On December 2nd, 2014, in partnership with Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and JustVote, SAAPRI released a report titled “Illinois Embraces EDR: A Review of the Election Day Pilot Program for the 2014 General Election.” The report finds that there is strong demand for Election Day Registration (EDR) in Illinois and that the state should make the program permanent and devote more resources to it. EDR can make a crucial difference in tight races and give a voice to thousands of people who otherwise would not have been able to vote.
On December 3rd, 2014, the General Assembly passed SB0172, a sweeping voting rights bill that allows voters to register and vote on Election Day, expands early voting, offers Grace Period Registration on university campuses, and modernizes our registration processes. We celebrate this victory and congratulate all whose hard work made this possible.
SAAPRI has been a proud partner of Election Protection Illinois, distributing non-partisan information about voting rights to numerous South Asian voters in collaboration with community-based organizations such as Asian Health Coalition, Indo-American Center (IAC), and Compassionate Care Network, Inc.