Mazzochi Gets Court Ruling to Stop Count of Some DuPage County Ballots
Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) trails in her run for re-election.
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Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst), who trails by 341 votes in her race for re-election against Democrat Jenn Ladisch Douglass, won a victory Tuesday when a DuPage County judge ruled the County Clerk couldn’t verify signatures on mail-in ballots using their 2022 ballot application.
That’s a little confusing on its face, so let me try to get into the what and why here.
When you go to the poll to vote on Election Day and sign the poll book, election judges compare that signature to the one on file with your registration. What the Mazzochi campaign is alleging is that the DuPage County Clerk is using the application for the mail in ballot to verify the signature on the mail-in ballot envelope. Republicans argue it would be far easier to have someone sign an application and mail-in ballot fraudulently if the old signature isn’t checked.
In a letter to DuPage County Election Attorney Patrick Bond and obtained by The Illinoize, GOP lawyer John Fogarty argued using the applications is illegal.
“We contend that this practice is not only not authorized by statute, it is contrary to a common sense, consistent application of the law. Comparison of the signature on the returned [vote by mail] ballot to the VBM ballot application provides no assurance that the person who has executed the VBM ballot is actually the voter. Rather, in order to be assured that the person who has executed the VBM ballot is actually the voter, it is imperative that that signature be compared to the voter’s registration record.”
In his order yesterday, DuPage County Judge James Orel granted Mazzochi’s Temporary Restraining Order request.
“If a voter’s signature on the mail-in ballot does not match the signature on the voter’s registration on file with the DuPage County Clerk’s office, that ballot must be segregated and marked “Rejected” as required by Article 19 of the Election Code and the Clerk shall follow the voter notification procedures set forth therein,” the judge wrote.
By my unofficial count, Ladisch Douglass’ DuPage County vote total actually dropped yesterday from 21,215 on Monday night to 21,191 last night (which are likely ballots that were pulled out). That cut Mazzochi’s defecit from 370 votes to 341.
DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek did not return a message from The Illinoize yesterday.
This one is already messy and could get really messy before it’s finally certified.