Claim:
Some activists have called for the resignation of Republican Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham, citing a perceived lack of election security.
Facts:
There is no evidence that Kane County elections are not secure. Cunningham has rejected these claims and defended the integrity of Kane County’s election systems.
The Kane County Clerk’s Office is responsible for overseeing the election process. This includes everything from voter registration and ballot design to tabulation and the certification of results. The office works in partnership with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure that elections are free, fair, and secure.
Across the United States, all 60 cases brought to a court in the United States since 2020 have been rejected for lack of evidence. There simply is no evidence for the claims.
The Kane County Clerk, currently elected to a four-year term, is responsible for implementing both state and local election laws. In recent years, this office has taken significant steps to ensure that elections are as secure as possible. The election administration system provides a high degree of election security and integrity, using a combination of modern voting technology, secure mail-in ballot automation, layered auditing, accessibility, bipartisan oversight, and cybersecurity.
Illinois is one of the leaders in election security with its paper trail of ballots that voters confirm before leaving the ballot box. Over the last fifty years, Kane County’s use of technology has evolved from the punch-card voting machines and early wheel-and-button direct-recording electronic (DRE) systems to the ballot marking and optical scanning devices currently in use.
In 2023, Kane County invested $7.3 million to upgrade to the Hart InterCivic Verity Duo voting system—a ballot-marking device where voters select their choices on a touchscreen, print a paper ballot, verify it, and insert it into an optical scanner. This system provides both voter-verifiable paper ballots and digital tallying with a permanent paper trail.
Election officials verify the voter’s name, address and signature against electronic voter registration system records. Poll watchers from any party or candidate can observe the process at polling sites, early-vote centers, mail ballot processing, and nursing home voting.
Mail-in Ballots:
Ballots are mailed out about 40 days prior to elections. The return ballots must be postmarked by election day or dropped off in person.
In 2020, Kane County automated its mail‑ballot process using the BlueCrest Relia‑Vote system. Ballots are uniquely barcoded, tracked, sorted, signature-verified via camera, and opened in a bipartisan-controlled environment. Voters must submit a valid form of identification with their absentee ballots, and the county utilizes barcode systems to track the receipt and processing of each vote.Mail-in ballots are handled only by bipartisan teams, under camera surveillance, with chain-of-custody protocols at every stage.
Further Information
https://clerk.kanecountyil.gov/Elections/Pages/Pollwatchers.aspx
