This post covers some recent additional concerns about a ballot order error on previously published sample ballots and a delay in voter registration cards. The order error is on the Democratic Primary ballot race concerning delegates for the Democratic National Convention. The voter registration cards aren't required to actually vote, but typically have important voter information on them.
Ballot Order Correction:
The Champaign County Republican Party is pointing to State Board of Elections documents as proof that the Champaign County Clerk, Democrat Aaron O. Ammons, was the source of a ballot order error for what were already corrected sample ballots published in the News-Gazette earlier this month. The ballot order error appears to be on one section involving the selection of actual delegates who would go to the Democratic National Convention for specific presidential candidates. The Republican's facebook page explained their concerns:
A couple of weeks ago we posted about the News-Gazette article concerning the mistake in ballot design by our County Clerk. Within the comments (and no doubt in other online chatter) some Democrats claimed that this was a mistake by the State Board of Elections.The post refers to a blurb in the News-Gazette excerpted at this previous County Updates Cheat Sheet post here and on the Republican Party's facebook page here. The generic specimen ballots were published in the News-Gazette earlier this month, apparently with the differing order on Democratic delegates being the only remaining issue. Copies of those sample ballots are available at this previous Cheat Sheet post here.
The photos here are of the official certification by the State Board of Elections which were emailed to the County Clerk on January 13. This error was entirely on our County Clerk.
By the way, that article from two weeks ago also stated that the specimen would be "published on the county clerk's website." It still isn't there.
The State Board of Elections documents posted on the Republican's facebook page do appear to show a different order than the generic specimen ballots published. And as of this writing, the corrected generic specimen ballots still do not appear on the sample ballots page on the County Clerk's website. There is a link to request sample ballots specific to individual voters which is a change from previous elections. The previous automated system allowed voters to look up their basic voter, registration, and ballot information. That section of the website currently states:
Voter look up is not available now, please call our office (217) 384-3720 to verify information or e-mail elections@co.champaign.il.usOther election information and updates are available from the County Clerk's website here.
Voter Registration Card Delays:
In last week's Tom's Mailbag there was a question about a lag in voter registration cards being sent out due to a new system:
Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons said his office is “currently processing all voter registrations. We are transferring to a new Voter Registration Program because the old program was a proprietary program that no longer has tech support.”Full Mailbag article available here with additional information on when other forms of ID might be required. Example from the County Clerk's website:
He said there would be “a lag in people getting their actual cards” but, he added, “they do not need them to vote. Everyone in this situation will definitely receive a voter registration card. I anticipate being able to start sending them out by the end of this week and from there it’s usually seven to 10 business days to receive it in the mail. Anyone who has registered recently is being processed and will be able to vote in the (March 17) primary.”
He said there are not a lot of people in this situation and stressed that a voter registration card is not needed to vote.
If the person is a first time voter required to show ID, the acceptable forms of ID include:
- a current and valid photo ID
- a current utility bill
- bank statement
- government check
- paycheck
- a student ID along with a lease or other government document that shows name and address
As usual I leave it to the reader to decide how much weight to give to these issues, from mild annoyances to concerning patterns, or maybe even valid partisan checks and balances.
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