DuPage recorder says Democrat violated election rules
DuPage County Recorder Fred Bucholz says he doesn't mind facing an opponent in his bid for a fourth term.
But when the incumbent Republican reviewed the primary election nominating petitions for Moon Khan - the Lombard Democrat looking to challenge him in next fall's general election - Bucholz said he couldn't ignore the list of flaws in the documents.
Bucholz said problems with Khan's nominating petitions for the March 15 primary include multiple printed names that appear to have been written by the same person and signatures that don't seem to match what individuals signed when they registered to vote.
"It's very rare to find two (invalid signatures) when you challenge," said Bucholz of Wheaton. "We're finding eight and nine per sheet. That's unheard of. What he (Khan) did, we think, is beyond the bounds of the law."
So Lombard resident Tim Zoellner this week filed an objection claiming that 2,084 of the 2,898 signatures Khan collected are invalid. He said the problems he found include names of people who aren't registered DuPage voters and names of people not registered to the address listed.
Zoellner is asking the county's electoral board to prevent Khan's name from appearing on the Democratic primary ballot.
On Wednesday, Khan insisted he has at least the 844 valid signatures required to appear on the March ballot as a recorder candidate. He said he will fight the claims made in Zoellner's objection.
"Allegations are easy to make," said Khan, a Lombard resident who previously ran for office as a Republican. "They are trying to create a sensation out of nothing."
An initial hearing before the electoral board is scheduled for Monday at the DuPage County Election Commission office in Wheaton.
Khan insisted the voters named on his petition signed it. He said some of them simply decided to print their names.
He accused Bucholz of enlisting Zoellner to file the objection so Bucholz wouldn't have an opponent during the November general election. "They want business as usual," Khan said.
Bucholz, who first was elected in 2004 after being a longtime employee in the recorder's office, said that's not the case.
"I've been working in this office 30 years," Bucholz said. "Why would I worry about an opponent? If the public thinks I should leave after being here 30 years, that's OK.
"But you can't flout the rules that we all have to stand by," he said. "Moon violated basic election laws."
If Khan's name is removed from the primary ballot, DuPage's Democratic organization still can pick him - or another candidate - to run in the November election for the recorder seat. That candidate still would need to gather enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot.