http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/nearwest/chi-0605050210may05,1,7738980.story?coll=chi-newslocalnearwest-hedFor decades, the DuPage County Election Commission has failed to seek permission from a state office before destroying key polling machine records detailing how residents voted, said an official from the Illinois secretary of state's office.
Other election authorities comply by asking the Local Records Commission, a division of the secretary's office, said Gloria Huston, archival program administrator for the Records Management Section of the Illinois State Archives.
The Local Records Act states that "no public record shall be disposed of by any local governmental agency unless written approval of the Local Records Commission is first obtained." A violation is a felony, according to state statute.
But the DuPage County Election Commission argues that it can destroy ballots and other election materials without getting permission from anyone. The state's Election Code supersedes the Local Records Act, the commission says, by entitling election authorities to destroy ballots two months after an election and instructing them to keep tally lists of votes at an individual precinct for a year.