Illinois Counties Have More Registered Voters Than Residents, According To Report

An analysis of census figures and voter registration numbers in Illinois reveals a baffling conundrum: fourteen of the state's 102 counties have more registered voters than voting-age residents.

Rock Island County is the largest county with such a discrepancy: its elections website lists 125,875 registered voters, while the latest census figures list only 114,359 residents 18 years of age or older. That's a difference of 11,516 people.

Other counties experiencing similar problems include Alexander County, which has a history of voter fraud problems, and other small counties including Hardin, Jasper, Massac, Mercer, Pulaski and Union, The Southern reports.

Does this confirm all the worst suspicions about Illinois -- the dead voting en masse, fraud run rampant? Not exactly, according to The Rock Island Argus-Q-C Online:

"As far as people voting from cemeteries, no, that's not what it means," [Rock Island County Clerk Karen Kinney] said. ...

"People move out of Rock Island County and nobody notifies us," Ms. Kinney said. "People die and no one notifies us. Those voters stay on file for two federal elections."

"This may look worse than it might be," Rich Miller at the Capitol Fax cautions, pointing out that Rock Island County hasn't purged its voter rolls since the 2000 Census. "Still, that seems a bit weird," he writes.

The Southern pinpoints the reason why counties haven't been able to properly purge their rolls: money. According to Massac County Clerk John Taylor, who hasn't done a purge in four years, counties are too strapped for cash for such an endeavor. Federal support is available, but counties have to front the money themselves and then wait for reimbursement, which many can't afford to do.

"It's an unfortunate situation," he said.

Correction appended: A previous version of this story cited the Quad City Times as the source of a quotation. That quotation came from The Dispatch/The Rock Island Argus/Q-C Online, not QCT.

Comments

[wrenmark]

08:46 PM on 04/23/2011

Mystery solved.....that's how BO was elected.

[ruburnt]

09:13 PM on 04/24/2011

LOL

[sushi27]

07:57 PM on 04/22/2011

Aren't these republican counties? Just saying.

[blurredmolly]

05:12 PM on 04/22/2011

HizHonor approves.

[Ed Hammer]

11:14 AM on 04/22/2011

What ever the reason for the discrepencies, I bet there are some Illinois politicians salivating over the opportunity. www.consulthammer.com

[Steve Shonder]

04:37 AM on 04/22/2011

I call: Lazy!

[Nostalgia the Classic]

12:28 AM on 04/22/2011

I'm going to focus on Rock County for this analysis, since it has a nearly 10% more registered voters than voting-age residents.

Okay, for these numbers, I'm just guestimating, but I'll try to keep them as close to reality as I can.

Now, for starters, you have to account for the people who've died. For those who've died and didn't report, the effect is probably around 1%, or 1000 residents. (even I think this is high.)

Now for those who've moved, the effect is probably around 5000 residents, or 5%. I don't know how many people come and go from your average county in the span of a decade, but I feel safe with this number.

BUT, here's where the problems come in: Not every resident of the county is a registered voter. I'd say the difference is 5-10%. That would leave you with around the same number you started with.

There's no logical way you can justify having 10% more voters than residents. This is not a partisan argument or a paranoid argument.
The next time I hear about this story, the story better include the words "supoena" or "trial" or I'm not wasting my time.

[RealConservativeAmerican]

08:05 PM on 04/21/2011

This isn't fraud on anyone's part. It's just sluggish, underfunded government at work. Just because there's a list of registered voters doesn't mean ANY of them are actually voting. I'd be concerned if actual counted votes exceeded the current population.

[himaui]

08:09 PM on 04/21/2011

i would really like to believe that, thank you for having a level head with this, & keeping perspective - don't like my homestate getting trashed for a redwing problem.

