By Jonathan Bilyk | Legal Newsline
The Center Square

Madison County will now use reports of deaths from the county coroner to more quickly and efficiently remove those who have died from the county’s roll of registered voters, rather than relying on less reliable reports provided by Illinois state elections officials.

On Nov. 4, Madison County Clerk Linda Andreas announced her office will begin using data supplied by County Coroner Nick Novacich to carry out her office’s duties of maintaining the county’s voter rolls.

“Utilizing this information from the Coroner’s Office, rather than relying on information from the state alone, allows my staff to remove deceased voters from the registration database quickly and accurately,” Andreas said in a release announcing the move. “This is another layer of security that protects the fairness of our elections.”

Andreas’ office said the “collaboration reinforces (the clerk’s) commitment to election integrity and transparency.”

Andreas said her decision comes amid indications that reports received from the state of Illinois are not reliable when identifying voters who should be removed from the list of eligible voters, under the law.

In the release, Andreas said she had obtained information from the coroner showing deaths in the county from 2023 to 2025.

Andreas said comparing the coroner’s “death records for just one of those years – 2024 – … uncovered the names of 104 individuals who were deceased but had not been removed from the voter rolls.”

“Our goal is to eliminate even the potential for voting impropriety,” Andreas said in the release. “When voters know the rolls are clean, they can have confidence that our elections are fair and trustworthy. People want to know their local government is doing the right thing, especially when it comes to elections, and this process — simple but essential — helps assure that every vote cast in Madison County is by a living, eligible voter.”

The state of Illinois’ practices and policies in maintaining voter rolls have come under doubt in recent years.

In 2024, for instance, conservative Illinois groups joined with national conservative activist organization Judicial Watch to sue the Illinois State Board of Elections in Chicago federal court. The lawsuit accused the ISBE of failing to live up to its obligations under federal law to properly maintain the state’s voter lists, specifically including waiting years to remove those who had died from lists of eligible voters.

In that lawsuit, Judicial Watch claimed it has learned of “possible deceased registrants voting and requesting mail ballots in Illinois in the 2020 and 2016 general elections,” among other incidents.

The state has failed to have the lawsuit get dismissed. Most recently in late September 2025, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis rejected the latest motion by the state and allied left-wing activist groups to toss the legal action.

In Madison County, Andreas said the coroner is now providing her office with monthly reports, which include the names of people whose deaths have been recorded by the coroner.

In the release, Novacich said: “We’re glad that we’re able to provide accurate and prompt information that assists the Clerk’s Office in ensuring election integrity. This is another example of County departments and offices working together to better serve the public.”

Andreas further encouraged residents of the county and others to independently alert the clerk’s office of the identities of people they believe should be removed from the county’s voter rolls by supplying the clerk with obituaries or death certificates.

She further encouraged anyone who receives a voter registration card for someone who currently doesn’t live at that address to immediately return the card and notify the clerk’s office.

“The integrity of our elections depends on accurate, transparent record-keeping,” Andreas said. “By promptly removing deceased voters from the rolls, we’re doing our part to make sure every vote cast represents a living, eligible citizen.”