Election season is across the nook, and so are renewed conversations round voter fraud and election integrity.

States like Wisconsin and Georgia have not too long ago eliminated a whole bunch of hundreds of names off their voter lists, in what critics are calling “voter purges.” And in preparation for the 2020 election, the Ohio secretary of state eliminated practically half one million names, hundreds erroneously.

Election officers in these states say they’re cleansing up their voter lists, deleting voters who’re inactive, have moved or handed away. However voting rights teams say voter purges are sometimes flawed and states ought to as a substitute implement same-day voter registration.

So the place does Illinois fall in all of this? In line with Matt Dietrich with the Illinois Board of Elections, it’s very onerous for eligible voters to get kicked off the lists right here. Even when voters are eliminated, eligible Illinois voters nonetheless have some ways to make sure that their poll is solid.

Mawa Iqbal not too long ago talked to Dietrich about how Illinois officers guarantee voter rolls are correct and the way eligible voters can ensure that they’re counted.

This interview has been edited for brevity and readability. How does an election authority confirm that an individual is eligible to vote?

We have now loads of instruments by way of our Illinois voter registration system, which is a proprietary on-line device that’s accessible to our native election authorities for them to validate new registrants, and likewise to make it possible for individuals are nonetheless residing the place they are saying they’re residing — by way of social safety numbers, for instance.

They do even have entry to demise data, for instance, from the Illinois Division of Public Well being, from the Social Safety Administration. ERIC additionally references these.

Who’s ERIC?

Digital Registration Info Middle. It’s a consortium of 33 states plus the District of Columbia, and Illinois is one member. It hyperlinks these 33 member states in order that we are able to change info on voters who could have moved out of state and at the moment are registered in a special state. And that info can come again to the unique election authority in Illinois, who can then take away that voter as soon as their id is validated.

ERIC has entry to driver’s license info from all of our member states, which additionally inherently would give it social safety quantity entry, so you’ll be able to cross reference loads of these issues.

ERIC might be the perfect device that any state can have for sustaining correct voter rolls.

Does the state board of elections take away names?

We don’t take away anybody from the voter rolls. That’s all of the duty of the 108 native election authorities in Illinois. Voter lists upkeep is a course of that occurs daily all year long.

How do native election authorities go about eradicating names?

Earlier than each election, the native election authority mails you a voter card. That card can solely be delivered to the handle that the voter has on file. So if the particular person now not lives at that residence, then that voter card bounces again to the election authority, and that begins a course of the place they try and contact the voter by different means.

Right here’s a breakdown of the voter removing course of: 

1. Election officers ship a chunk of mail that may be forwarded in case a voter left a forwarding handle. 
2. If the voter will get that new mail, they will change their handle to the brand new handle and stay an energetic voter. 
3. If the voter doesn’t get that mail, they’re listed as “inactive” for that election cycle, or two years.
4. However, inactive voters are nonetheless registered. So, you’ll be able to nonetheless present as much as the polling place and vote, making you “energetic” once more.
5. Should you don’t vote, election officers will make a second try to succeed in inactive voters throughout the second election cycle. 
6. If the official continues to be unable to succeed in voters after this, then they are often faraway from the listing — that’s all about 4 years within the making.

It’s a protracted course of and the rationale that works out that approach is since you don’t wish to have individuals eliminated with out trigger.

However I believe the primary factor to recollect in Illinois is that in distinction to different states, not voting isn’t going to be grounds for beginning the method that may transfer you out of voter registration.

In case your voter card can’t be delivered to you, and your native election authority begins the method of making an attempt to contact you, you’re solely moved to inactive standing, you’re nonetheless thought of registered. So in the event you present up at your polling place to vote, then you’ll be able to reactivate your energetic standing, you simply have to verify your handle.

That’s one of many few circumstances the place you could have to point out ID the place your voter usually is otherwise you’d need to confirm by some means that sure, “I do dwell on the handle that I’m registered at, despite the fact that my voter card was not delivered to me there.”

What can voters do to verify they don’t get kicked off the listing?

You will get on-line on our web site anytime you progress, you’ll be able to go to elections.il.gov and register. If you’re not registered, you’ll be able to register on Election Day — you’ll be able to present up at 6:50 p.m. earlier than the polls are going to shut, fill out your registration and vote, primarily.

And now we even have computerized voter registration. When people apply for advantages by way of the Division of Human Companies, for instance, or in the event you utilized by way of the Division of Pure Assets for a looking or fishing license, you may also register to vote at the moment as nicely.

However the primary movement of voters into the system by way of computerized voter registration comes by way of driver’s licenses. And the large deal about that’s your registration now follows you.

We have now much more instruments now for ensuring that each one the voters are accounted for.

Mawa Iqbal covers state politics for WBEZ. Comply with @mawa_iqbal.