North Cook News

In the wake of the announcement of the arrests and prosecution of five people accused of voting on behalf of the dead, Northfield Township Committeeman T.J. Brown is applauding law enforcement actions.

“It's good to see election laws being enforced,” Brown told North Cook News. “Voter fraud is extremely difficult to prove so whenever perpetrators can be prosecuted you hope that it has the effect of deterring future efforts.”  

The prosecution was announced earlier this week by DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin.

According to Berlin, five DuPage residents cast ballots on behalf of dead voters.

Brown said he’d like to see other prosecutions.

“Election law enforcement should be a focus of state's attorneys and the attorney general's office,” Brown said. “Voter fraud is another form of voter suppression. Every illegal vote cancels out a legal vote. It shakes our confidence in elections.”

Brown said the topic is non-partisan.

“Republicans and Democrats should agree that voting should be accessible to all and done without unreasonable effort in getting to the polls and casting a vote,” he said. “Republicans and Democrats should also agree that every illegal vote is a stain on Democracy, and that every step of the voting process should protect a person's right to vote by also protecting against vote fraud. Republicans and Democrats should also agree on parameters related to tallying the vote, to following the law in relation to when the last ballots should be received and counted, and in overseeing the verification of each voter.”

The question of election integrity has come into focus following reports of widespread irregularities across the country in the past presidential election.

“The very foundation of our country is built upon fair and free elections,” Berlin said in a press release announcing the arrests. “Elections are a sacred duty and while the five defendants charged today represent an infinitesimal percentage of the 491,067 votes cast in the 2020 general election, it is important that anyone suspected of attempting to interfere in any way in the election process be investigated and charged where appropriate."

Brown said he would like to see laws that have created chaos in voter registration be reeled in.

“My biggest concerns about election integrity come from what I believe are well-intentioned but poorly considered and poorly written laws intended to make voting easier but has led to more difficult, less timely and less precise counts,” Brown said. “Procedures for auditing the votes coming in through various means (in person, early in-person, and VBM) haven't built much confidence in the system.”