Metro East Sun

On Aug. 30, Ray Wesley, Chairman of the Madison County Republican Party, stated that clean voter rolls are the cornerstone for free and fair elections.

"Clean, trustworthy voter rolls are the cornerstone for free and fair elections," said Wesley. "The people of Illinois deserve to have confidence that elections are executed fairly and all legal voters are allowed to cast their ballots for the representative of their choice.. Governor Pritzker has a solemn duty to ensure the Secretary of State follows all applicable laws of this State regarding elections, including purging the voter rolls on a regular basis. First and foremost, Illinois citizens' votes must count."

ABC News reported that the Governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, created Executive Order 35 to update voter lists and ensure that ballots are being counted with integrity and accuracy. Nearly 80,000 deceased voters were removed, as well as voters who had moved and several thousand noncitizens. Youngkin said, "Virginia is the crucible of democracy, and I first encourage all eligible Virginians to register and vote, but I also want to make sure that all Virginians have confidence that our elections are safe and secure, and that's what the Executive Order 35 is all about."

According to The Center Square, procedures for election integrity within the Illinois State Board of Elections were discussed. The Board of Elections stated that 839,119 of the almost 8 million registered voters are inactive registered voters. A voter becomes inactive after unsuccessful attempts to contact them. Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich said, "having a significant number of inactive voters is indicative of the state’s ongoing voter list maintenance efforts. They’re basically voters who are awaiting cancellation but federal law requires that we give them two federal election cycles in case they reappear at their current address."

The Illinois Policy Institute reported on recent legislative efforts to grant noncitizens voting rights. The Institute noted that Chicago migrants total over 43,000, and approximately 425,000 noncitizens reside in Illinois. Recent potential legislation included failed Senate Bill 1345 in 2023, which would have allowed noncitizens to vote in local school board elections if they also had minors attending. Legislation also included a failed ordinance in late 2023 introduced in Evanston’s City Council that would have allowed noncitizens with defined legal status to vote in local elections.

NBC Chicago reported an error during the 2024 primary elections where the Chicago Board of Elections mistakenly did not count 10,659 ballots in its initial tally. CBOE spokesman Max Bever said he "traded speed for accuracy in reporting out numbers this week as quickly as I could. I truly regret this error on my part and for the confusion that it has caused the voters of Chicago."

Wesley was first elected to the role of Chair of the Madison County Republicans in 2019. As Chair, he is focused on boosting Republican voter turnout, growing the Party’s membership, and communicating the Party’s positions on issues that matter to Madison County voters.