The McLean County League of Women Voters will conduct a study of the county's two election authorities.
Elections in McLean County are administered by two separate entities, depending on where a voter lives. Most ballots are administered and counted by the McLean County clerk's office. Those living within Bloomington city limits have their own election authority: the Bloomington Election Commission.
Study Director Diana Hauman said the league will examine the operations of both election authorities.
"We're looking to election administration, see where there are consistencies and inconsistencies, and how they might be financially better stewards," said Hauman.
She also said there may be an opportunity to reduce confusion among people who aren't sure whether they vote through the county clerk's office or the Bloomington Election Commission.
"As an election judge, aside from being a member of the League of Women Voters, the number of people that we redirect during early voting at the universal polling location is probably 25%-30%," Hauman said.
Not all that confusion is hard to overcome.
"We get mail for them. They get mail for us," said Bloomington Election Commission Director Luke Stremlau. "We get, you know, registration cards returned to us, things like that. We have a very close relationship in proximity. So we can just walk them down to their office. We interact with them probably three or four times a week, letting them know, 'We've got your stuff. Do you have anything for us?' And it's one of the nice things about being so close, while also having two election authorities in McLean County."
County Clerk Cathy Michael said her office has a good relationship with the commission and shares death records of people in Bloomington to help cull voter registration data.
The study will also compare election procedures in both offices with state laws.
This is not the first time the League of Women Voters has studied the issue. In 2008, it determined moving all election offices under one roof would indeed be an efficiency, but it found having the office run by a politically-affiliated officeholder is fraught with problems — real and perceived. Hauman said that study was about combining the two offices, but this effort is about efficiency, not necessarily abolition of an office. Only after reviewing the study results will the League decide whether to recommend changes.
A ballot referendum to eliminate the Bloomington Election Commission put on the ballot by the Libertarian Party and endorsed by the Republican Party failed in 2018.
The League plans to interview experts and stakeholders, reporting the findings at its January 2026 membership meeting. An online survey will begin in September. Hauman said that will collect anecdotal data about the way voters experience elections and polling places.
