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What the federal voter database dispute means for Illinois Valley voters · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: What the federal voter database dispute means for Illinois Valley voters.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Bill Frescos. This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. As the
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  Speaker 1: Trump administration continues to fight in court over its efforts
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  Speaker 1: to create a federal voter eligibility database, Illinois Valley election
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  Speaker 1: officials say Illinois already maintains a voter registration database, one
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  Speaker 1: the state has refused to fully turn over to the
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  Speaker 1: US Department of Justice because of privacy concerns for Illinois
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  Speaker 1: Valley voters. However, election officials say the state has long
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  Speaker 1: held its own voter registration database that is updated daily.
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  Speaker 1: Bureau County Clerk Matthew Eggers said local election offices collect
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  Speaker 1: basic identifying information when residents register to vote. When a
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  Speaker 1: person comes to register to vote, obviously they need to
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  Speaker 1: provide a current idea that has their current address on it,
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  Speaker 1: Egger said, So really we just get their name, address,
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  Speaker 1: and the last four digits of their Social Security number.
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  Speaker 1: He said. County records also indicate whether a voter participated
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  Speaker 1: in previous elections, but no federal official has us asked
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  Speaker 1: for that information to this point. Our reports do show
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  Speaker 1: that they have participated, Eger said, usually only political campaigns
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  Speaker 1: ask for that type of stuff. He also emphasized that
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  Speaker 1: election officials can't determine how someone voted because ballots are secret.
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  Speaker 1: The issue was brought back to light earlier this week
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  Speaker 1: after a federal appeals court upheld an injunction blocking Trump's
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  Speaker 1: executive order that looked to establish a federal voter eligibility
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  Speaker 1: list and make other changes to election administration. Records are
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  Speaker 1: kept locally, and Eggers said any effort by the federal
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  Speaker 1: government to obtain that voter information would most likely occur
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  Speaker 1: through the Illinois State Board of Elections. It would most
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  Speaker 1: likely happen at the state level because the state has
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  Speaker 1: access to all of our information as well, he said.
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  Speaker 1: The Illinois State Board of Elections confirmed that in an
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  Speaker 1: email to Shaw Local News network, explaining that federal law
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  Speaker 1: requires every state to maintain a centralized voter registration database.
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  Speaker 1: The board also confirmed that the Department of Justice requested
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  Speaker 1: Illinois's complete statewide voter registration database in twenty twenty five
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  Speaker 1: as part of an investigation into the state's compliance with
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  Speaker 1: federal election laws. Illinois declined to provide the unredacted database
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  Speaker 1: because it contains sensitive information. The Board said, Instead, the
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  Speaker 1: state provided a redacted voter file that is already available
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  Speaker 1: to political committees and government entities. In a letter to
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  Speaker 1: the Justice Department last year, the Board said it believes
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  Speaker 1: Illinois law prohibits the release of sensitive information and argued
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  Speaker 1: federal law allows states to redact highly sensitive personal information
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  Speaker 1: from voter records. We take Illadoin's privacy very seriously. Data
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  Speaker 1: breaches and hacking are unfortunately common, and the disclosure of
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  Speaker 1: sensitive information contrary to state law would expose our residents
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  Speaker 1: to undue risk, the Board wrote. The Justice Department then
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  Speaker 1: sued Illinois along with thirty other states, in federal court.
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  Speaker 1: The lawsuit remains pending. Eggers said if his county were
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  Speaker 1: ever asked directly to provide voter records to the federal government,
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  Speaker 1: he would first seek legal guidance. I would have to
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  Speaker 1: look into it and probably talk to my state's attorney
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  Speaker 1: to see what kind of access that they would be allowed,
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  Speaker 1: he said. LaSalle County Clerk Melissa Eggers and Putnam County
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  Speaker 1: Clerk Tina Dolder were unavailable for comment.