Clerk: purge mailing to registered voters will start; county probes returned-mail problem

The Stephenson County clerk told the Administration & Legal Affairs Committee that a voter-purge mailing will go to all registered voters on Friday as part of the routine biennial purge after the consolidated election, and that returned mail and address errors have become a local issue the office is trying to fix.

The clerk said a purge mailing and related grant claims were submitted for reimbursement and that the state has reimbursed some claims within about 60 days. She said the purge mail—voter cards to all registered voters—will be used to identify undeliverable addresses; when a card is returned the office follows statutory procedures to update or remove records and may send a forwarding card.

Clerk staff reported that recent small batches of voter registration cards have returned with “no such street” or “no such number” notations. The clerk said the county’s mail vendor, Midwest Mailworks, collects mail locally and drops it off at a Rockford location; she has tried to reach Rockford staff and has contacted the U.S. Postal Service district customer-relations manager to seek oversight. The clerk said she will provide mailing dates and times to the postal manager when the purge mailing is dropped so the district can trace handling.

Committee members noted some returned cards did not originate from a single neighborhood and encouraged district-level oversight. The clerk also said petition circulation for candidates begins Aug. 5 and that the purge is intended to help the county produce an accurate voter roll.

No formal committee action was taken; the item was presented as an update and staff requested follow-up with the postal district and the mail vendor.