GOP is reason for ballot delay

Willard Helander, Lake County Clerk, should be ashamed for using the media to blame five Democratic candidates for delaying the printing of election ballots. These candidates were pushed off the ballot in the first place by Republican challenges to their nominations and an all-Republican election board.

It should not have been a surprise to Ms. Helander that these candidates sought an impartial hearing in the courts. The cases are in court now and are receiving expedited treatment. They should be decided in plenty of time for ballots to be printed. However, there is a simple solution to this problem that Ms. Helander does not mention: The Republicans could drop their challenges.

That would immediately put these candidates on the ballot and allow the printing of ballots without delay. Let the voters decide who deserves to be elected to these seats. It's called democracy.

However, Lake County Republicans are fighting tooth and nail to make sure that their incumbents run unopposed. Case in point: When one of our candidates won her court case, the Republicans re-challenged her candidacy. That is one of the cases the Republicans are now dragging out in court.

All this should make voters wonder what incumbent Republicans are so afraid of.

Nancy Shepherdson

8th District Democratic Committeewoman