Arlington Heights 2026 IL Primary Voters Guide

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Early voting is underway with Illinois Primary Election Day a little over a week away on March 17. Both Democratic and Republican candidates are making their final pushes in hopes of being chosen to represent their respective parties in November's General Election.

In Arlington Heights, early voting, which began on March 2, is taking place at the Buechner Room at Village Hall, 33 S. Arlington Heights Road. The last day for early at that location is Monday, March 16.

According to the Village of Arlington Heights, voting at Village Hall is available during the following hours:

First week - Monday, March 2 through Sunday, March 8

• 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Satuday
• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday

Second week - Monday, March 9 through Monday, March 16

• 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday
• 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday
• 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on final Monday, March 16

There is no voting at the Arlington Heights Village Hall on Election Day, March 17. If you decide to vote on March 17, you will need to vote in your designated polling location.

In addition, a drop box for mail ballots will only be available at Village Hall during the early voting hours listed above.

ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE?

If you're not sure if you're registered to vote, you can check online. If you're not registered, even though online voter registration has closed, you can still register in person the same day you vote, whether you vote early or on Election Day.

To register in person, you'll need to bring two forms of ID or proof of residency, including a passport, driver's license, lease or mortgage. At least one form of ID must list your current address.

RELATED: IL 2026 Primary Election Guide — Who's Running, What You Need To Know

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, if you want to vote by mail, you must apply online or in person by 5 p.m. on March 12 through your county's election authority. Vote-by-mail ballot applications can be found here for Suburban Cook County

Ballots must be postmarked or placed in a dropbox by Election Day, March 17, to count.

If you plan to vote on Election Day and don't know your polling place, you can find it here. The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

WHAT'S ON THE BALLOT?

There are number of statewide races being contested in the primary, including governor, U.S. Senate, Secretary of State and Comptroller. Take a look at our IL 2026 Primary Election Guide for more on those races.

In terms of Arlington Heights, in addition to the aforementioned races, the biggest race, especially in terms of the number of candidates is the U.S. House 9th Congressional District contest.

It's a crowded field of 15 Democratic candidates vying to represent the district in Washington, D.C., with four Republicans hoping to be the one to face off with the eventual winner.

Last May, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky announced her retirement, setting the race to replace her in motion. Schakowsky, 80, has represented Chicago's North Side and the north suburbs sicne 1998.

RELATED: Rep. Jan Schakowsky Won't Run For Reelection In 2026

For the Democrats, the choice is between the following candidates:

• Kat Abughazaleh, a former journalist and social media influencer
• Bushra Amiwala, a Skokie School District 73.5 board member
• Phil Andrew, a former FBI hostage negotiator
• Daniel Biss, the mayor of Evanston and a former state representative and state senator
• Patricia A. Brown, who has formerly worked in health care and education, among other positions
• Jeff Cohen, an economist
• Laura Fine, who has served in the state Senate since 2018 and previously served in the Illinois House.
• Mark Arnold Fredrickson, an IT consultant and attorney
• Justin Ford, a health professional, as well as a union organizer
• Hoan Huynh, who is serving his second term in the Illinois House (13th District)
• Bethany Johnson, who has worked as a data analyst and on political campaigns
• Sam Polan, who served in the military and worked for the U.S. Department of Defense
• Nick Pyati, a former Microsoft strategist
• Howard Rosenblum, a litigator
• Mike Simmons, who was appointed to the state Senate in 2021 and was elected in 2022 (7th District)

On the Republican side, there are not quite as many names, but voters will have a choice:

• Rocio Cleveland, a multilingual paraprofessional and interpreter
• John Elleson, a public educator
• Paul Friedman, a software writer
• Mark Su, an attorney who previously served as vice chair of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee