Conflicts of interest highlight problems with election regulation

DuPage recently held hearings on most of the petition challenges filed in the county. From the Daily Herald:

Only one of the six DuPage County candidates who had their nominating paperwork challenged was kicked off the ballot after hearings before the county's electoral board Friday.

This is what I found to be most interesting:

Election commission attorney Pat Bond and commission Chairman Rick Carney were absent from most of the morning's hearings because of possible conflicts of interest. Bond has done work for Zaruba in the past, and either contributed to the campaigns of the other candidates or their opponents. Carney, the county's former recorder, also has been a supporter of the candidates or their opponents.

Attorney Burt Odelson stepped in for Bond during four of the hearings, and Wood Dale Mayor Ken Johnson was appointed by Chief DuPage Judge Stephen Culliton to replace Carney on the electoral board for all six objections.

DuPage County has an independent election commission. (I think this is the only county-wide election commission in Illinois). This article highlights some of the problems with an independent election commission. Many of the people involved with the commission are also highly involved in local politics - creating conflicts when resolving disputes between various candidates. This shouldn't be a surprise. What is kind of surprising is that during the busiest time for any election commission, on what is probably their most important duty next to voter registration, many members of the board are too conflicted to carry that duty out. Maybe the system worked perfectly as those that were conflicted excused themselves from a hearing on the merits. But I can't help but wonder what is the point of paying for an election commission full of people who can't perform their duty? Is there a better way to handle petition challenges in DuPage?

Voter Registration Extended (again)

Early voting has become the norm across the country and, although late to the game, it has become very important in Illinois. A new law will extend the period of "grace period voting" in Illinois for another week. Grace period is in reference to the a small window of time during early voting when a person can register and vote at the same time. This effectively extends the time frame where unregistered persons can register (although they must go in person to their election authority). With the new law a person can register up to seven days prior to the election. This gets Illinois very close to same-day registration.

Will the Election Reform Bill be killed by the SCOTUS?

Just a few weeks ago the General Assembly passed a ground-breaking (well, for Illinois) new election reform bill which, in part, brings a cap on campaign contributions for the first time. But will this provision of the bill be ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court before it ever goes into effect?

The Supreme Court is set to rule on the constitutionality of limiting corporate campaign donations in Citizens United v. FEC. We will have to wait and see how far the Supreme Court will go in answering the yet unanswered question of the constitutionality of limiting campaign contributions. From USA Today:

If the Supreme Court opens the door to more corporate money in political campaigns, it could affect laws in nearly two dozen states and a host of governor's races next year, including high-profile contests in Texas and Connecticut, experts say.

...

"The Supreme Court decision has the potential to open the floodgates," said Paul Ryan, of the non-profit Campaign Legal Center, which supports campaign-finance restrictions.

..

State laws vary widely. They range from jurisdictions such as Virginia, Missouri and Illinois, which impose no restrictions, to Oklahoma where unions and companies cannot donate directly to candidates. In Virginia, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $972,877 to aid McDonnell — more than any other business group in this year's race for governor, according to data compiled by the non-partisan Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks campaign money.

Challenge: Candidate's address on petition

State Rep. Deb Mell's (former Gov. Blago's sister-in-law) petitions are being challenged. She is registered to vote at a different address than the one stated on the petitions she circulated (and, presumably, on her statement of candidacy). The law here is not clearly defined, though I think she has a big problem. From the Sun-Times:

A challenge was filed Monday with the State Board of Elections against Rep. Deborah Mell (D-Chicago) by a rival in the Feb. 2 primary, Joe Laiacona.

The basis for his objection is that Mell is not registered to vote at the address she listed as her primary residence, as Illinois election law requires, said election lawyer Richard Means, who represents Laiacona.

“This is a very common amateur mistake. But one would think as a sitting state legislator, she isn’t an amateur,” Means said.

Petition Challenge Season is Open

From the Tribune:

The madness begins again in earnest this week as hearing officers start considering challenges to petitions filed by political candidates in the February primary.

Cook County will be weighing 105 challenges, Chicago 28 and Illinois a record 32 as candidates and their supporters hope to win a game of "gotcha" and knock prospective opponents off the ballot.