YWCA and NCNW Candidate Forum: Madison County Clerk and Illinois House District 111
ALTON – Madison County voters heard directly from two candidates competing for the office of County Clerk in the Nov. 3, 2026 elections.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
YWCA Southwestern Illinois and the Alton Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) hosted a free Candidate Forum on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 in the YWCA gymnasium in Alton. The event was presented as a community service, as neither organization endorses or supports any candidate for public office.
Candidates competing in three different races participated in the forum, including those running for Madison County Clerk, State Representative for the 111th District of Illinois and State Senator for the 56th District.
Linda Andreas is seeking re-election as the Republican incumbent candidate for Madison County Clerk and faces Democratic challenger Rachelle Bauerle.
The County Clerk's Office administers voter registration and elections, maintains birth, death and marriage records, issues marriage licenses and performs important responsibilities related to property taxes and records for local taxing districts.
Andreas, who has held the office since 2022, said she’s running for re-election not only because of her experience in the role, but the steps she’s taken to modernize the County Clerk’s Office under her leadership. She said her office has also worked to shorten processing times, enhance communication with residents and ensure election systems and public records are accurate and transparent.
“When I took office, I made efficiency and streamlined operations my top priorities,” Andreas said. “Everything was antiquated and old, everything needed digitized [with] new equipment, so it’s been quite a journey the last few years.”
Bauerle said she entered the race after becoming an election judge in 2020 and developing a passion for the county’s election operations after witnessing them firsthand.
“I have no dreams of becoming a politician, but I saw a need and decided to step up,” Bauerle said, adding she has “a lot of really great ideas” she would bring to the position if elected.
Both candidates were asked how they would handle misinformation surrounding local elections and ensure the public is given accurate information.
Bauerle encouraged people to get involved as election judges and poll watchers to see the process for themselves, which may clear up misunderstandings they have. She also emphasized the importance of communicating early and via multiple channels to combat misinformation before it spreads beyond control.
“If you keep people informed and updated in advance, there’s less chance that stuff is going to start circulating before you get there,” Bauerle said. “I have a multi-disciplinary approach to how we give people more confidence, but I think the bottom line is [to] get more people involved.”
Andreas said misinformation is a constantly recurring issue she experiences almost daily. She highlighted her office’s efforts in publishing press releases and doing radio interviews to keep the public informed and encouraged residents to sign up for the Madison County TextMyGov service which launched earlier this year. She also encouraged the public to get involved as election judges, noting the county is always seeking new judges.
Both candidates were also asked about their top priorities for the office and what results voters can expect to see if they are elected.
Andreas said she looks to continue on the progress made in her first term, which included the replacement of 20-year-old tabulators, the founding of a Facebook page to communicate with county residents and a pair of new software packages – one containing data on past elections and one for the next Election Night on Nov. 3, 2026.
Under Andreas’s leadership, enrollment in the county’s Property Fraud Alert program jumped from 8% to 41% of Madison County property owners in two years. She said the office is also in the process of developing a new voter registration system.
Bauerle said if elected, she first plans to talk with Clerk’s Office staff about what’s working and not working and gather ideas for improvement. She said voters can expect to see an improvement not only in communication, but communication made well in advance.
Another priority of Bauerle’s is updating the “antiquated” County Clerk website. If elected, she sees the consolidated elections next spring as being the first test of the office’s capabilities under her leadership.
A full recording of the YWCA and NCNW Candidate Forum is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
