Early voting in the DuPage County primary election will be delayed nearly two weeks due to pending petition objections in a judicial race in the county, in one at the state level, and to presidential candidates.
Early voting was to begin Thursday at the offices of the DuPage County Election Commission, with early-voting satellite offices planned to open Feb. 29. Due to the challenges, voters will not be able to cast early ballots at the commission’s office in Wheaton until Feb. 17. By that date, the commission anticipates the ballot challenges will have been determined, said Robert Saar, executive director of the county election commission.
The postponed early voting period also will mean a delay in ballots being mailed out, he said. However, at this point it does not appear there will be any delay in the start of early voting at the satellite sites, he said.
“It is not unusual during a presidential year to get a delay from the state … due to the presidential candidates and presidential delegates,” Saar said. “But we always got a lot of foot traffic here in our office for early voters.”
There is now a shorter time frame between when candidates file their petitions and early voting begins, Saar said.
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Naperville attorney Tom Laz, a Republican, and West Chicago attorney Jennifer Shilakis Wiesner, a Democrat, both appealed a decision of the election commission to invalidate enough of their petitions to rule them ineligible to run for the 18th Judicial Circuit. There is one other candidate for the seat, Judge Liam C. Brennan, a Wheaton Republican appointed to the seat by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2014. His current term expires in December.
Both candidates told the Naperville Sun they believe strongly that their appeal will be upheld and they will be on the ballot for the March 15 primary. The appeals have been sent to the chancery court for a ruling.
Even though there will be a delay, Saar, said the commission should not incur any additional fees due to later printing schedules.
Early voting also will be delayed because the Illinois State Board of Elections has not ruled on objections to several presidential candidates — including one questioning whether Republican candidate Ted Cruz is eligible to run, Kane County officials said Thursday.
Objections were filed against Cruz Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Hillary Clinton, said State Board of Elections General Council Ken Menzel.
Rubio’s candidacy is also being challenged based on whether he is a natural born citizen, Menzel said.
The objection against Clinton’s candidacy involves the number of valid signatures on petitions, he said. There is also an objection to the notaries on Clinton’s signature sheets, he said.
Election officials are meeting Monday to discuss the objections, but a final decision on who stays on the ballot may not come until Feb. 17, Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham said.
Although the time provided for early voting has narrowed due to the delay, Saar said he does not anticipate any negative impact on voting in the primary, largely due to the presidential candidates on the ballot, as well as any local voter referendums that may be up for a vote.
“If it was the November election, I might be more concerned because this kind of delay compacts the early voting schedule,” Saar said.
If there is a change to the early voting start, the election commission said it will update its website with additional information.
Alex Keown is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.