Illinois admits noncitizens voted in 2018 election; Democratic leader blames 'programming error'

The Illinois State Board of Elections admitted Monday that noncitizens illegally voted in the 2018 election due to the state's new automatic voter registration process.

Agency spokesman Matt Dietrich told WCIA-TV that 574 noncitizens were inadvertently registered to vote prior to the election — and a number of them exercised that power.

"We do know that some of them voted," he said.

Unfortunately for Illinois citizens, Dietrich did not say how many noncitizens actually cast a vote in the 2018 election.

Meanwhile, state Secretary of State Jesse White, a Democrat, blamed the illegal voting on a "programming error" in the state's new voter registration system and characterized the problem as an "isolated" incident, according to WCIA.

Illegal voting was made possible because noncitizens are permitted to obtain a driver's license in Illinois, and automatic voter registration also takes place at the DMV. Automatic voter registration was signed into law by former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) in 2017.

In response to the news, Illinois Republicans are calling for an investigation into the AVR system.

State Rep. Tim Butler (R) told WCIA that an investigation critical to protect the integrity of Illinois elections, and because inadvertently permitting illegal voting could have swift legal consequences for noncitizens who are legal residents.

"If that person voted, that's a huge problem when it comes to the federal government," Butler said. "That's a deportable offense for this person. And if that's the case, that's something that's on the Secretary of State's office for allowing that offense to happen."

Illinois' government is run by Democrats.