Fultz Ineligible for School Board Seat, District Officials Say

Community activist Mary Fultz was not a registered voter at the time of the election, and therefore is not eligible to be seated on the board, East Aurora School District officials said Wednesday.

Fultz, 45, won a seat on the East Aurora board in last week’s election, taking in 980 votes—the second-highest total of the seven candidates. But a school district investigation into her records has shown that Fultz was not a registered voter at the time of the election, as required by state law.

According to a written statement sent out Wednesday afternoon, district attorneys have advised the school board to seek a court order vacating the position. School Board President Annette Johnson said the board would entertain such a motion on Monday, provided Fultz did not resign her seat before then.

Johnson said the school district began investigating the matter after receiving a call on election night from “someone at the Aurora Election Commission.” Linda Fechner, executive director of the AEC, said no one from her office made such a call.

Records show that Fultz was an Aurora voter from 1984 to 2006, when she canceled her registration and moved to North Aurora. She did register with Kane County in 2006, and voted in elections in 2006 and 2008 in North Aurora.

But in April 2008, the clerk’s office conducted a purge of its voter database, to remove inactive voters from the rolls. A card was sent to Fultz’ address, and was returned, according to Linda Mitchell, director of elections for Kane County. Fultz’ voter registration was suspended, Mitchell said.

Fultz said she moved back to Aurora in February 2010, but did not inform Kane County of her move, nor did she register to vote in Aurora, according to records. On March 31, Fultz went to the Aurora Election Commission office on Galena Boulevard to vote, and according to AEC records, was told she was not registered in Aurora.

However, since the grace period had ended on March 29, Fultz was not allowed to register, and did not vote in last week’s election. She has since registered, according to AEC records.

Fultz did not comment on the district statement Wednesday.

If Fultz does not resign her seat, Johnson said, the district will pursue a court order to vacate the position. Should the court agree, a vacancy will be declared. Applications will then be accepted, Johnson said, and the school board will then select and appoint a new member, to be seated on May 2.

That new member may very well be Mary Fultz. School Board Attorney Peter Wilson said anyone can apply, including Fultz, provided the state requirements are met.

“Anyone who meets the qualifications of the statute on the day of filling the vacancy will be eligible,” Wilson said.

“She can certainly apply,” Johnson said. “We’ll take anyone’s application under consideration, but they have to meet the criteria.

Johnson said she is looking forward to putting this controversy behind her.

“Hopefully we can all get some resolution to this soon, no matter what,” she said.