Evanston will have six fewer voting precincts for February’s statewide primary than it did for the city elections this year.
Cook County Clerk David Orr says he’s trimming the total number of precincts in suburban Cook County by 15 percent to save about $750,000 a year.
The reduction here amounts to 9 percent of what had been 70 precincts in town. In some cases voters will still be using the same polling place, but the polling place will serve fewer precincts.
Here are details of the changes in Evanston:
- In the 2nd Ward, precincts 3 and 6 are combined into the new precinct 3. Voters will cast ballots at the District 65 administration building, 1500 McDaniel Ave.
- In the 5th Ward, precincts 3 and 4 are combined into the new precinct 3, and precinct 6 is renumbered as the new precinct 4. Voters in both will cast ballots at Faith Temple Church, 1932 Dewey Ave.
- In the 5th Ward, precincts 5 and 7 are combined into the new precinct 5. Voters will cast their ballots at the Fleetwood Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St.
- In the 7th Ward, precincts 1 and 3 are combined into the new precinct 1. Voters will cast ballots at St. Matthews Episcopal Church, 2120 Lincoln St.
- In the 7th Ward, precinct 9 is renumbered precinct 3. Voters will cast ballots at Patten Gym, 2407 Sheridan Road.
- In the 8th Ward, precincts 4 and 8 are combined into the new precinct 4. Voters will cast ballots at Oakton School, 436 Ridge Ave.
- In the 9th Ward, precincts 3 and 6 are combined into the new precinct 3, and precinct 7 is renumbered precinct 6. Voters will cast ballots at Ridgeville Community House, 908 Seward St.
Click here to download a larger version of the map from the County Clerk’s office.
“We were charged with identifying ways to trim our budgets,” Orr said. “By merging precincts with others in the same polling location or combining precincts where there are too few voters, we will be able to save three-quarters of a million dollars every year with little to no impact on voters.”
More voters are taking advantage of pre-Election Day opportunities to cast a ballot, such as early and absentee voting. In the Presidential Election, for example, nearly 25 percent of all voters voted prior to Nov. 4 — the greatest Early Voting turnout ever in suburban Cook County. As a result, fewer voters visit the polls on Election Day.
“The trend toward pre-Election Day voting means precincts can have larger numbers of voters because many of them will not appear in the precinct on Election Day,” Orr said.
Orr says his office will send all households an election mailer before the Feb. 2 gubernatorial primary notifying voters of their polling place location and precinct number.
Note: At this writing the precinct map on the City of Evanston website still shows the old precinct boundaries.