, one that should be embraced by reform-minded lawmakers in both the Republican and Democratic parties. Listen up, ladies and gentlemen of the General Assembly. There never will be a better opportunity for bipartisan action in the best interest of the state. This is a task too important to dismiss because of tight money.

We can’t afford to watch a presidential vote fall victim to suspicions of voter fraud, fears that could easily be put to rest through clean voter rolls. Take the money out of another budget category. Do we really need duplicate offices in Chicago for every office based in Springfield? Why not consolidate all operations in Springfield, which, after all, is the capital of Illinois? If that doesn’t work, try cutting travel expenses to the bone and selling off the state’s fleet of aircraft.