Fewer voter complaints in Kane County compared to 2008
Officials at the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office answered 48 calls on their election hotline last week, most due to polling or registration questions and a handful of electioneering complaints.
Prosecutors also personally visited about half the 96 polling places in the county on Election Day to ensure there were no violations, State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said Tuesday during his monthly media briefing.
“Overall, we’re very pleased with the process,” he said.
Assistants State’s Attorney Amy Engerman said that in the 2008 election, officials received 120 calls, but most of these were questions for the Aurora Election Commission, which is separate from the county and has its own legal counsel.
Engerman said this time around, some common queries and complaints were from voters who had problems finding the right entrance at a polling place, such as a school, or whether an ID was needed to vote. Typically, a government issued ID is only needed to vote early.
“This was a pretty big election for us this year as far as the hotline goes,” she said. “Some voters think that an ID should be used on Election Day. Some don’t. It goes back and forth.”
McMahon said most of the polling places that his staff visited were in Elgin and Dundee townships.
“All inquiries were resolved at the site, no charges were necessary and there were no disruptions to the voting process,” he said.
McMahon said election judges working at each polling place have the hotline number provided by his office as well as a hotline for Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham’s office for general questions, such as where to vote.