Kane County Public Service Committee met May 31.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
1. Call To Order
Chairman Sanchez called the meeting to order at 2:13PM.
PRESENT Board Member Jarett Sanchez
Board Member David Young
Board Member Michelle Gumz
Board Member Vern Tepe
Board Member Rick Williams
Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog
REMOTE Board Member Anita Lewis
ABSENT Board Member Clifford Surges
Also present: Bd. Members Allan*, Bates*, Juby*, Kenyon, Kious*, Linder, Molina* & Roth; SA Mosser; ITD Exec. Dir. Fahnestock; Animal Control Admin. Youngsteadt*; PIO Mann; Auditor Wegman; ASA Brady*; Co. Clk. Admin. Pollock; ROE Supt. Dal Santo*; Sp. ASA Shepro; ITD CIO Lasky; Cir. Clk. Barreiro; KC Investigator Merritt; ITD staff Peters; Marc Avelar of Algonquin; and members of the press & public.
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of Minutes: May 18, 2023
RESULT: APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT
MOVER: Vern Tepe
5. Other Business
A. Presentation: 2023 Consolidated Election Report (J. Mosser)
SA Mosser provided a presentation that detailed the results of her office's investigation into the 2023 Consolidated Election issues. She noted that there are statutes that allow the SAO to perform these inquiries based on complaints from constituents. She stated that on April 4, 2023 at approximately 8:45PM, new voter totals that came online appeared to double. The amount of precinct information that came in did not accurately translate into the number of votes that had appeared, which raised valid questions. She described the process of investigating the incident, including meeting with members of the County Clerk's Office and the IT Department. She introduced Investigator Merritt, who assisted in the investigation. Transparency was a priority, as all documentation requested by Mosser, was subsequently provided and reviewed. She stated that the County Clerk's Office utilizes a voter registration system (DFM) that connects all elements of a race into a database, which includes candidates and referendums. This database system is called BOSS and it creates one main ballot with all information listed. The BOSS system then separates the candidates into particular ballot styles according to voter precincts. She stressed that the BOSS system is located in a secure room within the SAO, where a limited amount of individuals have access to it. Additionally, this system is not attached to the internet in any way for security purposes. She announced the first identifiable issue with the 2023 Consolidated Election. The Hampshire Park District had a referendum question that was suppose to be on the ballot for the Hampshire Park District only. The Hampshire Park District was linked to the Hampshire Fire District when the DFM system was communicating to the BOSS system, which has since been rectified and did not have any negative effects. This issue created the need for a second, more accurate database. She explained that as a result of creating the second database, the information must be fused together when it comes time to tabulate all of the votes to avoid duplication. She stated that although rare, a fusion program has been used in previous statewide cases to rectify ballot mistakes. The second database was programmed into the Mobile Ballot Boxes (MBB's). This accounted for both of the ballot styles, which meant that wherever a constituent was voting, they received the proper ballot. Once voting is complete, all MBB's return to rally stations for counting. MBB's are inspected for an intact red seal to show no evidence of vote tampering. Rally stations are connected to the County Clerk's Office through a secured, direct network that has been set up by the Kane County IT Department. That secured network returns all information to a tally computer that shows which votes are coming in. She noted that the tallied votes coming in are those from MBB's, which are then loaded onto a secure USB drive by the County Clerk's Office. This USB drive is then taken to another computer, where the fusion program runs to merge both ballot styles together. She stated that when initializing the fusion program, the user must click on the "New" button for the first portion of the process. Each subsequent fusion must be entered by clicking on the "Existing" button to prevent double-counting. She announced that the next issue with the 2023 Consolidated Election involved a user failing to click on the "Existing" button, which created a spike in votes. Once the fusion system completes, it is transferred to its own secure USB drive. This drive is given to the IT Department, who then uploads the information online to the public. In this instance, no error was reported and the IT Department uploaded the voting information that was given to them from the secure USB drive. Once the error was discovered, the inaccurate numbers were taken offline. She detailed why numbers appeared to have been changed for Geneva School District 304 and St. Charles School District 303, both of which stemmed from this human error. She mentioned that the actual votes remained untouched and unaffected throughout the counting and recounting procedures. She listed areas for improvement in the election process, including additional protocols and election training. Discussion ensued.
B. Public Question and Answer
Kane County resident Andro Gararrio inquired about whether or not the fusion program affects the ballots. SA Mosser responded that it does not. Discussion ensued.
Kane County resident Terry Bauer inquired about the use and chain of custody of USB drives within the county. ITD Exec. Dir. Fahnestock cited Mosser's presentation and stated that USB drives are only utilized when posting voting results to the public. Discussion ensued.
