Anyone who follows the LauraLaw Blog knows that we love to see democracy in action, and like to encourage all of our readers to exercise one of the great privileges as an American citizen – VOTE. On Tuesday, September 27, U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan issued a Memorandum and Opinion holding that an Illinois law allowing for same-day voter registration violated Illinois voters’ constitutional rights.
The voting on the bill, which was enacted by Governor Quinn in 2014, followed party lines: Democrats voted in favor of allowing people to register on Election Day and Republicans opposed the measure. The party line voting, and the suit in front of Judge Der-Yeghiayan, hinge on a key distinction in the applicability of the proposed law: only counties with a total population of greater than 100,000 are required to provide same-day voter registration.
The Plaintiffs in this case (Republican congressional candidate in the 17th Congressional District, Patrick Harlan, and the Republican Central Committee for Crawford County, whose population of 20,000 reside near the Illinois-Indiana border) argued that the distinction was unfairly prejudicial, and that for the law to remain effective, it should apply equally to all counties throughout the state, not just large counties. Represented by the Liberty Justice Center, they praised the ruling, saying that it was “exactly what we asked the judge to do.”
The Office of the Illinois Attorney General, who represents the Defendant Illinois State Board of Elections, has appealed the ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union has also expressed concern about the ruling, stating through ACLU spokesman Ed Yohnka that “[w]e must continue to use every available method to ensure that every eligible voter in our state can access the ballot — not create obstacles to the franchise.”
Judge Der-Yeghiayan was not interested in writing the law himself, and instead focused narrowly on the issue before him: whether the Illinois same-day voter registration law violated the Equal Protection of Illinois voters. In finding that it did violate the constitutional rights of Illinois residents, he noted that “Illinois is made up of more than the Chicago metropolitan area and other high population areas. Equality under the law does not end at the city limits.”
This ruling reflects a larger debate playing out nationally in the United States, where a number of states are seeking to increase voter turnout with last-minute same-day voter registration laws, while some lawmakers are resistant to such laws. On the heels of Judge Der-Yeghiayan’s ruling, at least for the time being, new Illinois voters will have to register to vote before they turn up to the ballots on election day.
If you have any questions about this ruling, about registering to vote, or if you have a legal concern of your own, please do not hesitate to contact us, and one of our skilled team members will be happy to assist you.
