More than four decades after election oversight was stripped from the DuPage County clerk’s office to create the DuPage Election Commission, officials are working to develop plans to consolidate both offices to increase efficiency and reduce costs. “We are working toward consolidation of the election commission and the county clerk’s office, which will create a new hybrid providing our voters the most efficient, the most effective model for elections in DuPage County,” county board Chairman Dan Cronin announced during Tuesday’s county board meeting. Election commission officials have adopted a series of cost-saving measures since Cronin launched the DuPage Accountability, Consolidation and Transparency Initiative in May 2012. The initiative called on the commission and 23 other agencies to make structural and operational reforms.
The commission, for example, shifted its website to the county’s system and reduced the total number of polling places countywide. Those and other changes saved taxpayers an estimated $2.8 million over the past four years, officials said.
Still, Cronin says he wants to find additional savings while providing DuPage voters “the highest level of service.”
“We are committed to restructuring and coming up with a more efficient model,” he said.
Full Article: DuPage looking to consolidate election commission, clerk’s office.