Illinois election authorities discuss commitment to election integrity, transparency

As the 2024 election cycle approaches, local election authorities from throughout Illinois held a series of joint media events Tuesday to stress their continued commitment to election integrity and transparency.

“The fact that so many election authorities … have joined us in this message shows the importance of trying to break the cycle from two presidential elections of misinformation and wrong dialogue out there concerning the security of the processes we utilize,” stated Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman. “We take great pride in the work we do and hope the public engages with us in a proactive way.”

Peoria County Election Commission Executive Director Elizabeth Gannon urged voters to keep the lines of communication with local election officials open, pointing out that those officials are also members of the community.

She also assured Illinois residents about the efficiency and reliability of election equipment throughout the state.

“Every system we use is both federally certified and state certified,” she said. “All that information is available at the State Board of Elections. You can see the tests they’ve run and all the ins and outs that equipment has been put through to show it is counting accurately and can be trusted.”

One of the challenges that election officials throughout Illinois, and likely throughout the United States have faced in recent years is misinformation, according to Matt Dietrich, Illinois State Board of Elections Public Information Officer. The misinformation could come from sources ranging from social media posts to a rumor started at a social function.

“Election misinformation not only hinders officials from the performance of their duty, but also has the more harmful effect of needlessly eroding public confidence in the integrity of our election system,” Dietrich said. “We in the election community are working hard to debunk these attacks.”

Ackerman said that Illinois election officials regularly participate in training exercises with the Board of Elections to help prepare them for real-world election disinformation scenarios.

A Board of Elections staff member working out of the Illinois Police State Terrorism and Intelligence Center also monitors election-related social media posts for possible disinformation. Ultimately, communication between local election officials and voters is vital to election security and fighting disinformation.

“If you have questions or concerns about elections, we invite you to come to our offices and talk with us,” Ackerman said. “We will answer any questions you have. We will show you the equipment we utilize and talk through the policies and procedures we safeguard the elections.”

This article originally appeared on Pekin Daily Times: Illinois election authorities discuss election integrity, transparency