Did your "No" Vote mean Yes?

During yesterday's voting on Election Day many McHenry County voters were probably surprised, as I had been at Early Voting, to find that the question about the County Executive Form of Government wasn't just about that.

The question on the ballot was "Shall the County of McHenry adopt the County Executive Form of Government and elect not to become a home rule unit?"

You had three choices: Yes. No. And no vote.

There was a huge debate at MCC on the County Executive Form of Government. State Representatives Jack Franks (for) and Mike Tryon (against) spoke eloquently and in detail about why (or why not). Jack spoke quite loudly about it. I wondered whether he "lost" a few people by appearing so fired up about it. But I don't recall any mention of "home rule" that evening?

Who designed and who approved the question for the ballot? Why would you ever put a two-part question up for a Yes/No vote? Especially when the answers to both questions might not be the same.

Separate the questions. Notice the twist in the second part.

1. "Shall the County of McHenry adopt the County Executive Form of Government?"

2. "Shall the County of McHenry ... elect not to become a home rule unit?"

Question 1 was straight-forward and fairly easy for voters to understand and choose. You either were for it, or you weren't. An easy Yes or No.

Question 2 was almost like "Are you still beating your wife?"

If you voted "Yes" on the Proposition, then you were voting for the County Executive form of government. Thirty-five percent (35.62%) voted Yes.

If you voted "No" on the Proposition, then you were voting against the County Executive form of government. Sixty-four percent (64.38%) voted No.

BUT, if you voted No", did that automatically mean that you were voting for McHenry County to become a home-rule unit?

Review the second part of the question. "Shall the County of McHenry ... elect not to become a home rule unit?"

If you voted Yes, then you were voting "Yes, the County of McHenry shall elect not to become a home rule unit." But a Yes vote meant you were for the County Executive form of government.

But if you voted No (and 64.38% did vote No), then were you saying "No, the County of McHenry shall elect not to become a home rule unit"? What does that mean? Does that mean the County of McHenry shall not elect not to become a home rule unit? Or, in other words, the county shall elect to become a home rule unit?

Did McHenry County voters get snookered?