SAINT CHARLES COUNTY ELECTION DIRECTOR FORGETS TO PRINT NAME OF RACE FOR WHICH HE IS RUNNING ON THE BALLOT FOR THE NOVEMBER 4th GENERAL ELECTION One of the many responsibilities of any director of elections or county clerk is to ensure all information on the ballot is printed correctly. There is no excuse for any type of error (spelling, grammar, missing information, etc.) to be made on any ballot. The slightest mistake can result in anything from legal challenges/lawsuits to even halting an election. That is why it is so important to take the time and make sure everything is correct on the ballot before handing it to a voter. Sadly, the list of mistakes made by current St. Charles County Director of Elections, Rich Chrismer, continues to grow. You will have difficulty believing his latest blunder!! Rich Chrismer forgot to include the words “Director of Elections” on the ballot. As many of you know, the ballot is divided into boxes for each race and/or issue. The name for each office is listed at the top of each box. For example, if you were voting for the Recorder of Deeds, the words “Recorder of Deeds” would be printed at the top of that box. “Vote for One” would be printed below “Recorder of Deeds.” The actual candidates for this public office would be listed below “Vote for One” with an oval located directly to the left of each candidate’s name. Please note the attached photos for illustration. I visited the St. Charles County Election Authority on Friday, September 26th and requested a sample ballot. Absentee voting officially began on September 23rd. After reviewing the sample ballot, I noticed the race for which Rich Chrismer and I are currently campaigning did not include the words “Director of Elections” at the top of the box designated for that race. That is correct, St. Charles County Elections Director Rich Chrismer neglected to print the name of the office for which he is seeking a fourth term. I quickly addressed this mistake with a staff member as both Director Rich Chrismer and his assistant director had been out of the office all week and would not return until Monday. Look at the attached photo of the ballot given to me. You can see the words, “Director of Elections,” are missing from the top of the box. Why is this important? The name of each office is required by state election law to be printed on the ballot. It is possible voters will be confused and think both myself and my opponent are running for County Executive. If you look closer, it appears there are four people running for St. Charles County Executive. It is critical for “Director of Elections” to be printed on the ballot to avoid any confusion for the voter. I returned to the St. Charles County Election Authority on Monday, September 29th to see if the situation had been corrected. The Assistant Director provided a new sample ballot and this time, “Director of Elections,” was, indeed, printed on the ballot. Big sigh of relief, right?? Hold on…upon examining the new sample ballot, I noticed something did not appear quite right. If you look at the photo of the ballot with “Director of Elections“ printed in the box, you can see what appears to be an outline around the name of the office. It looks as if someone taped the words to the ballot and then copied it. I quickly stated my concern and asked to see an official printed ballot. The Assistant Director told me that was an official ballot. I left the election authority that morning feeling very frustrated and concerned for all voters. I know from my work experience at the St. Charles County Election Authority the sample ballot is exactly what you will see on the official ballot (minus the watermark “sample”). Last week, I learned from a person voting absentee that a St. Charles County Election Authority staff member taped a label with the words “Director of Elections” to the ballot, right in front of the voter. Unfortunately, this confirms the ballots had not been properly corrected. I was extremely disappointed to learn the current Director of Elections had not resolved this situation. I still continue to address the situation with the proper authorities. I have not yet voted as I am waiting to be sure ballots are free of any critical mistakes. Unfortunately, this is not the first time ballots have contained some type of printing error. The current Director of Elections has made too many mistakes. A number of his errors will create a financial burden for everyone paying taxes here in St. Charles County. The highest cost of Rich Chrismer’s mistakes, however, is one on which we cannot place a price—the loss of voter confidence in our election process. There is a solution to this problem. Elect a new Director of Elections for St. Charles County! It is time for A NEW CHOICE! Vote for Kathryn (Kate) Runyan for Director of Elections of St. Charles County. Thank you for taking time to read my message. I appreciate your vote on Tuesday, November 4th! Thank you and God Bless, Kathryn (Kate) Runyan
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 23:35:46 +0000
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