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Two Democratic candidates are vying to be their party’s nominee for Kane County Clerk. The winner of the March 17 primary election will go on to challenge incumbent Republican John “Jack” Cunningham.

Cunningham has served as the Kane County Clerk since Dec. 2002. He previously served as an Aurora City Commissioner.

His Democratic primary opponent, Brenda Rodgers, of Elgin, said if elected she will bring “transparency, ethics, and integrity,” to the office.

As of 9:11 p.m., early unofficial results show that Rodgers has the lead so far with 21,627 votes compared to Pollock’s 17,510 votes. More results are expected Tuesday night, though won’t be certified for two weeks after Election Day.

Democrat candidate Brian Pollock, of Aurora, has served nine years within the Kane County Clerk’s Office. Pollock has experience as an attorney and was previously a Kane County Board Member.

Pollock previously told Shaw Local that his priorities in office would be increasing transparency and communication, protecting voting rights, increasing accessibility, and providing excellent customer service while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

“With nine years of experience as second in command, I’ve represented the Clerk’s Office at the county, state, and federal level,” Pollock previously said. “I’ve created budgets which kept the office under budget every year and secured millions in external grants to protect county taxpayers.”

Pollock said he is proud of helping to implement technological upgrades in the office. This includes vote by mail processing equipment, a ballot tracking system, new voting machines, and a wait time tool.

If elected, Pollock said he would promote the safe and responsible use of AI to synthesize information and automate some processes that he argues will save the office time and money. He said any new AI must be used wisely to protect residents’ data.

Pollock said he will continue being “aggressive in securing grant funds” for the office to help ease the burden of levy increases on taxpayers. He said the office has recently experienced staff leaving for other counties due to salary disparities. Pollock said this must be remedied while remaining fiscally responsible.

If elected, Pollock said he will continue combating misinformation that he said fosters distrust in our elections.

He also said he would continue protecting and expanding voting rights, especially in light of the Trump Administration’s threats to eliminate vote by mail and early voting options that Pollock said are used by more than 60% of the county’s voters.

“I’m proud to have written language passed by the state legislature to expand voting rights in Illinois,” Pollock said.

Rodgers is a realtor who previously served on the Elgin City Council.

“I will focus on ensuring residents understand the services available through the Clerk’s Office and that funds are used responsibly and transparently,” Rodgers previously told Shaw Local News.

Rodgers said increasing transparency includes making sure the budget is posted and easy to find on the website.

She said if elected she would not seek additional funding or staffing for the office.

She said she will ensure all equipment works on election night, including preventing freezes that she said happened on a previous election night.

“I will not mislead residents about my job title or my work in the office,” Rodgers said. “I will work to ensure the Elgin location is approved for passport services and that residents are aware we have a branch in the area.”

Check back for updates.