[RealConservativeAmerican]

08:22 PM on 04/21/2011

Yeah. . . well we've already been hearing tr0IIs making snarky remarks about ACORN & claiming voter fraud perpetrated by Dems (absurd) which just proves to me they're never really interested in understanding what's actually going on . . . they just like to cherry pick stories for details that fit in nicely with their pre-fabricated alternate reality.

[ra44mr2]

07:46 PM on 04/21/2011

That certainly explains how we got what we got. Not surprising in the least. I keep telling people Chicago didnt get rid of the mafia they just moved into politics because it was easier to do their activities if they were in office.

[himaui]

08:04 PM on 04/21/2011

are you talking about the republican mafia? because all of these counties cited are red as RED gets, on the border of head-stompin' kentucky, southern indiana, and wachmann-lover iowa.

these counties are so red they invented red dye #1

[cla65]

07:39 PM on 04/21/2011

Cook, and St. Claire need to have their records purged on a bi annual basis. These 2 counties alone out of 102 Illinois counties are the only reasons libbies continue to dominate Illinois politics. Without these 2 hotbeads of corruption the dems would be a non factor in Illinois. Fortunately for Illinois the minority populations in these crooked counties are beginning to migrate because of nothing left their except free cheese the dems hand out. This will soon have talking heads like Dickie Durbins head spinning. This will be the reason for the big push for Amnesty for the libbies over this next year.

[himaui]

08:05 PM on 04/21/2011

NOTHING to do with democrat counties - these are RED, rural, bagger counties, and republican voter fraud as its signature.

[edgarcaycedoc]

07:18 PM on 04/21/2011

The Cook County election mantra: "Vote early, and vote often!"

[LiveMind]

07:22 PM on 04/21/2011

Cook county is not implicated. Check the geography & politics before you post.

[edgarcaycedoc]

07:30 PM on 04/21/2011

I never said Cook County was implicated. I just trotted out an old joke about Cook County.

[himaui]

07:27 PM on 04/21/2011

of course - bc in COOK county they are LEGAL votes.

unlike the cited counties are as red and rural as they get, they are rand paul's wettest dream. these counties are republican lead and guilty of voter fraud in the reddest of ways.

[edgarcaycedoc]

07:31 PM on 04/21/2011

I just trotted out an old joke about Cook County that has been around at least as long as I have been alive. And I will turn 65 in November. It still is a good joke, and I will use it whenever I please.

[tamazul]

07:16 PM on 04/21/2011

Have they checked the clowds? That's probably from where the the "departed" voters are casting their ballots.

[Ant]

07:16 PM on 04/21/2011

There's no problem there. If there's more people actually voting than live there then that would be a problem.

[l3randon]

06:58 PM on 04/21/2011

This just means we need to be very suspicious of any pro-zombie candidates.

[RealConservativeAmerican]

08:25 PM on 04/21/2011

Or candidates saying we need more brains in government. Send more brains.

[VeryAverage]

06:54 PM on 04/21/2011

Please tell me again why voter ID cards are a bad thing....

[edgarcaycedoc]

07:20 PM on 04/21/2011

Because they become a virtual poll tax. If the government would issue them free of charge, they would be acceptable. But because some people would have to choose between feeding their children and babies on the one hand, and purchasing a voter ID card on the other--the kids lose. I am not against voter IDs in principle, but I do oppose them because it is one more tax the poor cannot afford.

[LiveMind]

07:28 PM on 04/21/2011

Not to mention that it means taking time out of a working day to stand in a long line, and for many working people on the edge, that is just not an option. SO once again, it becomes a way to keep the poor from voting.

And it's unnecessary. The registration laws require proof of identity and residency. If you are voting at your polling place for the first time & they do not know you, you will be asked for some form of identification.

[cla65]

07:28 PM on 04/21/2011

Voter id cards are free of charge genius. Go down to the county clerk and see how much they charge you. They'll even mail it to your fake address for free if you want. Another dem myth revealed!!!!

[sueinmn]

06:51 PM on 04/21/2011

Doesnt that tell you many people refuse to fill out the census info?