Chambana Sun

Dr. Jeff Brownfield, who ran for Illinois State Senate in the 52nd District, is speaking out against Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons after widespread technical failures caused delays at polling stations on the Nov. 5 Election Day in Champaign County. 

Brownfield lost the race to incumbent State Sen. Paul Faraci (D-Champaign). He said the issues were especially frustrating for voters with time-sensitive schedules.

Senate District 52 includes Champaign, Danville, Rantoul, St. Joseph and Urbana.

Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons. | Facebook / Aaron "Akwesi" Ammons

“There was about 2 hours of delay in Champaign County, right when many working people showed up to vote. That is unacceptable,” Brownfield told Chamaban Sun. “Also, only Champaign County had these issues, any other problems were individual situations not system issues.” 

The technical difficulties led to long lines and confusion at polling places, with many voters unable to cast their ballots until the problems were resolved late in the morning. 

Brownfield, who lost the race by a margin of 62.7% to 37.3%, said the disruptions were particularly impactful for voters with tight schedules.

“I only know that I had conversations with some people who had plans for after work, kids activities, etc.,” Brownfield said. “They specifically came early to avoid lines since they knew they had other commitments. At the time of our discussions, they were unsure if they would be able to come back. Further, since the lines would be longer, they may not have time to vote later.” 

The delay was not an isolated incident. Brownfield pointed out that similar issues had occurred in the 2022 election, hindering voters who had planned to vote after work hours. 

Despite the delays being resolved by midday, Brownfield argued that the repeated nature of these issues shows a broader problem with the county’s election management. 

“More should be done,” he said. “Similar issue happened two years ago but in the late afternoon and therefore also hindered voters who planned to vote after work. So two major elections, two major problems.” 

Brownfield is calling for a formal review of the Clerk's office to ensure that such problems do not continue. 

“We need a formal review of the clerk's office to assure staff is trained and we don’t suppress the vote of residents of Champaign County,” he said.

Ammons has faced heavy criticism from both political sides over the Election Day failures. 

State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Macon), who is retiring in January, weighed in on Election Day, accusing Ammons of poor leadership and mishandling elections. 

“This is inexcusable,” Caulkins told Chamaban Sun. “You’ve got Champaign County that’s had this problem over and over again, and this individual has failed to address the problem, failed to solve the problem, failed to conduct an election over and over again.”

While Ammons apologized for the disruptions, he blamed his vendor for the technical issues that caused the delays. 

Ammons, who has also faced criticism for his past conviction for drug-related charges and controversial pardon facilitated by his wife State Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana), apologized for the issues but blamed his vendor for the election day malfunctions. 

Voters, frustrated by the delays and lack of a backup voting system, were further angered by the lack of paper ballots when the electronic system failed. Critics, including local Republican leaders, argue that the ongoing issues have damaged public trust in the electoral process in Champaign County.

Susan Mantell, Chairwoman of the Champaign County Republicans, provided a statement to Chambana Sun about the incident this morning that caused delays for voters. 

"Ammons’ repeated failures to properly count votes, continued distribution of mail-in ballots to non-residents, inability to prevent voting delays, and lying about a cyber attack have destroyed Champaign County voters’ confidence in our elections," Mantell said in the statement. "Our democracy demands free, fair, and efficient elections so that every legal vote can be counted."