As the Nov. 8 midterm elections near, Cook and Lake County voters in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove and Lake Zurich looking to cast their ballot early have options.
“Early voting allows you to vote when and where you want,” said Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough.
She is a strong proponent of early voting and has expanded times and locations throughout the city and suburbs, she explained.
“Being able to vote early, including on weekends leading up to Election Day, provides voters with more flexible opportunities to cast their votes and it also offers a flexible option for voters who cannot take time off work to vote on Election Day,” the clerk said.
Early voting, now available at Cook County locations, also shortens voting lines on Election Day. According to Yarbrough’s office, voters do not need to provide an excuse or reason why they can’t vote on Election Day, and a photo ID is not required. Voters can register to vote at all early voting locations in the county including Chicago Union Station – where suburban commuters may also vote.
The Rolling Meadows Courthouse, 2121 Euclid Ave., in Rolling Meadows, is open for early voting weekdays through Nov. 7 in Room 238, according to the clerk’s office.
As of Oct. 24, 50 early voting sites opened throughout Cook County for voting on weekdays and on select weekends, including at Arlington Heights Village Hall, 33 S. Arlington Heights Road and Barrington Hills Village Hall, 112 Algonquin Road.
Lake County Clerk Robin M. O’Connor said some 18 sites in Lake County are now open for early voting, with most open on weekends and five sites open until 7 p.m. during the week of Oct. 31. Lake County voters can vote at any of these early voting locations, she said.
“Many voters wish to cast their vote in-person,” O’Connor said. “However, work schedules, business trips, or other commitments may prevent them from doing so on Election Day. Early voting allows these citizens to still participate in our democracy.”
She said Lake County residents in Lake Zurich and Buffalo Grove wishing to vote early can visit the Ela Township Office, 1155 E. Route 22, in Lake Zurich.
O’Connor also offered projections on voting turnout for the November midterm elections based on the last midterm elections in a non-presidential year.
In 2018, the overall turnout was 56.71%. Most voters took advantage of early voting while just as many cast their ballot on Election Day. And some chose to mail their ballot in.
“We expect higher vote-by-mail as we have already mailed 37,662 ballots,” O’Connor said, “and the last day for voters to request a ballot is Nov. 3.”
There are three questions that will be on ballots – one a statewide one, another for Cook County voters and a third one relative to only Wheeling Township voters, according to Sally Daly, deputy clerk of communications for the Cook County Clerk’s office.
The first is a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution which would “guarantee workers the fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively and to negotiate wages, hours, and working conditions, and to promote their economic welfare and safety at work. The new amendment would also prohibit from being passed any new law that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety.” This proposed workers’ rights amendment will also be on Lake County ballots.
The second referendum question for Cook County voters asks if the Cook County Forest Preserve District can increase its property tax rate over the current tax cap rate by 0.025% for one year “for the purposes of conserving and restoring land to good health, protecting the water quality of rivers, lakes and streams, providing natural flood water storage, protecting wildlife habitat, protecting forests to improve air quality, improving and maintaining existing forest preserves and trails.” According to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County referendum site, it would allow the Forest Preserve District to increase its property tax revenue by $41.7 million, raising taxpayer bills about $7.29 for Cook County residents with a single-family home that has a current value of $100,000.
The Mental Health referendum question impacts Wheeling Township voters in both Arlington Heights and Buffalo Grove. This question asks if the township can levy an annual tax to residents “not to exceed 0.15% for the purpose of providing community mental health facilities and services including facilities and services for the person with a developmental disability or a substance abuse disorder.”
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The referendum would allow the township to create a community mental health board, also known as a 708 board, to ensure mental health services are provided to the community. According to AdvocateFor708.org, in order to raise $1.5 million for these mental health services, the average priced home in Wheeling Township would pay an additional $28.36 annually.
Voters in Vernon Township, which includes areas of Buffalo Grove, will also see this proposition to levy an annual tax for mental health facilities and services.
Cook County residents can find the locations and hours of operations of Early Voting locations on the clerk’s website.
Lake County voters can visit LakeCountyClerk.info to confirm their registration status, see registration options, request and track their vote-by-mail ballots, find information on the early voting and dropbox sites and see sample ballots.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.