Bd. Member Surges inquired about the security and access of the election room in which voting information is transferred. Fahnestock responded that a minimal amount of people have access to the room and/or USB drive. Discussion ensued.
Devin Corbit from Aurora inquired about providing a poll watcher in the election room in which voting information is transferred. Mosser responded that she will look into it.
Kane County resident Bruce Miteuthak inquired about USB security and election judge training manuals.
Kane County resident Russ Nyes inquired about election data integrity as it relates to USB drives. Mosser reiterated that her investigation was not regarding the security of USB drives, but rather the vote counting and tabulating aspects of the 2023 Consolidated Election. Discussion ensued.
Ken Zitko from St. Charles inquired about current election policies and consultants. Fahnestock responded that Kane County employs Hart InterCivic as election system support.
Marc Avelar from Algonquin inquired about third party election consultants present at the 2023 Consolidated election. Fahnestock responded that only a support representative from Hart InterCivic was present. Discussion ensued regarding current litigation, to which Mosser responded that there is not any litigation pending. Additional discussion took place regarding precinct redistricting, its effect on voting areas, the security of USB drives, and poll watcher training.
Kane County resident Russ Nyes returned to inquire about the election manufacturer, Hart InterCivic. He additionally inquired about static electricity precautions, as they relate to the handling of USB drives. Mosser responded that she will look into it. Discussion ensued.
A Kane County resident commented on the Kane County requirements for poll watchers.
Bd. Member Williams mentioned the lack of answers from the County Clerk's Office. He inquired about the County Board's authority over the manner with which the County Clerk conducts elections. Mosser responded that the County Clerk has internal control and that the County Board has no authority with that regard.
Michelle Bettag from St. Charles inquired about the age of the voting machines used by Kane County. Fahnestock responded that some machines had been acquired after 2005. Discussion ensued regarding the amount of voting judges and the absence of election staff at Public Service meetings.
Brian Anderson from Sugar Grove inquired about the absence of election staff. Chair Sanchez responded that he emailed the County Clerk's Office in an effort to bring a representative to the meeting in session. Mr. Anderson spoke on his observations in previous Public Service meetings and subsequent steps he took to have his questions answered.
Tom Mattson from Geneva inquired about the authority that the County Board has over funds acquired. Mosser responded that some portions of the legal agreement that County Clerk Cunningham had signed relate to the County. Discussion ensued on the process of rejecting the US Alliance grant funds.
A brief disturbance occurred and order was restored.
Bd. Member Surges inquired about language used in the US Alliance grant agreement. Mosser responded that the grant was given to the County and accepted by the County Clerk. She stressed that County Clerk Cunningham does not have the authority to sign any document that binds the County Board to any legal agreement. She stated that she will undertake a full review of this topic and report her findings to the Public Service Committee. Discussion ensued.
Jane Beckelman inquired about the complications of voting machines versus paper ballots. Chair Sanchez responded that he will speak with the County Clerk about it.
Jim Wittington returned to inquire about the US Alliance fund allocation. Chair Sanchez responded that the grant funding has not been spent at this time.
Tom Mattson returned to state that the country of France uses paper ballots.
Marc Avelar returned to inquire about the state law with regards to paper ballots. Bd. Member Gumz responded that she would look into it. Discussion ensued regarding mail-in ballots and Kane County vendors.
5. Public Comment
Blanca Sothers from Aurora spoke on her family's history and pride in Kane County.
Kane County resident Bruce Miteuthak returned to speak on previous Public Service meetings and election integrity.
Kathy Showalter from Geneva spoke on her history with Kane County. She requested that the county return to paper ballot voting and expressed her disappointment with the County Clerk.
Steve Bruesewitz from St. Charles spoke on the challenges of using paper ballots and advantages of using voting machines.
Kane County resident Terry Bauer returned to explain the term 'chain of custody'.
Kane County resident Denny Siler commented on which machine was used for the recent vote recount.
Ken Zitko from St. Charles returned to summarize this Public Service meeting and speak about USB drives.
Jim Wittington returned to comment on the County Board's authority over the County Clerk's budget.
Brian Anderson returned to express his disappointment in the time frame with which election questions were answered.
6. Executive Session (If Needed)
None.
7. Reports Placed On File
None.
8. Adjournment
RESULT: APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE
MOVER: Vern Tepe
SECONDER: Rick Williams
This meeting was adjourned at 4:26 PM.
https://www.countyofkane.org/MeetingMinutes/6890/23-5-31%20Special.pdf
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