Sangamon County is looking at a more than $200,000 tab to run the special congressional election to replace Aaron Schock. The primary is scheduled for July 7th, the general September 10th.
Clerk Don Gray says the county will have to provide on-site same day voter registration at every polling place — that won’t be cheap.
“For us to do that in our system, I have to have a software build out, we have to acquire hardware — which are computers, laptops and all the different things to perform the function,” says Gray. “Cellular technology, cryptic technology, training. We’re getting people prepared for this in less than six months.”
Gray thinks the total cost to Sangamon County will be between $250,000 and $300,000. He doesn’t expect to ask Schock’s campaign fund to pay for it, because such an idea “has no teeth.”
“We’ve looked statutorily in the law to see what we can do, and we’re not finding any legal basis for us to be able to seek monetary damages through a lawsuit to a resigning member of Congress.”
