In joint effort, election authorities try to tamp down misinformation
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[September 27, 2023]
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – Six months before the next presidential primary elections
in Illinois, county clerks and other local election authorities are
asking for the public’s help in stopping misinformation campaigns before
they get started.
Officials from 25 counties scheduled a series of news conferences
Tuesday in Tazewell, McLean and LaSalle counties. At the Tazewell event,
the election officials said accusations of vote tampering and other
misinformation campaigns have proliferated in each of the last two
presidential election cycles, and they fear it could get worse in 2024.
“You know us. Our kids attend the same schools,” Tazewell County Clerk
John Ackerman said at a news conference in Pekin. “We shop at the same
supermarkets. We are actively involved in the communities we represent.
You also know as election authorities we are all working together
regularly for best practices and procedures.”
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Some of the election officials described misinformation they have
encountered in recent elections, including accusations that voting
machines had been rigged or that tabulation machines had been hacked,
and social media rumors that certain polling places were closing early
or had run out of ballots.
“So we actually have social media monitors that we hire on Election Day,
and even before, and they try to watch as many as possible – you can’t
watch them all – and see if something comes up so we can get ahead of
them, whether it's Reddit or Facebook or whatever,” McLean County Clerk
Kathy Michael said.
Elizabeth Gannon, executive director of the Peoria County Election
Commission, noted that all voting equipment used in Illinois is
certified by both the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the
Illinois State Board of Elections.
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“And all of that information is available at the State Board of
Elections because you can see the tests that they run and all of the
ins and outs that that equipment has been put through to show that
it is counting accurately and that it can be trusted,” she said.
State Board of Elections spokesperson Matt Dietrich said
misinformation campaigns not only hinder election officials in
performing their jobs, but they also erode public confidence in the
integrity of the election system.
“Whether it's false rumors on social media about Sharpie markers, or
more serious but equally untrue allegations about manipulation of
voting equipment, we in the election community are working hard to
debunk these attacks,” he said. “We're starting here now, well
before the 2024 primary.”
Ackerman said anyone who has questions or concerns about voting
equipment or election procedures should simply contact their local
election authority.
“We welcome your inquiries,” he said. “Better yet, get involved in
our processes. We all need more election judges. You're never going
to hear one of us say we don’t want more election judges. Get
involved in the process.”
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It
is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide.
It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the
Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from
the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial
Association.
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