Steve Balich Editors Note: In my opinion, Ferry The Will County Clerk wants to eliminate the Township Clerk position in specific Will County Townships with the help of friends in the State Legislature. Problem is there is no discussion of added costs and she seems to be having a problem running her own office without taking on more responsibility. Are there other misprinted ballots that just are not reported? Why does Ferry need a chief of staff when the Nancy Voots and Jan Gould managed the office without a chief of staff?
———————————————————————————————–
Will County Clerk puts out recall on five misprinted mail-in ballots
County official: Problem was when a printer jammed
ELECTION
The Will County Clerk’s Office has advised a handful of voters that they got the wrong mail-in ballots.
The problem is believed to have occurred in five ballots out of the more than 5,000 sent to voters, said Charles B. Pelkie, chief of staff for the county clerk.
The clerk’s office on Friday sent overnight letters to the five affected voters along with replacement ballots, advising those who already voted to vote again.
“The goal here is we want to make sure that everyone gets the correct ballot,” Pelkie said.
The problem occurred when a printer jammed on one batch of mail-in ballots.
Pelkie said the county clerk’s office became aware of the issue from a voter who reported that his wife’s ballot was different from his, even though they lived at the same address.
Deputy clerks are going through all ballots as they come back to ensure that they are correct, Pelkie said. The ballots can be checked by identifying information on the tops and bottoms of the ballots, he said.
The process is being questioned by one affected voter – Jim McFarland, a former Joliet councilman who now lives in Frankfort.
“The concern I have is why are they opening a sealed ballot before the central count?” McFarland said, referring to the designated day when mail-in ballots are tabulated.
“Where’s the integrity? I thought it was your constitutional right that no one knew how you voted.”
Pelkie said deputy clerks are able to check the ballot style to identify the correct ballot without looking at names and offices on the ballot.
“No one looked at the way anyone voted in this election, including Mr.
McFarland,” he said. “All we wanted to do is make sure everyone got the correct ballot, and that’s what we did.”
Pelkie said the county clerk followed instructions from the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, which was consulted once the problem was found.
Assistant State’s Attorney Phil Mock said the county clerk’s office has the ability under state statute to open mail-in ballots ahead of the central count date.
“They can open them the same day they come back to process – not to count,” Mock said. “They open and check for mistakes all the time. That’s what they do with mail-in ballots.”
