Kane County voters asked to confirm clerk’s office has up-to-date info

The Kane County Clerk’s Office has mailed out voter registration cards to all registered voters in the county and is asking them to inspect the cards for anything inaccurate or outdated.

Clerk John A. Cunningham said the cards were mailed in June and asked voters to review them, make sure information on the card is correct and contact his office in case of any errors.

“The card is your official documentation as a registered voter in Kane County,” Cunningham said in a news release.

The cards were mailed with return postage paid, “so if the voter registration card has the name of someone who no longer lives at your address, please write ‘MOVED’ or ‘NO LONGER LIVES HERE’ and place the card back in the mail to return to the Clerk’s Office,” the release stated.

“We receive change of address documentation from most voters when they register at a different address so that we can update our files, and we remove deceased voters from the rolls when we receive notice of their deaths,” Cunningham said. “However, sometimes when a voter moves from one address in Kane County to another and does not update their voter registration with us, we are not informed that the voter has moved.”

Cunningham added, “We need your help in identifying voters who no longer reside at your address. It is crucial to helping to keep our voter rolls updated. This is especially important if your family member, especially a student who has left for college, has moved and not sent us a change of address form.”

Cunningham said the cards are sent every two years in accordance with state and federal elections and are part of a “biannual voter registration purging process.”

“Removing voters from the registration rolls cannot be done arbitrarily and is governed by both state and federal law. When a voter registration card is returned to the Clerk’s Office, the Clerk’s Office will attempt to confirm the voter’s address. If the voter does not confirm the address, the voter will be moved to the inactive voter list. Voters can also be moved to the inactive voter list after not participating in two consecutive years of elections. Voters can only be purged from the voter roll as a result on non-participation after two federal election cycles (4 years),” the release said.

Following the April 1 local election, the Clerk’s Office moved more than 25,000 voters to “Inactive Voter” status, the office said, adding those inactive voters received a confirmation letter providing them with the opportunity to confirm their address if they still live in the same place as when they registered to vote.

Voters are encouraged to visit the Kane County Clerk’s website at clerk.kanecountyil.gov/Elections to check their voter registration status and address or to find a change-of-address form.

The Clerk’s Office said it “continues to strive to be the most transparent election authority in Illinois. Clerk Cunningham has developed innovative ways to serve the public, including expanding early voting, establishing a call center to resolve Election Day issues, developing a Voter Outreach Program to increase voter registration and early voting, and improving technology.”