EDWARDSVILLE – Anxious Democrats await results of a state law that in effect suppresses two-thirds of Madison County voters from participating in this year’s judicial elections.
The Judicial Circuits Districting Act of 2022 passed in January, taking effect this election cycle, has resulted in a couple of big blunders.
Language in the law tripped up two of three Democrat candidates - Barry Julian and Ebony Huddleston - whose mistakes of circulating nominating petitions dated outside the law's timeframe got them tossed from the primary ballot.
Instead, they had to run as write-in candidates. On primary election day, June 28, some write-in ballots were flagged as fraudulent, prompting a criminal investigation opened on Aug. 18. The case is sealed. The Illinois Attorney General's office, which received the case after State's Attorney Tom Haine declared a conflict, has provided no updates about the investigation. Chief Judge Mudge has turned down several requests to unseal it, citing the AG's office request to not "disturb" the seal order, which he points out was sought by Haine.
Another major blunder came to light last week when it was discovered that 160 registered voters in Edwardsville Precinct 3 were incorrectly mapped into the subcircuit where the three judicial races take place this year. Some had already early voted or mailed their ballots. Those 160 voters were incorrectly allowed to cast ballots for judicial races in the primary election.
Judicial Circuits Districting Act of 2022
Last year, when Democrats suspected county voters might elect Republican Circuit Judges Amy Sholar and Christopher Threlkeld, they mapped out a legislative remedy.
They would split the Third Judicial Circuit into three Madison County subcircuits and one in Bond County.
Madison County’s first subcircuit would hug the Mississippi River to capture precincts with histories of support for Democrats.
The second and third subcircuits would divide the rest of the county along a line from west to east.
Subcircuit 1 (population 90,000) would vote this year and Subcircuits 2 and 3 would not. Roughly, the population of 180,000 are excluded this year from selecting judges that preside over all of the county.
As for Sholar and Threlkeld, they didn’t live in Subcircuit 1 and would need to shut down their campaigns or move.
As for Julian, he didn’t live near the river so legislators drew a finger of Subcircuit 1 that would extend to his home in Edwardsville and qualify him to run.
Mapping required intense effort, and according to Madison County Clerk Debbie Ming-Mendoza, no one told her about the plan that would upend judicial elections.
Democrats in the General Assembly sprang it after dark on Jan. 5, as an amendment to a hopeless House bill on a different topic.
They also divided Lake County into subcircuits but didn’t cancel anyone’s right to vote there.
Twists and turns on boundaries bloated the bill's amendment to 388 pages.
Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park sponsored it and in the House, Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez of Cicero sponsored it.
While it was approved by local Democrat lawmakers, none of them - Reps. Jay Hoffman and Katie Stuart and Sen. Christopher Belt - claimed responsibility for hatching the idea. Chief Judge Mudge also has said he was not contacted before its passage for an opinion on the impactful legislation.
Senators passed it 41-16, and the House passed it 66-34.
Governor Pritzker signed it on Jan. 7, and in four days Supreme Court Justices ordered their clerk to carry it out.
On Jan. 21, State’s Attorney Haine sued in Sangamon County Circuit Court for an injunction.
He asserted constitutional claims and he predicted administrative difficulties.
Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin issued a temporary restraining order on Jan. 24.
Pritzker petitioned for review at the Fourth District Appellate Court in Springfield on Jan. 25, and judges there reversed Cadagin on Feb. 7.
They remanded the action and Cadagin dismissed it at a hearing on Feb. 24.
Haine appealed but the Fourth District affirmed Cadagin.
Sholar and Threlkeld moved to Subcircuit 1, so Threlkeld could run against Julian and Sholar could run against Huddleston.
Later in March, Judge Mudge created a third vacancy for Subcircuit 1 by announcing his retirement.
Associate Judge Ryan Jumper declared as a Democrat candidate to replace Mudge, and Tim Berkeley declared as a Republican.
As write-in candidates, Julian and Huddleston had no opponents so they could appear on November ballots if enough voters wrote their names. Julian and Huddleston met the minimum for the November ballot as 1,234 wrote Julian and 1,224 wrote Huddleston.
Jumper appeared on the June 28 ballot without opposition and won 4,024 votes. Berkley, who also was unopposed, received 4,564 votes.
Sholar won 4,863 and Threlkeld, 4,588.
On primary day, in Venice and elsewhere, election judges spotted names that the same hand had written on mail-in ballots.
Ming Mendoza contacted candidates and they contacted State's Attorney Haine.
He declared a conflict of interest and asked for a special prosecutor.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul took charge and Ming Mendoza handed about 40 ballots over to his investigators.
Mudge sealed the case file and it remained under seal as of Nov. 1.
Ming Mendoza also said 160 addresses in Edwardsville Precinct 3 were inadvertently included in Subcircuit 1.
She stated 13 early votes were tabulated with the incorrect ballot.
She stated 31 incorrect ballots were mailed to the Precinct 3 and two were opened and tabulated. She stated 10 were returned but not processed and two were canceled. She stated one was returned as military or overseas for federal office only.
She found 16 mail ballots hadn’t been received.
She stated she would exclude the 15 tabulated ballots from the official canvass for Subcircuit 1.
She'd count votes for all other races.
She asked for ideas about the 10 mail ballots received but not processed and the 16 that might arrive by mail any day. She stated she could tabulate them and exclude them at the official canvass.
She stated it would take weeks and add known erroneous votes to the system, “which is something we always try to avoid where possible.”
She laid out a quicker plan but in an interview on Oct. 31, she said Raoul and Haine agreed that she should tabulate and exclude.
“My plan was to take care of it right now and get it over with,” she said.
She said county mappers have gone over the map very carefully and didn’t find any additional discrepancies.
On the question of alleged fraudulent write in votes, she said the ballots weren’t cast.
“I know they’ve interviewed a lot of people,” she said.
As of Nov. 1 the ballots remained in Raoul’s hands.
Meanwhile, the Madison County Democrat Central Committee attacks Republicans with financial help from Pritzker, and other prominent Democrats, including from Julian and his wife.
The MCDCC, free from restraints that the Supreme Court places on judicial candidates, created digital advertising against Threlkeld, who sits by appointment of the Illinois Supreme Court, opening the ad with "Neo-Nazi."