Dupage Policy Journal

Burr Ridge business owner Margot Henshaw is calling for election reform after several high profile instances of electoral problems in Illinois during the Nov. 8 election. 

“We should all want true and transparent elections reflecting the actual will of the people,” Henshaw told DuPage Policy Journal. 

“For that to happen we would need to: End mail- out ballots Expunge the voter rolls and re-register all Illinoisans with photo ID and one other form with name on it and current address. Restrict the reasons ( ie.military service) and time period for absentee ballots, they would need to be requested one month prior to the election and submitted no less than one week prior to the election for accurate eligible voters on Election Day. There must be an Election Day, not an Election Week or more. There must be a paper ballot for each vote cast. Any 'Curing' of absentee ballots must be done by an election official from each party. Valid photo I.D. must accompany voter to the polls. No 'harvesting' of ballots from churches or nursing homes.  This should be an offense punishable by prison time. Voters must vote in his/her own precinct, even though ballots are now printed on the spot at the polling place. All election supervisory personnel need to be aware that any embezzlement of election results rests with them and that they will ultimately be held responsible for the fraud.  Florida caught Brenda Snipes and Susan Bucher, thus changing Florida from being a swing state.”

Henshaw's remarks follow a 2022 election that was full of mistakes and oversights. 

The DuPage County Clerk most recently received a temporary restraining order after state representative Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) questioned how the office was "improperly using Vote by Mail applications to validate a voter's signature on a Vote by Mail ballot." Mazzochi noted the court determined "using a Vote by Mail application to qualify signatures on the Vote by Mail ballot itself would be an obvious way to commit ballot fraud."

Along with other things like Kath Salvi, a GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate, whose name was omitted from the Schuyler County ballot. 

State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) asserted that in all of his years in politics, he has never encountered a ballot error of this magnitude. “I have never seen an error of this magnitude on a ballot. This is a serious mistake.” 

“Absolutely, we should be concerned about this. It is not just the Senate race at stake here. Other races could be affected. What if there is a close local election? What if these ballots are determined to be invalid because of the error? There could be all kinds of repercussions from the mistake made on these ballots. There needs to be a viable solution to correct the error.”

Additionally, due to a recent wave of late votes that altered the outcomes of three Will County contests a week after the election, calls for election reform are expanding throughout the county. 

Democratic incumbent Treasurer Tim Brophy was trailing Republican opponent Raj Pillai on election night, Democratic Associate Judge Jessica Colon-Sayre was behind Republican Joliet Attorney Bob Bodach, and Republican challenger Jim Reilly was ahead of Democratic incumbent Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley. 

Some people questioned the timing of the late Democrat vote increase after the November 8 election. 

“Over 6400 vote by mail votes dropped in Will County today. A full week after Election Day. Changing the results of multiple races. And people wonder why confidence in the system is being lost,” Safe Suburbs USA PAC said on Twitter. Ferry did not immediately respond to a request fro comment from Will County Gazette.