In an update to the story we published  on Monday, the same-day voter registration law that was recently held unconstitutional by a Federal Judge in Chicago isn’t going anywhere . . . at least not for now.

On Tuesday, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals put a stay on the Order issued last week by U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, who held that the same-day voter registration law in Illinois was unconstitutional.

On September 27, the Office of the Illinois Attorney General filed an appeal with the 7th Circuit, then on September 30, the AG filed an emergency Motion to Stay Judge Der-Yeghiayan’s Order pending the Appeal. That Motion was granted by a panel of Chief Judge Diane Wood, Judge Kenneth Ripple, and Judge Ilana Rovner, effectively pressing “pause” on Judge Der-Yeghiayan’s previous Order.

The Illinois Attorney General is arguing that changing the voting law so close to the November 8 elections would have a harmful effect on the voting rights of a number of voters in Illinois. Instead, they argue, the Court should delay its ruling until after the elections.  The Court has asked both parties to file a statement by this afternoon as to “whether they believe that the appeals should be expedited.”

Regardless of how the Court ultimately decides this case, we here at LauraLaw continue to urge each and every one of our readers to get out and vote in November.  If you are not yet registered to vote, the Illinois State Board of Elections is a good place to start.  As we have learned this week, we can not rely on same-day voter registration being available forever, so if you can, it might be best to register ahead of time.

Regardless of whether you vote, please do not hesitate to contact us here at LauraLaw with any questions about the 7th Circuit’s stay, about an appeal of your own, or about any other legal matter you might have, and one of our skilled team members will be happy to help you out.