Illinois Republican whines that officials won’t let him examine 2020 election ballots

The battle for a Republican audit of 2020 election ballots came to Illinois after LaSalle County Republican Chairman Larry Smith worked to get access to his county's ballots to examine the results.

President Donald Trump won the county 57 percent to 41 percent. The county is also in the district of U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), one of Trump's many GOP foes. Kinzinger won 62 to 38 against a Democratic challenger. Trump's numbers are actually better than Trump did in 2016, where he got just 54.2 percent to Clinton's 39.8 percent, so it's unknown why Republicans want to examine the results.

At issue for Smith is that Democrats State's Attorney Todd Martin and Illinois House member Lance Yednock won in 2020. The Democrats won in an election that saw overwhelming support for Republican candidates in the county, which is why Smith is concerned there was a fraud afoot. If there was, it would presumably also call into question the election of Trump and Kinzinger.

Speaking to 1430 WCMY, Smith accused County Clerk Lori Bongartz of mishandling the mail-in ballots.

"For all he says the ballot handlers should have done differently, he says also the Republican Party should have been better prepared to stand up for election integrity," he told the radio host.

A Grundy County judge is expected to decide as early as Monday on whether to throw out a Republican challenge to the state's attorney race, reported ShawLocal. One issue is whether or not Smith will be sanctioned by the court for trying to reverse the race. According to attorney Matt Krueger Smith "repeatedly crossed a line in his pleadings with a 'pattern of false statements,'" said the report.

"Nobody deserves to have her reputation tarnished," Krueger explained to Grundy County Judge Scott M. Belt. He went on to ask that the complaint from Smith be denied. "Nobody deserves to be accused of fraud. Nobody deserves to be accused of committing a felony."

Smith's county is the same GOP that also moved in Feb. to censure Kinzinger for attacking Donald Trump. The vote failed 2 yes votes to 11 no votes.

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