(The Center Square) – A bill filed at the Illinois Statehouse to make non-citizens who register to vote felons is being labeled a stunt by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Republicans filed House Bill 5875 earlier this month and lined up sponsors. The measure would make it a Class 4 felony for any non-citizen that registers to vote or for anyone who knowingly registers non-citizens to vote.
Asked about the effort Wednesday, Pritzker dismissed the measure.
“That’s a stunt,” Pritzker said. “It is already illegal to vote if you are a non-citizen, so you can’t register to vote without ID and you can’t vote if you are a non-citizen.”
Pritzker said it’s an effort by Republicans to make it an issue heading into the November election.
“But we have no signs that there are people that are voting or have been over the last bunch of elections in Illinois who are non-citizens,” he said.
State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, who is a chief co-sponsor of the measure, acknowledged the Republicans’ measure likely won’t advance anytime soon.
“In the state of Illinois, obviously it’s not going to go anywhere, but we need to keep filing bills like this and as Republicans we need to stand united against illegal immigration and safeguard our elections and safeguard our communities,” Niemerg told The Center Square.
Niemerg said his concerns are real with the millions of non-citizens that have crossed the border under the Biden-Harris administration.
“We all see where this is going,” he said. “We see the [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] facilities being closed throughout the state of Illinois. We know that this is a massive Democrat voter registration drive and if we do not get ahead of this, they will be allowed to vote. Illegal immigrants will be allowed to vote.”
Early voting for the Nov. 5 general election begins Thursday.
