MADISON COUNTY - In the weeks before Election Day, Madison County Clerk and Recorder Linda Andreas is clearing up a few misconceptions about voting.
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Andreas noted that she has seen social media posts and fielded questions about ballot tabulators, marks on ballots, and deceased voters. She explained each of these topics and what people should know ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3, 2026. She encouraged people to vote.
“I think inaction is never a good a good thing, whether it’s voting or life or anything,” she said. “We’re meant to move. We’re meant to make decisions. God gave us a brain. We have so many things to be thankful for. We don’t always agree on all the same things. Obviously, that’s why we have elections. So let’s do that. Don’t get mad. Don’t get mean. Don’t get anything. Just go out and vote.”
Andreas acknowledged that some people are hesitant to trust the ballot tabulators. She explained that these machines aren’t connected to the internet, and they have a backup battery if the power goes out. Each machine is tested in the weeks leading up to the election, and the tests are open to the public to watch.
She noted that ballot tabulators are similar to the machines that process ACT or SAT tests. The machines scan which ovals are filled in on the ballot.
“That’s a scanner,” she said. “It doesn't know if you’re anybody’s party. It doesn’t know if you voted for one candidate, all candidates, whatever. It has no clue. It just looks at where those marks are, and it does a tally. That’s all it does.”
A recent social media post warned people against filling out ballots on which election judges had left a mark. Andreas explained that this is a misunderstanding of how the election works.
Election judges are trained to initial each ballot they hand out. This signifies that the ballot is official. A ballot without the judge’s initials likely won’t be counted if there is a recount.
Andreas noted that this “misinformation” contributes to a lot of confusion. She encouraged people to get any voter information or questions answered “right from the horse’s mouth” by calling the County Clerk’s office or visiting the official website.
“We fight media, we fight ignorance, we fight social media, because people are getting information there instead of from us, or they make assumptions and they call us and they’re yelling at us,” Andreas shared. She added that the staff in her office is “very skilled” and “very educated.”
There are also questions about deceased voters. Andreas explained that these voters are typically marked as “inactive” on the County Clerk’s list, but it’s illegal for them to take anyone off the list unless they know for sure that this person is deceased.
In her early days as Clerk, Andreas would comb through obituaries. Now, she relies on the community to tell her office when a loved one has died so she can take them off the voter registry.
Anyone with questions about how this process works can call the Clerk’s office. Andreas emphasized that her team is there to answer questions and manage the elections, among other duties. She added that voter fraud is “really very rare,” and anyone who commits voter fraud will be prosecuted.
She also noted that it’s inspiring to see so many people voting in the midterms. She encourages people to vote in all elections, including local races, because she believes it’s important to make your voice heard.
“It’s pretty exciting to see people getting involved,” she added. “What I like to think is in terms of what in your life has been impacted by someone else’s decisions. This is the time. It’s your voice, but it’s also your decision. If you don’t like something, if you’re not voting, you’re deciding to keep it. Even if your vote doesn’t win that change, it’s a move towards that change.”
For more information about Linda Andreas or the Madison County Clerk and Recorder’s Office, visit the official website.
