DuPage to update voter registration records ahead of 2020 primary

DuPage officials are working to ensure the county's voter registration database is up to date before the March 2020 primary election.

The county clerk's office recently sent postcards to every active registered voter in DuPage. They will help the office's election division determine if any of the nearly 650,000 voters in the database have moved.

"I remain firmly committed to optimizing voter registration, participation and access in DuPage County," Clerk Jean Kaczmarek said Thursday. "Simultaneously, my office will follow national and state laws to keep the voter registration database as accurate as possible."

Voters who have died, moved or been inactive for two or more consecutive federal election cycles are supposed to be removed from county voter rolls before an election.

Kaczmarek said the update is mandated by the National Voter Registration Act and the Illinois Election Code.

It's unclear when DuPage had its last complete voter verification. Kaczmarek said postage expenditures suggest it may have been more than a decade.

"We have close to 650,000 registered voters and a population of roughly 915,000," said Kaczmarek, adding that periodic checks are needed to ensure the number of registered voters is accurate.

Since postcards were mailed about two weeks ago, nearly 27,000 have been returned. A second mailer will be sent to those names in 60 days.

"When a postcard is returned, that voter is placed into inactive status," Kaczmarek said.

Voters residing at the address on the postcard don't need to do anything except check their polling place on the back. The card isn't required to vote.

If a member of a household no longer resides at the address on the postcard, instructions should be followed for notifying the county clerk's election division.

Kaczmarek said residents also should notify her office if they received a postcard and hadn't voted in two or more consecutive federal elections.

Roughly $225,000 was spent on postage for the postcards. Most of the costs associated with the mailing will be paid with grants from the Illinois State Board of Elections.