BLOOMINGTON - State Rep. Dan Brady has asked the Illinois State Board of Elections to review change-of-address procedures that could cause difficulties on Election Day in McLean County.

In an Oct. 15 letter, the Bloomington Republican asked Daniel White, executive director of the state board, to investigate problems with transferring voter records between the McLean County clerk's office and the Bloomington Election Commission.

Brady said he requested the inquiry because he was hearing complaints similar to those he received from voters after the Feb. 5 primary. Brady said he talked with county and city election officials about the voters who had trouble voting because they had moved from Normal to Bloomington or vice versa.

"You have problems from time to time but I was under the impression that this problem had been resolved," said Brady.

McLean County Clerk Peggy Ann Milton said the state elections board previously has indicated that she is following the correct rules. She talked to officials there after receiving a copy of Brady's letter and again explained how her office handles voter registration and other election-related matters.

"I take my job very seriously and want to conduct election procedures with integrity," she said.

Bloomington Election Commission Executive Director Char Stanford said she welcomes the inquiry into the problems between the two offices.

"I'm glad this it being looked at and I hope something is finally resolved so we can take care of the voters," Stanford said.

Stanford e-mailed the state board following Brady's letter telling the board that other problems exist between the two offices.

She said they include a discrepancy in how ballot certifications are handled. Milton's office must provide Stanford's office with a list of countywide races to be printed on ballots for city voters, but that isn't happening as it should, she said.

Stanford acknowledged to the state board in her e-mail that she and Milton do not get along.

Milton suggested Brady should sponsor legislation allowing election jurisdictions within the same county to accept address changes rather than requiring people to re-register if they move from one jurisdiction to another.

Brady said he does not see the need for legislation to address the problem when the two offices are in the Government Center, a building at 115 E. Washington St. shared by McLean County and the city of Bloomington.

"I cringe to think we have to adopt legislation to get change-of-address card from one floor to another in the county government center," Brady said.

State Board of Elections member Jesse Smart, a former Bloomington mayor, said White forwarded Brady's request for an inquiry to the state board's legal staff. Smart said the results of the inquiry likely will be completed next week.

Mary Ann Ford contributed to this report.

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How this started

McLean County Clerk Peggy Ann Milton, whose office handles election matters outside of Bloomington city limits, and Bloomington Election Commission Executive Director Char Stanford have had a dispute over transferring voter registration information between their offices.

If a voter moves from LeRoy to Bloomington and files a change-of-address form, for example, the voter's registration must be transferred from the clerk's office to the commission. If that doesn't happen, the voter could have a tough time on Election Day proving eligibility to poll workers.

The issue was brought to the attention of the McLean County Board's finance committee Oct. 8 when Stanford said she is receiving voter change-of-address forms months late.

Milton said the registrations are being transferred as quickly as possible. She added the problem stems from how the two offices handle the voter registration cards returned by the post office with a new forwarding address.

Stanford said the city election commission accepts the change-of-address from the post office as valid. Milton has said she is unsure if those changes can be accepted by her office.