Unlikely Results Reported in Long Lake Referendums

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2026
Former Madison County Board Chairman, Kurt Prenzler
Madison County Republican Party Chairman of District 3, Nick Cohan

Madison County Republican Party Chairman of District 3 (many precincts in the Southwest corner of the county) Nick Cohan was alerted to an unlikely outcome in the recent March 17 primary election.

“Yesterday a voter called me and said he didn’t understand why there were zero “no” votes on one Long Lake fire district referendum and only two “no” votes in other,” Cohan said.

The two referendums, as they appeared on the March 17 ballot, were as follows:

“Shall the maximum allowable rate for the Long Lake Fire Protection District, Madison County, Illinois be increased from .30% to .40% of the value of all taxable property within the district as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue?”

“Shall the Board of Trustees of the Long Lake Fire Protection District, Madison County, Illinois levy a special tax at a rate not to exceed .40% of the value of all taxable property within the district as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue for the purpose of providing an emergency ambulance service?”

The County Clerk’s website reported (see below) that 383 votes were cast in favor of the Long Lake Fire Levy referendum and only two votes against; and 327 votes were cast in favor of the ambulance referendum, with no votes cast in opposition.

“Without making many phone calls, I quickly discovered that at least five people voted no on both referendums,” said Cohan. “And I can imagine that many more people voted no, because many people can’t afford higher taxes and they vote against all tax increases.“

Cohan, together with former County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler, submitted today a Freedom of Information Request to the County Clerk’s office, requesting copies of ballots cast and a list of registered voters who cast ballots in the district.

“The probability that these ballots were properly counted is between zero and unlikely,” Prenzler said. “Common sense would say these ballots need to be counted again.“