Top Illinois Republican wants to make it more difficult for non-citizens to vote

Posted on October 11, 2024
Top Illinois Republican Toni McCombie. (Photo courtesy: WJBC/File)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – A top Illinois Republican wants to make it more difficult for non-citizens – intentionally or not – to register to vote.

Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) says a constituent brought her the idea after seeing a report from Oregon that some three hundred non-citizens were registered to vote without even knowing it. Her bill calls for proof of citizenship to be a condition to become a registered voter in Illinois.

McCombie denies this is an attempt at voter suppression: “The fact of the matter is they’re not supposed to vote, so I’m not suppressing them in any way whatsoever,” said McCombie. “Oftentimes, there have been scenarios where they don’t understand what they are doing just because of language barriers”

McCombie added bipartisan support is questionable because, she said, Democrats may back away from it for “political reasons.”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].

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