A group of volunteers associated with United Sovereign Americans addressed the Winnebago County Board during public comment on Thursday to ask the board to adopt a resolution they said would ensure a "legally valid" 2026 general election.

Speakers read text the group described as a proposed county resolution and cited a volunteer audit they said identified large numbers of registration errors and votes of uncertain validity in the 2024 Illinois general election. Jane Carroll, introduced as a volunteer, asked the board to "demonstrate your commitment to your constituents' concerns and your dedication to upholding voter civil rights and the integrity of our elections here in Winnebago County." Brian Jones and Dean Barker followed with longer readings of the group's findings and proposed language.

The volunteers framed their recommendation as a set of reforms they said county election officials and other public bodies should adopt, including requiring voting systems to meet federal information-security standards, verifying voters' U.S. citizenship before counting ballots or holding disputed ballots as provisional, enforcing chain-of-custody protocols for ballots and equipment, and preserving operational records for auditing.

Speakers repeatedly referenced federal legal standards and past Supreme Court precedent. The presentations cited Reynolds v. Sims and named federal law such as the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act when describing recordkeeping and accuracy requirements. One speaker requested that the board place the group's resolution on a future agenda and asked to return to provide a fuller presentation.

Winnebago County Board members did not vote on the resolution during the meeting; the comments were received as public testimony. A county official read the board's public-comment rules before the speakers began, and several volunteers concluded by asking the board to formally consider the packet of materials they left with staff.

Copies of the materials submitted to the board referenced specific numeric findings from the volunteer audit described by speakers as "4,566,205 material registration errors and omissions" and other counts, which the volunteers said came from their analysis of certified state election records and that they had submitted parts of their work to court filings. The board did not adopt or refer the group's proposed resolution during the meeting; United Sovereign Americans representatives said they would request placement on a future committee agenda to present details and answer questions.