The McHenry County clerk says he vows to follow the Constitution — which says states maintain election responsibility — after he was called on to publicly reject President Trump’s comments about federalizing elections.
Democratic Party of McHenry County Chair Ruth Scifo earlier this month called for McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio to publicly reject President Donald Trump’s comments on federalizing elections.
“As the chief election official for McHenry County, Clerk Tirio has a fundamental responsibility to protect the integrity, independence, and localized administration of our voting process,” Scifo said.
“The President’s recent rhetoric suggesting a shift toward federal control threatens the long-standing Constitutional principle that elections are managed at the state and local levels, a system designed to ensure accountability and prevent centralized interference,” she said.
Tirio responded that he would “do one better” after Scifo’s comments as he issued a lengthy statement this week.
Tirio said he took an oath to support the United States Constitution and the Illinois Constitution when he assumed office.
“I took that oath publicly, here in McHenry County where I have lived for decades, in the presence of God, family, friends, and strangers, holding the Bible my late grandmother repaired with electrical tape before she left it to me. I have no intention of breaking that promise,” he said.
“When I shop at Walmart or Jewel, stop at Swift Wash, or grab lunch at Three Brothers, the people I meet across McHenry County know they can trust me with their vote. They know that because I have been here, with and for them, through it all, from eliminating an elected office to streamlining government, to administering elections through a pandemic, including one of the most contentious elections in our nation’s recent history under some of the most challenging circumstances in the last century,” Tirio said.
The county clerk said he will continue to keep that promise and said that the Tenth Amendment is a general rule that reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people.
He said the specific constitutional framework for federal elections is found in Article I, Section 4, which provides that state legislatures set the “Times, Places and Manner” of congressional elections but that “Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.”
“That provision has always meant that Congress may establish uniform rules for federal elections that override contrary state law, while the states retain primary responsibility for running elections unless and until Congress acts. It has never meant that a County Clerk may pick and choose which constitutional provisions or federal laws to follow based on who occupies the White House or which party runs Congress,” Tirio said.
“So, to answer the request directly: if and when a law is duly enacted, or the Constitution is amended to change the balance of state and federal authority over elections, I will faithfully follow that law and will have more to say about how it affects McHenry County voters,” he said.
“Until that happens, my job is unchanged, my commitment is unchanged, and my promise to uphold the Constitution and to run fair, secure, and transparent elections for the people of McHenry County remains unchanged,” he added.
Tirio is seeking re-election this year. He was first elected as county recorder in 2016 and then clerk in 2018, at which time voters approved a referendum to consolidate the two offices, with the clerk’s office absorbing the recorder’s office’s functions.