DuPage State's Attorney Misled On Vote Counting: Lawmaker

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst lawmaker says her poll watchers have been given different stories from DuPage County on how mail ballots are being verified.

State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, a Republican, is in a legal battle with the County Clerk's Office on how the agency is verifying signatures on mail ballots.

Mazzochi, who is trailing Elmhurst Democrat Jenn Ladisch Douglass in the District 45 race, said in court documents that an assistant state's attorney was misinformed by the clerk's office on the signature issue.

The attorney was told by the clerk's office that signatures on mail ballots were being compared to those on voter registrations, Mazzochi said.

Yet Mazzochi said her supporters witnessed the signatures being compared to the signatures on ballot applications, which the lawmaker said made vote fraud easier. She said the clerk's employees confirmed to her supporters that's what the office was doing.

In a Nov. 7 email, Assistant State's Attorney Conor McCarthy emailed a Mazzochi supporter that the clerk's office uses the most recent voter registration signature as a comparison. He said the clerk's office doesn't compare to the signatures on ballot applications.

The Mazzochi supporter, attorney Jefferson Perkins, disagreed.

"We saw, with our own eyes, the use of signatures scanned from (vote by mail) applications," Perkins said. "You are not being told the truth."

"(It) is a serious problem, as it allows widespread voter impersonation by people who know as little as the birthdate of the legitimate voter," Perkins said. "They sign the voter's name on the (mail ballot application) form; they sign it again on the (mail) ballot. And: what do you know, they match."

On Tuesday, a DuPage County judge granted a temporary restraining order in response to Mazzochi's lawsuit against the clerk's office. The judge required the clerk to match signatures to voter registrations.

The clerk's office has since appealed the order to the state Supreme Court.

The clerk's office's outside attorney, Pat Bond, said the local court had no authority to issue orders involving an election before official results are declared.

The local court's order appears to be the first of its kind in the history of Illinois elections law, he said.

Such an order invites "political agents of any political association to file unauthorized lawsuits" while vote counting is occurring, Bond said.

The clerk's office has not answered Patch's questions about its verification process. Mazzochi and Douglass have not returned messages.

Since Wednesday, the voting results in the District 45 race have remained unchanged. Douglass has drawn 21,858 votes to Mazzochi's 21,517, a margin of 341 votes, according to unofficial results.

To be counted, mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received within two weeks of the election.

Wednesday's story on the Mazzochi-Douglass race includes more information about the latest battles.

The district includes all or parts of Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills and Western Springs, among other towns.