Illinois’ vote-by-mail system illegally allows election officials to continue to count new ballots received by mail up to two weeks after Election Day, even if the ballots are not postmarked, a new lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit argues a provision in Illinois’ election law violates federal law, which governs elections for the U.S. House, Senate and President.
“The next federal election in Illinois will be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, at which time Illinois will elect a new Congressional delegation. Under Illinois law’s extended ballot receipt deadline, vote-by-mail ballots shall be counted if received on or before November 22, 2022,” the complaint said.
U.S. Rep. Michael Bost (R-Murphysboro)
| clerk.house.gov
“Accordingly, Illinois will illegally hold voting open beyond Election Day on November 8, 2022.”
The lawsuit was filed in Chicago federal court by three plaintiffs: U.S. Rep. Michael Bost, of downstate Jackson County, currently representing Illinois’ 12th Congressional District;
Laura Pollastrini, of west suburban Kane County, who serves as the Illinois Republican State Central Committeeperson for the 14th Congressional District, and intends to seek election to the same post in the new 11th Congressional District this fall; and
Susan Sweeney, of Cook County, who said she intends to seek appointment as a presidential elector in 2024.
They are represented by attorneys Christine Svenson, of Svenson Law Offices, of Chicago; and T. Russell Nobile, Paul J. Orfanedes, Robert D. Popper and Eric W. Lee, of conservative activist organization, Judicial Watch, of Washington, D.C., and Gulfport, Mississippi.
The lawsuit takes aim at changes Illinois’ Democrat-dominated legislature, with Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, made to state election laws in 2020.
Under the new law, the state established its first ever vote-by-mail system, open to all Illinois voters, not only those voting absentee.
The new system rewrote the voting rules and voting process in the state, allowing non-absentee voters the right for the first time to vote without physically presenting themselves to voting judges at a polling place.
Republicans have alleged from the beginning that the new system creates myriad new opportunities for powerful political parties and organizations, with the corrupt election officials they may control, to cheat in elections.
The new lawsuit particularly targets the provision in the law that allows election officials to continue counting ballots for potentially weeks after the actual Election Day. That provision requires election officials to count all ballots received by mail up to 14 days after Election Day. It applies even to ballots which received no postmark, as long as the ballots purport to have been dated on or before Election Day.
While the state of Illinois is free to set the rules for valid balloting for state and local races, the plaintiffs said the state cannot simply extend the deadline for the receipt of ballots beyond Election Day for the election of federal officials.
The lawsuit asserts the date assigned for Election Day for federal offices is set in federal law, as “the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every even-numbered year.” By continuing to count ballots received after that day – which in 2022, will be Nov. 8 – the plaintiffs say the state has violated federal law.
“Despite Congress’ clear statement regarding a single national Election Day, Illinois has expanded Election Day by extending by 14 days the date for receipt and counting of vote-by-mail ballots,” the complaint said.
And the plaintiffs note the number of ballots that may be received after Election Day can be significant.
They note that in 2020, about 4.4 percent of all ballots counted in the 2020 federal election – or 266,417 votes - were received by mail after Election Day, with some arriving as late as Nov. 17, more than enough to sway close races.
The plaintiffs assert the counting of such late ballots “dilutes” the value of ballots cast by voters by Election Day, in accordance with federal law, and violates their rights to vote and to seek elected office, and their First Amendment and 14th Amendment rights.
The plaintiffs are seeking a court order blocking the state of Illinois from continuing to count ballots received after Election Day. They are also seeking reimbursement of their attorney fees.