On Sunday, alderman Aaron Ammons announced that he’s running for the Democratic nomination for Champaign County clerk in 2018.

County clerks’ primary responsibilities include filling out legal records such as birth, death and marriage certificates. They are also in charge of voting within the county. Clerks also oversee the filing of passport requests and property deeds among other responsibilities.

Ammons has worked at the University of Illinois’ Facilities and Services department for sixteen years. Last April, he was elected to the Urbana City Council.

Ammons is the first to announce that he’s running as the democratic candidate for clerk. Matt Grandone, assistant of Incumbent Gordy Hulten, said he will run for the Republican nomination last week. Hulten announced he is going to run for the County Executive’s office on Aug. 28. 

“(Ammons) has been very passionate about voting rights for decades now and he saw this as an opportunity for him to be in the office and implement them,” said Michelle Jett, representative for Ammons.

Ammons’ wife, Carol Ammons, currently serves as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 103rd district. Ammons assisted in running her campaign in 2014.

He said the need for clerk would not dwindle, despite Illinois’ use of automatic voter registration starting in 2018.

If Ammons were to be elected, Jett said that “there would be a significant outreach to make sure that students are voting, that rural voters have access to a poll that’s near them and that anybody with mobility issues understands how they can use a mailbox and have the information they need to feel confident to go vote.”

The primary election for the county clerk office will not take place until March 20, 2018. As of publication, Ammons and Grandone are both running unopposed within their respective parties.

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