DuPage County Considers Referendum Dissolving Election Commission

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin may use a voter referendum to help dissolve the county’s election commission. Cronin has reached out to lawmakers in Springfield requesting that they merge the DuPage County Election Commission with the county clerk’s office. According to Daily Herald, dissolving the election commission into the county clerk’s office would create a five-person panel that is more likely to be bipartisan.

The bipartisan bill, which was co-sponsored by Oak Park Senator Don Harmon (D) and Elmhurst Senator Chris Nybo (R) was passed by the Illinois Senate last month. Last week, the measure was sent back to the rules committee in the Illinois House, Daily Herald reported.

Cronin told Daily Herald that DuPage County “can’t afford to” wait to see whether or not the House approves the measure, adding “We believe it’s in the best interest of the taxpayers that we move forward.”

The DuPage County Election Commission was established in 1973 as an independent bipartisan agency made up of appointed judges who are tested and trained before overseeing the county’s four elections that take place every two years. The catch is that the election commission is a three person board, so it’s impossible to have bipartisan representation. According to Daily Herald, there are currently two Republicans serving on the three-person election commission.

It would take a binding referendum to dissolve the election commission, but a new bipartisan panel can’t be formed without approval from state lawmakers. Cronin wants to get the first step out of the way before starting a new bipartisan panel, since that would have to wait on Springfield —and contend with some resistance from local politicians— before it becomes a reality.

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