For Immediate Release:
Thursday July 30, 2020
Dan Kovats, Executive Director
(773) 351-7818 | Dan@ILDCCA.org

QUESTIONABLE “REMOTE VOTE” APPLICATIONS ARRIVING IN MAILBOXES
Suspicious application asks voters to send their information to another county
in order to Vote By Mail

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Yesterday the Rock Island Dispatch – Argus reported that suspicious “Remote Vote” applications had arrived in Rock Island County voters’ mailboxes. These applications ask voters to fill out a postcard and send it to an unknown Post Office Box in Peoria and that Republicans would file the voters’ request to “Remote Vote” with the local election authority. The postcard also claims that the “GOP Remote Vote program provides critical oversight” over the expanded law that allows voters more opportunity to exercise their right to vote during a growing pandemic.

What is unknown is who was targeted in receiving these suspicious “Remote Vote” applications and if there is any attempt to suppress voters attempts to exercise their right to vote.

IDCCA President Kristina Zahorik issued the following statement:

“This is an important election. Illinois voters are going to be contacted over the next few weeks by a number of individuals and organizations asking them to Vote By Mail. Voters should be cautious of any Vote By Mail solicitation that claims they will file the application on the voters behalf. Voters should only be submitting their Vote By Mail application to their local election authority, not an unknown PO Box in another county.”

Rock Island County is no stranger to potential voter fraud with Vote By Mail applications. In 2016, another unknown post office box was found to have 1,500 unfiled Vote By Mail applications. Local Republicans have claimed credit for this recent issue with Vote By Mail applications.

President Zahorik also said “Much like their GOP leader Donald Trump, Republican Party leaders continue to sow mistrust in the electoral process. If a voter participates in this “Remote Vote” program, they have no way of knowing for certain that their application makes it to the correct election authority. This process is ripe for shenanigans. For example, local Republicans could cherry pick applications to submit and possibly suppress votes by not forwarding to the proper election authority other applications. If Republicans really cared about Illinois voters, they should direct all voters to submit Vote By Mail applications to their appropriate election authority, not a PO Box.”

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About the IDCCA…

The Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association (IDCCA) is a statewide, grassroots Democratic Party organization comprised of the elected Democratic County Chairs in all 102 counties in Illinois. The mission of the IDCCA is to help elect Democrats in every county and region of Illinois while continuing to grow the Democratic Party throughout the state. McHenry County Democratic Chair Kristina Zahorik is the President of the IDCCA.

Learn more at www.ildcca.org