Voters Asked, Lake Co. Clerk Answered: Raise Your Voter IQ

The Lake County Clerk's Office gets plenty of questions when it comes to voting and elections. With that in mind, the local clerk's office put together a list of answers to their most commonly asked questions, which we have posted below.

“It’s important for every voter to have a good understanding of the voting process and feel confident when casting a ballot," said Lake County Clerk Carla Wyckoff in a news release.

Here are some "factoids" the clerk's office recently released regarding information they believe will be helpful to voters this primary election:

• Illinois does not have a political party registration system. However, in a primary election, you are required to select one political party ballot to vote. You have the freedom to change your party choice in each primary election.
• If you registered by mail on the Federal Registration form and did not provide sufficient proof of identity, you must vote in-person the first time and provide the required identification before receiving a ballot.
• Every early and Election Day voting site is equipped with ballot marking equipment that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This equipment enables voters with vision or dexterity disabilities to mark and cast their ballot in private and without assistance.
• Illinois election code requires election judges to compare and match the signature on your ballot application when voting to the one on your original registration record before you can receive a ballot.
• Your ballot may be different than your neighbor’s ballot and will list only the candidates and issues for the districts serving your address.
• You don’t have to vote every race on your ballot. Illinois law requires that the ballot counter alert you before your ballot is deposited in the ballot bin if you did not vote for governor/lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller, or treasurer candidates. You can cast your ballot without voting for any of these races, and the rest of your filled-in ovals will be counted. Or, you can have your ballot returned so you can mark the races you originally omitted.
• If you damage your ballot, mark it incorrectly, or change your mind about your ballot choices BEFORE casting your ballot, you may request a replacement ballot after surrendering your mismarked ballot.
• No ballot may be retrieved once it is placed in the ballot bin. If you have any questions about the correctness of your ballot, ask the election judges BEFORE you cast your ballot and see the ballot bin’s display screen “Thank you for voting. Your ballot has been counted.”
• Write-in votes will only count for candidates who have previously filed a proper Declaration of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate form with the Clerk's office.  

Voters can also visit LakeCountyClerk.info and click on the “March 2018 Primary” icon for all registration and voting option information. After visiting this web page, you will have increased your election knowledge, and you can then say with confidence, “Now, I know!”

For more information on Lake County Clerk services and up-to-the-minute election news, visit LakeCountyClerk.info, follow us at twitter.com/LakeCountyClerk, join our page at facebook.com/CountyClerk, or call 847.377.2400.

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