Lawmakers, advocates celebrate historic passage of automatic voter registration bill as Gov. Rauner signals plan to sign

After bipartisan passage of automatic voter registration in General Assembly and Gov. Rauner’s announcement that he intends to sign the bill, lawmakers and advocacy groups who have led the charge say Illinois is becoming national voting rights model

WHO: SB 1933 lead sponsors Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-18th) and Rep. Mike Fortner, (R-49th); Cook County Clerk David Orr; Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-16th); Sen. Don Harmon (D-39th); Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-39th); Rudy Garrett, Interim Executive Director, Chicago Votes; Ami Gandhi, Director of Voting Rights and Civic Empowerment, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights; Tuyet Le, Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago; Abe Scarr, Director, Illinois PIRG; Celina Villanueva, New Americans Democracy Project/Youth Engagement Manager, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; Jay Young, Political Director of Common Cause Illinois; Ra Joy, Executive Director, CHANGE Illinois

WHAT: Advocates and champions of the automatic voter registration bill join together to thank Gov. Bruce Rauner for his intention to sign the bill and encourage him to do so quickly so that state agencies can begin implementing the law.

8 states and Washington, D.C. have passed AVR already. Illinois’ law could add as many as 1.13 million new voters to the rolls.

WHERE: The office of Cook County Clerk David Orr, 69 W. Washington, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60602

WHEN: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 9:30AM CST

SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers and members of the Just Democracy Illinois coalition of of civic and voting rights groups will gather on Tuesday for a press conference to celebrate the passage of Senate Bill 1933 to create automatic voter registration (AVR) in Illinois. Gov. Rauner has pledged to sign the bill in the coming weeks.

SB1933 reforms current registration laws so that whenever an eligible Illinois resident applies for, updates or renews a driver’s license or state ID, he or she will be automatically registered to vote or have their registration updated, unless they opt out. It also creates a similar program for other state agencies, such as the Department of Human Services and the Department of Natural Resources.

The achievement of bipartisan agreement on legislation dealing with elections is remarkable in the midst of partisan tension in Springfield. The legislation passed the Senate on May 5 with a 48-0 vote, with 22 Republicans and 26 Democrats voting in favor. In the House, the AVR bill was cosponsored by members of both parties, and passed 115-0, with 66 Democrats and 49 Republicans voting in favor. Representative Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago) was a chief co-sponsor and sponsored the final amendment to the bill.

Just Democracy Illinois is led by a steering committee that includes Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago, CHANGE Illinois, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Chicago Votes, Common Cause Illinois, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Illinois PIRG.