County Board Votes to Reduce Number of Election Precincts

Some Will County voters will get new polling places come election season thanks to a unanimous county board vote that eliminates 142 precincts as part of a plan to save money.

Approved Thursday, the new precinct map slices Will County into 303 precincts, compared with the old 445-precinct map.

Will County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots said she proposed the new map in a bid to save money on elections and make the size of precincts more consistent throughout the county.

“There were some precincts in the Joliet area that maybe had 400 or 500 registered voters,” she said. “My goal is to make it consistent throughout the county.”

Now, each precinct could have more than 1,200 voters.

Voots estimates the plan could save up to $200,000 per election, but said a cost study would need to be done to get a more exact number. The savings would come in the form of a reduced number of election judges, voting booths and man-hours by employees of the clerk’s office.

In some cases, the map splits subdivisions into different precincts, or combines incorporated and unincorporated areas at the same polling location. But, according to Voots, election judges are prepared to help voters deal with the changes.

“My judges go through training,” she said, adding that emphasis is placed on making sure each voter is given the correct ballot.

“This isn’t anything new,” Voots added. “We’re just trying to make the [precinct] sizes more consistent.

According to Voots, along with cost savings, another reason behind the change was the uptick in early voting in Will County, which she said has already reduced long lines at the polls.

Asked whether there is a fear that the changes could lead to lower voter turnout, Voots said her office will work to make residents aware of the changes so they’re not surprised on election day.

“Every registered voter in Will County will get a new voter’s identification card come fall,” she said. The card will list their precinct, polling place and legislative voting districts, many of which have changed under the .

Cory Singer, a District 1 board member from Frankfort, praised the new county map.

“The clerk did a very good job keeping neighborhoods and parts of communities together,” Singer said. “I don’t know of any neighborhoods in Mokena or Frankfort where they were divided.”

But people will still have to learn new polling places. And, as all districts from the county board to the U.S. Congress are redrawn every 10 years, Will County residents have a lot of new districts to learn. in the latest shuffle.

“They don’t have much to worry about because all the registered voters in Will County will be receiving a new voter card (with their new polling place listed),” Voots said. “Right before the election, I’ve been sending out a voters guide (with maps of new districts).”

Tom Weigel, a District 2 board member from New Lenox, said residents know their communities enough that they will be able to find their new polling places. His own polling place, for example, moved from Cherry Hill School in New Lenox to Cherry Hill Church of Christ in Joliet, both well-known local landmarks about a half-mile apart.

Singer praised the process that led to the new map.

“It was a good process and I think that’s reflected on the fact that it was supported on a bipartisan basis,” Singer said. “It wasn’t by any stretch of the imagination a political process.”

Also this fall, the clerk’s office will mail out customized voter information guides that include the same information, plus a list of all early-voting locations and a sample ballot.

“Each fall before voting starts, every household will get a voter’s information guide,” Voots said. “We’ve been doing that for the last two or three elections.”

Voots said her website, www.thewillcountyclerk, will also be updated by the end of the day Friday with new the new precinct information.

Voters can click on “precinct lookup” and enter their address to find out whether their precinct and polling place have changed. They can also view a photo of their polling place and the parking lot so they’ll be prepared by the time election day arrives, Voots said.

To help avoid long lines at the polls, Voots said her office will send extra elections judges and voting booths to each polling place.