No learners’ permit for teen voters — White’s office vows to stop letting 16-year-olds submit forms to register to vote

A 4-year-old boy waits while his father votes in the Illinois primary in 2018. File Photo. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

First it was non-citizens, and now it’s 16-year-olds.

In the latest snafu over voter registration, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s office allowed at least 4,700 16-year-olds to begin the voter registration process.

Although state law does allow 17-year-olds to vote in the primary as long as they turn 18 by the next general election, there’s no learners’ permit for 16-year-olds.

“There’s no getting around that,” Matt Dietrich, spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections told the Daily Line, who first reported the gaffe.

Dietrich said 16-year-olds likely began the registration process when they went to get their drivers’ licenses. Those applications were forwarded from the secretary of state’s office with the intention that the application could then be held by a local election authority, Dietrich said.

“I think they thought this was a courtesy to applicants, but there is no process for local election authorities to hold applications [until someone is old enough to vote],” Dietrich told the Chicago Sun-Times. “[The secretary of state’s office] said they’ll stop.”

Dietrich’s office sent out 4,700 letters to would-be voters, telling them that, after a review of their application, “we have determined that you do not meet the requirement to be eighteen years of age by the date of the next General or consolidated election.”

As a result, those applications were terminated — meaning no 16 year olds were actually registered to vote.

Secretary of State Jesse White in 2019. File Photo.

Dave Druker, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, said forwarding the applications was something the office had done “for awhile” and said a “difference of opinion” on the law that allows 17-year-olds to register could explain why the applications were sent along.

Sixteen-year-olds starting the voter registration process is the latest problem related to the automatic voter registration program.

Last week, Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan, demanding answers from White about how 545 self-identified non-U.S. citizens were mistakenly registered to vote through the state’s new automatic registration system.

The Illinois Board of Elections said as many as 14 non-citizens appear to have cast ballots in elections, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined those calling for an investigation.

Responding to the non-citizen registration mishap, the state’s election board sent the names of 124 people to the city election board Dec. 30 — and those people had their voter registrations cancelled that day, Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, said Monday.

Of that number, 118 had never voted. Four voted before the automatic voter registration system was put in place. Only two non-citizens in the city cast ballots, Allen said: one in November 2018, the other in April 2019.

The non-citizen registrations have prompted calls to pause the automatic registration program.

But Pritzker dismissed those concerns earlier this week, telling reporters, “The glitch has been fixed.”

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, left, stands with Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker in 2018. File Photo.

Dietrich also pushed back on the need to suspend the program, arguing it’s meant more people getting involved in the voting process — 698,800 actual registrations completed thanks to the program.

Druker also didn’t see a need for a pause, saying the two issues are different and the office takes responsibility for non-citizens being registered and took action to notify people and make sure the mistake wouldn’t be repeated.

“I think we were up front about that,” Druker said about last week’s issue. “This is less than one tenth of 1 percent — one is too many, but I think, in terms of holding up the program we have to keep it in perspective. In our opinion, the [automatic voter registration program] is running well.”