Miscellaneous Election Notes

Well, the final canvass of votes for Champaign County is complete and available at our website. 

So far, we have had only one request for a discovery recount.  That will happen in Ivesdale where Tom Kirwan lost by one vote and has requested a discovery recount.  That will occur next Monday.  Any race closer than three votes probably should be automatically recounted.  I've seen the machines and I know that there are ballots that don't register sometimes, as shown in our retabulation earlier this week.  Of course, our one recount last year saw no change in votes after looking at 800 ballots in the Wysocki, Beckett, Bell, Kirchner primary.

Various officials will be sworn into office in the next few weeks.  For the first time, school board officials will take an oath of office thanks to legislation sponsored by Republican Renee Kosel.  Certainly, not a bad idea, but look at the oath:

I, (name of member or successful candidate), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of member of the Board of Education (or Board of School Directors, as the case may be) of (name of school district), in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and the laws of the State of Illinois, to the best of my ability.
I further swear (or affirm) that:
I shall respect taxpayer interests by serving as a faithful protector of the school district's assets;
I shall encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members and others who seek a hearing before the board, while respecting the privacy of students and employees;
I shall recognize that a board member has no legal authority as an individual and that decisions can be made only by a majority vote at a public board meeting; and
I shall abide by majority decisions of the board,while retaining the right to seek changes in such decisions through ethical and constructive channels.

I wouldn't take such an oath.  Talk about opening a can of worms.  Most of us take an oath that includes what is included in the first paragraph.  That is county officials, state officials, and anyone else I have ever sworn in which includes sheriff's deputies, probation officers, etc.  The other oaths are so open to interpretation that quite frankly it could be argued that  they are violated all the time.  what exactly does it mean to be a protector of the school district's assets?  If you vote against a capital project and the roof starts leaking are you in violation of your oath?  The other stuff sounds harmless enough, but I can see them being twisted in ways that would actually discourage public discussion.