Aaron Ammons was elected to the role of Champaign County Clerk just over a year ago, and now he’s in preparation for what is sure to be a wild election cycle. Ammons, who previously served as president of SEIU Chapter 119 Local 75 as a Building Service Worker at the University of Illinois, and as an Urbana alderman, has been invested in this community for quite a while, and came to the office with a passion for the critical role voting rights played in the Civil Rights Movement, and the continued role they play in our democracy. It’s what drew him to running for this position in the first place. As he puts it, “I decided early on that as long as my campaign results in myself, supporters, staff, and the community being better informed about what it took to earn the voting rights, to get the voting rights act passed, and what that meant for democracy in America, then I can’t lose.”
Ammons rode the blue wave of long Republican-held county offices being overtaken by Democrats in 2018. In his case, the Champaign County Clerk’s office had been led by a Republican for 76 years before he bested previous clerk Gordy Hulten’s heir apparent Matt Grandone. That set of circumstances, and the fact that he is the first African American Champaign County Clerk, made his win historic as well as contentious. “We had to deal with an orchestrated exodus of a lot of experience and a lot of good people leaving the office,” says Ammons. Many staff members were loyal to Ammons’ opponent, and had even submitted a letter to the editor in support of Grandone and expressing their disagreement with an endorsement Ammons received from AFSCME. Those employees and others chose to leave, some without much notice. Their absence has created challenges during the transition, while also giving Ammons the opportunity to choose who he wants to fill those positions.
“I’m really excited about the staff that we have, their diversity, and the level of understanding they’ve accumulated in this short period of time. It’s hard for me not to talk about the exodus of folks out of here, because what that meant was a brand new tax division…then my entire election division is now turned over. Two of the most critical components of this office are working with a new group, and we still have a high standard to meet. One of things that was a real challenge, and still challenging to us all, is the level of detail and intricacy.”
With a generally new staff, Ammons is working to cultivate the culture of the office. “One of the things that we really focus on is making sure everyone feels valued. Input is important…The rapport in the office is such that we have fun and enjoy coming to the office, at the same time recognizing that we have a high level of service that we have to offer to the taxpayers of Champaign County.”
Despite a difficult transition, Ammons points to successes his office has had in this past year: Using grant money to upgrade software and security systems, working with the University of Illinois to shift Illini Union voting from the small 4th floor rooms to the Pine lounge (as well as adding a second early voting location at the ARC), revamping the Deputy Registrar program, and hosting tax town halls throughout the summer to help people learn more about the property tax cycle.
Ammons’ Chief Deputy Clerk, Angela Patton, witnessed first hand the ups and downs of this past year, and points out the work he’s done to bring the office through the transition.
“Coming into office and having to turn around and run an election and a property tax cycle with no transition is a monumental feat that went largely unnoticed. It took absolute resolve, leadership, and a very, very steady hand by Aaron to carry and guide the office through a turbulent time — and he never wavered. I got to see that play out day in and out. He would be the first one in and the last to leave. I’m not sure too many would have been able to do what he did.”
With one election cycle under their belts, the consolidated election last April, Ammons and his staff are preparing for the big one: a Presidential primary and general election that also includes many local, state, and additional federal races. While the consolidated election had a lot of races and candidates, this one is a different animal. As Ammons says, “this one has less offices, but way more people (turning out) and attention. The voters are calling and asking all manner of questions.” They’ve been working diligently to update their voter registration program and install new software and hardware, and election judges are in the office learning the process in preparation for election day. Early voting just rolled out in several more locations this week, the primary is on Tuesday, and Ammons feels like “they’re moving in a really good direction for the upcoming election…we’re cautiously optimistic, and we anticipate a huge turnout, so we’re excited.”
I’m sure that Ammons would want us to remind you that early voting is happening in location all over Champaign County this week, and that this is especially important with the Illinois primary happening March 17th, which is during Spring Break for U of I, Parkland, and the local schools. You can find the full list of early voting locations and hours at the Champaign County Clerk’s website. All locations are universal locations, meaning you can vote at any of them no matter your address. Polling places will be open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m on March 17th, and you can find your polling place and sample ballot with this form.
This Friday, Ammons and his team will be taking over our Smile Politely Instagram Story to give us a peek into their world of election prep.
Photo provided by the Champaign County Clerk’s office.