From the County Clerk:
McHenry County Clerk Tirio: My Duty Is to the Constitution, Not Party Politics.
WOODSTOCK, IL — Recently, the Chair of the Democratic Party of McHenry County, Ruth Scifo, called on me to “publicly reject” President Trump’s comments about federalizing elections.
I’ll do one better.
When I assumed this office, I took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and to faithfully discharge the duties of McHenry County Clerk.
I took that oath publicly, here in McHenry County where I have lived for decades, in the presence of God, family, friends, and strangers, holding the Bible my late grandmother repaired with electrical tape before she left it to me
I have no intention of breaking that promise.
People who have worked with me and watched this office over the years know that is true:
Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, election judges, precinct committeepersons, my fellow clerks, my staff, members of the County Board, and other elected officials.
I believe you know it too, Chair Scifo.
When I shop at Walmart or Jewel, stop at Swift Wash, or grab lunch at Three Brothers, the people I meet across McHenry County know they can trust me with their vote.
They know that because I have been here, with and for them, through it all, from eliminating an elected office to streamlining government, to administering elections through a pandemic, including one of the most contentious elections in our nation’s recent history under some of the most challenging circumstances in the last century.
Through all of this, I have kept, and will continue to keep, that promise.
In her statement, Chair Scifo invokes the Tenth Amendment, “reserving the power of election administration to the states.”
The Tenth Amendment, however, is a general rule that reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people.
The specific constitutional framework for federal elections is found in Article I, Section 4, the Elections Clause, which provides that state legislatures set the “Times, Places and Manner” of congressional elections, but that “the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.”
That provision has always meant that Congress may establish uniform rules for federal elections that override contrary state law, while the states retain primary responsibility for running elections unless and until Congress acts.
It has never meant that a County Clerk may pick and choose which constitutional provisions or federal laws to follow based on who occupies the White House or which party runs Congress.
So, to answer the request directly: if and when a law is duly enacted, or the Constitution is amended to change the balance of state and federal authority over elections, I will faithfully follow that law and will have more to say about how it affects McHenry County voters.
Until that happens, my job is unchanged, my commitment is unchanged, and my promise to uphold the Constitution and to run fair, secure, and transparent elections for the people of McHenry County remains unchanged.
