Problems Voting? Call or Text Nonpartisan Hotline for Help
As Election Day 2024 nears, Common Cause Illinois is encouraging voters who need assistance to contact the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline to make sure their vote counts this year.
The Nation: ‘Today, the United States of America Failed to Live Up to Our Democratic Ideals’
Common Cause Illinois Executive Director Jay Young got it right when he said, “The coronavirus pandemic was a stress test for our voting process here in Illinois, and it’s clear that we failed.”
The Washington Times: ‘Least Bad Solutions’: Voters, Officials Endure ‘Hectic and Trying Day’ at Polls
“It has been a hectic and trying day,” said Jay Young, executive director of the advocacy group Common Cause Illinois. “We immediately began seeing problems principally around polling places where election judges had chosen not to show.”
Washington Examiner: Advocates See ‘No Way’ Illinois Auto Voter Program Fully Running by November
“This lawsuit is really about trying to get the state to actually follow, not just the law that we passed but also other federal laws that are designed to protect voters,” said Jay Young, executive director of Common Cause Illinois.
The Fulcrum: Illinois Has Badly Fumbled AVR, and Now It’s Being Sued for Voting Rights Abuse
"Unfortunately, the promise of voter modernization and inclusivity has not only gone unfulfilled, it now appears that even basic voter registration services are mishandled in disregard of repeated calls for transparency and accountability by non-partisan organizations in the state," says the lawsuit, filed by the Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago, Change Illinois, Chicago Votes Education Fund, Common Cause Illinois, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the Illinois Public Interest Research Group Education Fund.
NBC 5 Chicago: Activists Sue Over Illinois’ Automatic Voter Registration
“Unfortunately, the promise of voter modernization and inclusivity has not only gone unfulfilled, it now appears that even basic voter registration services are mishandled in disregard of repeated calls for transparency and accountability by non-partisan organizations in the state," according to the lawsuit.
"While former Governor Rod Blagojevich will get to walk free, Illinois is still being held prisoner to the consequences of his long record of corruption, bribery, and abuse of power. President Trump’s commutation of Blagojevich’s sentence is the latest action by a lawless president to undermine ethics and accountability in our government."
State Journal-Register: Illinois Discloses Fresh Problems with Voter Registration
“Our coalition’s attempts to engage the Secretary of State’s office in a process of accountability and transparency have been stonewalled time and again,” Jay Young, Executive Director for Common Cause Illinois, said in a statement. ”’They’ve given us no way to verify the few claims they’ve made about fixing AVR.”
The DePaulia: Illinois Voter Registration Bill Sparks Controversy Over Implementation
Automatic voter registration seemed to be the only thing Illinois state Democrats and Republicans could agree on in 2017. The bill received not only bipartisan, but unanimous support by state senators, making Illinois the 10th state to sign in automatic voter registration in August 2017.
The Southern Illinoisan: Reform Advocates Push for Tighter Lobbying Controls in Illinois
Government reform advocates in Illinois are urging state lawmakers to impose stricter rules on lobbying activity at the Statehouse, including a ban on lawmakers themselves working as lobbyists with other levels of government.
