Kane County Clerk hosts Madison officials, shares best election practices

Kane County Clerk John A. Cunningham recently welcomed City Clerk Mike Haas from Madison, Wisconsin, and several members of his staff to the Kane County Clerk’s office for a tour and a discussion on best practices in the administration of elections.

“It was a pleasure to host Clerk Hass and his staff at our office. Like Kane County, the City of Madison Clerk’s Office was selected as one the top 10 election authorities in the country and served as a Center of Election Excellence,” Clerk Cunningham said. “It is a tribute to the hard work of our staff that we receive this kind of recognition.

“A visit like this provides an opportunity for staff from both offices to exchange ideas and share best practices so that we can continue to serve our voters in the most efficient, accessible and transparent manner,” Cunningham said. “I am proud and humbled that one of the nation’s best election authorities would visit to learn about how we run our elections in Kane County.”

“I want to thank Clerk Cunningham for hosting our staff from the City of Madison Clerk’s office. We appreciated the time and expertise of you and your staff showing us your facilities, equipment and processes,” Clerk Hass said. “It is always helpful to exchange ideas and learn from well-run election operations. We appreciate the collaboration with a fellow Center for Election Excellence partner. Our staff will be able to take ideas back to improve our election procedures thanks to your assistance and hospitality.”

Clerk Cunningham led the team from Madison on a tour of all areas of the clerk’s office, including vital records, tax extension, passports, and elections.

Cunningham showed Clerk’s birth and death records dating back to middle of the 19th century. He also demonstrated the office’s state-of-the-art voting equipment and automated vote by mail ballot processing equipment, which have modernized the election experience for voters while saving taxpayer dollars.

Cunningham added, “As former president of the National Association of County Recorders and Clerks, I have worked with election officials around the county from both parties to build a network to share best practices, evaluate election equipment, and develop new innovative ways to provide services. I enjoy the opportunity to work closely with other election officials to develop ways to work together to find creative ways to serve the public more efficiently and save taxpayer dollars.”

The clerk’s office has hosted a number of election authorities from other states in recent years, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Nevada, Several counties in Illinois, including DeKalb, DuPage, Lake, Peoria, Will, and Winnebago, have also visited the clerk’s office recently.

The clerk’s office continues to strive to be the most transparent election authority in Illinois. Clerk Cunningham has developed innovative ways to serve the public, including expanding early voting, establishing a call center to resolve Election Day issues, developing a voter outreach program to increase voter registration and early voting, and improving technology.