Election 2022: DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder candidates again weigh in on voter accessibility, technology

DeKALB – During their second live candidate forum in a week, DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder candidates Democrat Linh Nguyen and Republican Tasha Sims discussed voting accessibility and how technology could improve it.

The forum was held during a live WLBK-FM 98.9/AM 1360 radio Tuesday ahead of the General Election, Nov. 8.

Nguyen, of DeKalb, teaches chemistry at Northern Illinois University and holds a PhD in computational chemistry. She said in her line of work she has to write code and utilize advanced computing architecture, hardware and software to do calculations on billions of data points, analyze the data and store it. Nguyen said she believes that expertise makes her a qualified candidate for the clerk’s position.

“So my computer knowledge on hardware and software would help me vet vendors who come to the county clerk and recorder office so that I can choose the best service for the cheapest price,” Nguyen said.

Sims, of Kingston, is an executive assistant in the DeKalb County Administration Office and has worked in county government for almost 15 years, including in the county clerk’s office as deputy clerk. That decade and a half of experience is what Sims said she believes makes her a reputable candidate.

“I have grown both professionally and personally through my 15 years at DeKalb County government and it’s given me a good opportunity to understand not only how county government works but how all of the different units of government works together,” Sims said.

The clerk and recorder position in a four-year elected office responsible for a variety of government record-keeping tasks, and is also responsible for administering countywide elections. The clerk also keeps county records and business registrations, and offers notary and record research services.

Both candidates were asked how to make voting more accessible to DeKalb County residents. Sims said whether the clerk’s office reaches to out the public through legacy media outlets or social media, “educating the public is key.”

“It’s always going to be a challenge, we have a very diverse county,” Sims sad. “How can we reach each population, each demographic, how can we do that? So it’s always going to be an ongoing struggle. It’s one that I have no problem attacking.”

Nguyen, former president of the DeKalb County League of Women Voters, said she thinks informed voters are the best defender of democracy. Nguyen said she wants to establish text-based communications for alerting DeKalb County voters to information they need to efficiently and securely vote.

“We have to utilize social media. As the president of League of Women voters before the election 2020, I ran our three social media accounts,” Nguyen said. “And we pushed out a lot of voter education campaign, and our posts reached more than 51,000 views. I’m confident to say that our effort partially contributed to the historic turnout of 75% for the election 2020.”

Both candidates were also asked about long lines on Northern Illinois University’s campus during previous elections. Sims said by statute there has to be a polling place on campus, but said she thinks the office can do a better job of informing college students what early voting options they have.

“I feel like with my experience ... I’ve worked many elections – that if I know that there’s an issue out at a polling place I’m willing to jump in and help where needs be,” Sims said, noting that students may be waiting in the wrong line.

Nguyen, who works on NIU’s campus, said she is “very well aware of this issue,” and mentioned that the county’s current and past election authority cleans up the voter roll by sending out new voter ID cards based on the address of registered voters. Nguyen said she believes that presents a problem for students living on campus who get assigned new dorm rooms – and thus a new mailing address – before the fall semester, resulting in a potential loss of voter mailed voter ID cards and student voters needing to reregister.

“So when they show up at the same polling place where they just had voted last year – so they [are an] active voter – but they [are] no longer on the roll,” Nguyen said. “So they have to reregister and vote on the same day and that’s why the line is long.”

To register to vote or check your voter registration status in DeKalb County, visit: www.dekalb.il.clerkserve.com/?cat=12