Your Cook County 2018 Election Voter Guide

COOK COUNTY, IL -- Are you voting early or do you love the excitement of voting on Election Day? Can you still register to vote? How do you vote by mail? Patch has compiled helpful links and info for the upcoming Illinois gubernatorial election on Nov. 6.

Early voting has been underway since Sept. 27 at the Cook County Clerk's Office, 69 W. Washington, 5th Floor, Chicago, and at Cook County courthouses. Local early voting locations will open throughout the Cook County suburbs from Oct. 22 to Nov. 5. Voters do not need to give a reason why they cannot make it to the polls on Election Day.

Sunday, Oct. 21 was the deadline to register online, but if you forgot, don't despair: Illinois is one of a handful of states that allow same-day registration on Election Day. Just take two forms of identification (one must show your current address) to your voting precinct to register and cast your ballot.

Grace Period Registration and Voting

Grace period registration and voting extends the registration period by allowing voters to register and vote up until Monday, Nov. 5, the day before the gubernatorial election. Voters may register to vote during the grace period at any Cook County early voting location, but must cast their vote immediately upon registration.
Early voting started Oct. 22. A full list of early voting sites for Cook County suburban residents is available on the county clerk's website. A list of early voting sites for Chicago residents is available on the Chicago Board of Elections website.
Both websites offer information about what forms of identification are accepted.

Same-Day Registration

Eligible voters can register to vote in-person on Election Day. Same-day registration is only possible at a voter's assigned local polling place. The voter must present two forms of identification to participate in same-day registration, one of which must show a current address.

Find My Polling Place/Sample Ballot

Suburban Cook County residents can find their assigned polling location by entering their home address in a search bar on the Cook County Clerk's website as well as a sample ballot. Chicago residents can find their assigned polling place and a sample ballot on the Chicago Board of Elections website.

Early Voting

Early voting for the 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election runs from Oct. 22 through Nov. 5. Find early voting locations and hours.

Voters do not need to provide an excuse or reason why they cannot vote on Election Day. A government-issued, valid ID is not required but is helpful if there is a question about your voter registration.

You can Register to Vote at ALL Early Voting Sites. NOTE: Any voter who needs to register for the first time or file an address change must present two forms of ID, one of which shows the voter's current address.

Casting a vote for a write-in candidate

There are 16 write-in candidates running for congressional, state and county offices. Only eligible candidates who filed declarations of intent with each local election authority will be counted. The county clerk’s office will provide a list of eligible write-in candidates to each precinct on Election Day.

NOTE: Write-in votes for Bart Simpson, Mickey Mouse, Wonder Woman, etc. will NOT be counted.

On a paper ballot:

• Write the name of the write-in candidate on the line provided in a particular race.
• Mark the corresponding arrow

On a touch screen:

• Press the “write-in” box at the bottom of the list of candidates. A keyboard will appear.
• Type a name using the letters on the keyboard and space key to separate the first and last name.
• When finished, press “OK.”

In single-vote races, no other votes can be cast in a race where a write-in vote was cast. In multiple-vote races, a voter may cast one or more votes for write-in candidates, but is limited to the number of votes allowed in a given race.

Validity of write-in votes

Per the Cook County Clerk’s Office: “Complete accuracy of a write-in candidate’s name is not necessary as long as the election judges can determine a voter’s intent to select a specific write-in candidate. There should be some relationship between the appearance or sound of the name written or printed on the ballot and that of the write-in candidate’s actual name.

“If there is a dispute, a majority of the election judges must agree as to the intent of the voter. If a majority agreement among the election judges cannot be reached, the write-in vote will not be counted.”

Vote by mail

Any registered suburban Cook County voter may request a mail ballot using this online application. Once we verify your application, we will send a paper ballot to the mailing address you give. Or, download the application and mail it in to the Cook County Clerk’s Office, 69 W. Washington, 5th Floor, Chicago, IL 60602.

The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Nov. 1 to vote in the 2018 gubernatorial election.

To complete this application, you will need:

• your driver’s license or state ID number;
• the last four digits of your Social Security Number;
• the address where you would like your ballot mailed; and
• an email address.

Chicago voters check here for vote by mail instructions.

What's on the ballot?

State candidates

Governor/Lieutenant governor

• Bruce Rauner/Evelyn Sanguinetti - Republican
• J.B. Pritzker/Juliana Stratton - Democrat
• Grayson Kash Jackson/Sanjeev Mohip - Libertarian
• William "Sam" McCann/Aaron Merreighn - Conservative

Recent Patch coverage:

• Pritzker Campaign Releases Records Refuting Discrimination Suit
• JB Pritzker Spending Nearly Doubles Gov. Rauner In Home Stretch
• Illinois Governor Debate: Rauner, Pritzker Meet In Final Showdown

Attorney General

• Erika Harold - Republican
• Kwame Raoul - Democrat
• Bubba Harsy - Libertarian

Recent Patch coverage:

• Illinois AG Candidate Once Said Harassment Leads To Promiscuity

Secretary of State

• Jason Helland - Republican
• Jesse White - Democrat
• Steve Dutner - Libertarian

Comptroller

• Darlene Senger - Republican
• Susana A. Mendoza - Democrat
• Claire Ball - Libertarian

Treasurer

• Jim Dodge - Republican
• Michael Frerichs - Democrat
• Michael Leheney - Libertarian

Representative in Congress, 3rd District

• Arthur J. Jones - Republican
• Daniel William Lipinski - Democrat
• Write-in candidates: Check out the full list here.

Patch coverage:

• Yes, Art Jones is a Nazi. Let's prevent him from getting votes
• Sharon's Not Carin' For Neo-Nazi Arthur Jones' Support
• Former Primary Foe Supports Lipinski Over GOP Neo-Nazi Candidate
• 'Holocaust Never Happened,'Art Jones, Republican Congressional Candidate Says

Cook County Judges

Fifty-nine judges are up for retention, including ten candidates are seeking seats on benches for the first time in contested races. Cook County voters will decide on Nov. 6 whether to retain all 59 circuit court judges

• VoteForJudges.org offers non-partisan information on all the judicial candidates. The Chicago Appleseed Fund, the creator of the website, does not recommend or not recommend judges, but provides research-based evaluations from over a dozen bar associations.
• VoteForJudges will publish the judicial evaluation results from the bar associations as they become available, and the endorsements from the Chicago Tribune.
• The Chicago Bar Association provides a voter’s smart guide of its judicial recommendations and non-recommendations, as well as a phone app to bring into the voting booth.

• Illinois Bar Association provides summaries and full judicial evaluations. This information is also shared on VoteForJudges.
• Chicago Council on Lawyers is a non-partisan, public interest bar group. The CCL's evaluations are available now on the Council's website and through VoteforJudges.org.
• IllinoisJudges.Net is maintained by the Illinois Civil Justice League. The ICJL is a coalition of interests in Illinois, including taxpayers, consumers, small businesses, lawyers, doctors, local governments, big businesses, not-for-profit organizations and individual citizens. The coalition fights what it believes to be abuses to the civil justice system. ICJL includes its own ratings, as well as drawing evaluations from bar associations and newspaper endorsements.
• Injustice Watch, a nonpartisan, nonprofit multimedia journalism organization that exposes institutional failures that obstruct justice in Cook County, has also compiled a 2018 judicial voting guide.

Voters are permitted to bring newspaper endorsements, printouts, sample ballots and smart phones to view judicial evaluations into the voting booth.