Kane County election officials show off vote-by-mail automation to Madison counterparts

Election staff from Madison, Wisconsin, recently toured Kane County Clerk John Cunningham’s office in Geneva to learn about best practices and see a demonstration of vote-by-mail automation equipment.

Madison’s interim clerk and city attorney, Michael Haas, and Deputy Director Bonnie Chang, and reached out to Cunningham about bringing their staff to visit Kane County.

Cunningham gained knowledge about the practices of other election offices during his years serving as president of the National Association of County Recorders and Clerks, according to the release.

In 2022, the Kane County Clerk’s Office was named as a Center for Election Excellence by the nonpartisan U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, a recognition of commitment to leadership in election administration and to developing even more resilient, trustworthy and voter-centric election practices, according to the release.

Cunningham highlighted for the Wisconsin visitors the office’s efficiencies during recent elections in both time and money saved.

“I have worked with other clerks from both parties around the country and built a network to discuss best practices, evaluate election equipment, and develop new innovative ways to provide services,” Cunningham said in the release.

“I work closely with clerks from around the state, especially in the collar counties, because we share some of the same challenges and can work together to find creative ways to serve the public more efficiently,” Cunningham said.

Before the 2020 general election, Cunningham purchased a sorter to automate the processing of inbound vote-by-mail ballots and an inserter to assemble the outbound vote-by-mail ballots and envelopes.

The inserter automates the previous manual process of assembling the vote-by-mail ballot, affidavits, instructions and return envelope inside a larger envelope.

Cunningham estimated his office has saved over 10,000 hours in additional staff salaries to assemble and process more than 49,000 vote-by-mail ballots in the 2024 election.

Officials say the automation upgrades of vote-by-mail equipment have also increased the security of the ballots and made the process more transparent and accurate and with more timely reporting of vote-by-mail results, according to the release.

“It is always helpful to exchange ideas and learn from well-run election operations,” Haas said in the release. “We appreciate the collaboration with a fellow Center for Election Excellence partner. Our staff will be able to take ideas back to improve our election procedures thanks to your assistance and hospitality.”

Beyond improving technology, Cunningham developed other ways to serve the public, including the expansion of early voting, establishing a call center to resolve election day issues and developing a voter outreach program to increase voter registration and early voting, according to the release.