By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The debate over Illinois’ voter rolls intensifies after the U.S. Department of Justice requests full voter data to enforce federal law, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker raising alarm and conservatives calling his response paranoid.

In a video shared on social media, Pritzker claimed the DOJ’s request signals something more sinister.

“What they seem to be looking for, remember back to the 2020 elections, is voter fraud, which lots of organizations have been looking for for a long time. There’s very little voter fraud going on, very little,” said Pritzker. “They’re calling for all these databases so they can look through them, and yet they won’t tell you when they’ll come up with any conclusions about whatever it is they’re looking for.”

Pritzker went further, suggesting the DOJ’s request could be a pretext for election interference, warning it might lead to voter intimidation or even armed individuals seizing ballot boxes during the next election.

“You’re going to have soldiers or people dressed as soldiers at polling places, saying they’re protecting your voting rights,’” Pritzker said. “And then there’s the possibility they’ll do what Michael Flynn urged in 2020, seize ballot boxes so the military can conduct a so-called fair count.”

Illinois Conservative Union Chairman and election integrity advocate Carol Davis called the governor’s comments “a delusional overreaction”

“Pritzker’s recent statement regarding the DOJ request once again proves he is living in his own scary little world of delusion and paranoia,” Davis said. “Tragically, many on the left are showing increasing signs of mental instability.”

Davis said the DOJ’s request is standard oversight under federal law, not political intimidation

“The DOJ made it very clear their due diligence is to ensure states comply with the National Voter Registration Act,” Davis told The Center Square. “Governor Pritzker, take a deep breath and calm down. What you’re seeing are responsible leaders fulfilling their oaths of office.”

Recently, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller also criticized Pritzker, asserting, on social media, that the governor refused the DOJ’s request to remove ineligible voters, including illegal aliens, from Illinois’ voter rolls.

Pritzker maintains his administration is protecting voter privacy and election integrity.

“Put all the things happening right now together, the fight over whether the 2020 election was stolen, the January 6th riot, the pardons, and ask yourself: does what I just said seem completely ridiculous?” Pritzker asked. “With Trump as president, Stephen Miller in the White House, and the same advisers operating at the edges of the law, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.”