Illinois DHS appointment sparks backlash over alleged voter registration mailer practices

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The appointment of Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Dulce Quintero is drawing renewed criticism from Republican lawmakers and voter integrity advocates, who argue unresolved questions surrounding voter registration mailers should have received greater scrutiny before her confirmation.

Among the most outspoken critics is State Sen. Steve McClure, who publicly opposed Quintero’s appointment and pointed to concerns regarding IDHS mailings sent through public benefits programs.

“One of the main concerns is the fact that we discovered about a year and a half ago that DHS has been mailing non-citizens who are applying for state benefits forms to register to vote that are already pre-filled out to the county clerks,” McClure said in remarks shared publicly.

McClure further argued that county election officials may lack the ability to independently verify citizenship status.

“And the Democrats changed the laws in our state so that you can no longer verify whether someone is a citizen or not,” McClure said. “So the county clerks don’t have access to that information.”

According to McClure, concerns surrounding the issue were not newly discovered during the confirmation process.

“We already looked into it over a year ago,” he said. “We knew this was happening.”

McClure said he directly raised questions with agency leadership and was dissatisfied with the responses he received.

“At the confirmation hearing, the Secretary’s only response was that, yes, this is happening,” McClure said. “And I said, ‘Well, what are you going to do about it?’ They said they’d get back to me. And DHS has never gotten back to me about this.”

The Center Square did not immediately receive a response from IDHS.

Voter integrity advocate Carol Davis also criticized the appointment and said she was not surprised by Quintero being confirmed despite the concerns raised by lawmakers.

“I think it’s a travesty, and I think it’s blatant fraud by the state of Illinois,” Davis told The Center Square when discussing the allegations.

Davis argued that if voter registration forms tied to benefit packets are routed directly to local election offices, local officials may not have the tools necessary to verify eligibility.

“The county clerks and local election authorities have no mechanism to verify citizenship of any voter that they get,” Davis said.

She also expressed concerns about how such materials may be presented within larger benefits packets.

“They’re probably not outright asking them, but they’re including them in the paperwork that they’re sending,” Davis said. “You can bet they don’t have ‘only citizens can register to vote’ stamped across the top of that thing in red letters.”

Davis also criticized what she characterized as a broader pattern in state election policy.

“It’s become so blatant the way the Democrats are setting up the avenues for fraud in Illinois,” she said. “They don’t even try to hide it anymore.”

The controversy has intensified calls from critics for further review of IDHS procedures and for additional transparency regarding how voter registration materials are distributed through state benefit programs.

McClure urged residents with concerns to contact state officials.

“This is a serious problem,” McClure said. “It’s bad not just for the integrity of our elections. It’s also bad for any immigrant who’s not a citizen who votes.”