DuPage board candidates disagree about when to disband election commission

County board members are expected to vote in January to eliminate DuPage's election commission and return its duties to the clerk's office.

But Democrats in one DuPage County Board race say the historic vote should be postponed several months.

On Nov. 6, voters in county board District 5 will choose from among GOP incumbent Janice Marie Anderson and three newcomers, Democrats Sadia Covert and Dawn DeSart and Republican Patricia "Patty" Gustin.

The two top vote-getters will fill two seats on the county board representing a district that covers all or parts of Aurora, Lisle, Naperville and Warrenville.

They also will play a role in the planned merger of the clerk's office and the election commission.

Election oversight power was stripped from the clerk's office in the early 1970s to create the election commission. But there have been serious problems during the past three elections, including a blunder that delayed results for hours during the spring primary.

So DuPage got state law changed to allow the county board to dissolve the election commission and return its functions to the clerk's office. With the change taking effect Jan. 1, board members are slated to vote that month.

But with the transition expected to begin soon after the vote, some are questioning whether there will be enough time for the clerk to make wholesale changes to the combined office before the April 2 election.

DeSart and Covert both say they support the merger, but they don't want the changeover to happen until after the April election.

"I think January to April is too quick of a turnaround," said DeSart, a journalist from Aurora who previously served on the Indian Prairie Unit District 204 school board. "Hold off the vote."

Covert, an attorney from Naperville, agreed that it would be better to wait.

"It is not an easy task (to merge offices)," she said. "With a big election coming up, I don't want to risk any confusion or any lost paperwork or have people in a frenzy. We should wait a little to begin the process."

But both Republicans in the race - Anderson and Gustin - say the merger vote should happen in January.

"I don't see a reason for a delay," said Anderson, an executive assistant from Naperville who has served on the county board since 2016 after a previous stint as a Naperville Township trustee.

Anderson said the election commission's past mistakes were "embarrassing" for the county, but she believes the situation will improve if elections are overseen by Clerk Paul Hinds.

But Hinds, a Republican, first needs to defeat Democrat Jean Kaczmarek, who is challenging him in the Nov. 6 election.

Gustin said the clerk candidates know the merger is planned for January, so she doesn't think the vote should be delayed.

"Will there be a learning curve? Yes, there will," said Gustin, who currently serves on the Naperville City Council. "But the county has been doing it - watching over elections - for a long time. So I think the transition, although there may be a bump here or there, will happen and be effective."