For the first time - Illinois residents this year will be allowed to register to vote on the same day they cast their ballots.
Governor Pat Quinn has signed a bill that changes election law in the state. Including allowing college students to register to vote using their campus address. And extending the hours of early voting.
But some of those changes are in effect for only this election year. A year when Quinn faces a heated re-election campaign against Republican Bruce Rauner. Quinn, a Democrat, says the bill isn’t about politics.
"We want to see how it works in practice. I think a lot of the election authorities asked us to make this a bill that would be for this election and take a look at how it works out."
But the House Republican Leader, Jim Durkin, was suspicious of Democrats’ motivations when they introduced the bill in May.
"There clearly is something in the air that they don’t like."
Meantime, Cook County Clerk David Orr says there are still safeguards in place to prevent voter fraud.