Early voting for the Feb. 23 primary election starts Monday in Room G-300 at the Evanston Civic Center.
Primary election contests include the races for mayor and city clerk and for alderman in the 4th and 8th wards.
Evanston is one of just nine towns in suburban Cook county that are holding primary elections this year.
The County Clerk’s office says 53,111 people are registered to vote in Evanston. That’s 3,237 more people than were registered at the time of the last primary election for municipal offices here in 2017.
Turnout in that election — when only the mayor’s race and the 5th Ward aldermanic seat were on the ballot — was just under 20.4% of registered voters.
Early voting hours run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Feb. 22.
A government-issued photo ID is not required to early vote, but is helpful if there is a question about the voter’s registration, address or signature.
Residents can register to vote at any early voting site. To register, voters must be:
- A U.S. citizen
- At least 18 years old by the primary election
- A resident of their precinct at least 30 days prior to Election Day
Any voter registering for the first time or filing an address change or name change must present two forms of ID, one of which shows the voter’s current address.
Acceptable forms of ID include: an Illinois driver’s license or state ID, an employee or student ID, a credit card, a Social security card, a birth certificate, a utility bill in the applicant’s name, mail postmarked to the applicant, a valid U.S. passport, a public aid ID card and a lease or rental contract.
Mail voting
Residents can apply online to vote by mail or by calling the City Clerk’s Office at 847-448-8189.
Once an application is received and registration verified, a paper ballot will be sent to the address designated on the application. If you registered to vote by mail in a previous election, you still have to apply to receive a mail ballot for this election.
The last day to request a mail ballot is Thursday, Feb. 18. To be counted, mail ballots must be postmarked by Feb. 23.
Election day voting
Precinct polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day, Feb. 23. A list of polling locations is available online.