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Several pieces of legislation advance in Illinois Senate

Automatic voter registration back

    SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Andy Manar has re-introduced legislation to bring automatic voter registration to Illinois, a move that would simplify the process, clean up voter rolls and save tax money, he said.
    Last year, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed the effort even though it had bipartisan support in both houses of the Legislature.
    Senate Bill 1933 would establish an automatic voter registration system in Illinois by July 1, 2018.
    Under the system, qualified voters would be automatically registered to vote when they visit the Illinois secretary of state and other state agencies for services. Voters would be able to opt out of the system if they wish. A series of checks would aim to ensure no one is registered to vote that should not be.
    Illinois currently has an opt-in voter registration system in which adults who are 18 or older must find, fill out and submit a voter registration form to an appropriate government agency. Voters frequently forget to update their voter registrations when they move, change marital status or go to college, causing confusion at the polls and inaccuracies on the state’s voter rolls.
    Automatically registering voters when they do business with the state enables government to do away with redundant paperwork, streamline bureaucracy and be more cost effective for taxpayers, he said.
    Senate Bill 1933 advanced out of the Senate’s Executive Committee and was still collecting co-sponsors at month’s end.

Presidential tax returns addressed

    SPRINGFIELD – Presidential candidates would have to release five years’ worth of income tax returns before they could appear on the ballot in Illinois under a measure sponsored by state Sen. Daniel Biss that advanced out of a Senate committee.

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