WAUKEGAN, Illinois – After the polls close at 7 PM and all voters in line have been served, Lake County’s election judges will transmit ballot tallies directly from the 121 Election Day voting sites to the County Clerk’s office. These totals are the first county results to be seen online at the clerk’s website, LakeCountyClerk.info under “Election Results.”

Immediately following the complete reporting of all Lake County’s Election Day totals, tallies for the early and mailed ballots will be added to the website on election night. By statute, these ballots can only be counted in the clerk’s office after Election Day polls close.

Totals for write-in candidates will be available on the election results page by end of day Friday, November 9.

Per Illinois election law, election results are unofficial and not final until 14 days after Election Day. There are votes to count from verified provisional ballots and mailed ballots with a postmark no later than Election Day sent by county residents, military members, or overseas citizens.

Lake County uses the optical scan tabulating system which is considered by many election authorities to be the most secure voting system against cyber interference. Because the voter’s original ballot is collected and secured, election results can be replicated if warranted.

The election results web page provides in-depth, customizable data and views as described in the online reference: An Election Night Reporting User Guide. You can see a breakdown of votes for a candidate by contest and totals by vote type (early, by mail, and Election Day). Maps, bar graphs, and numerical charts illustrate the reported precincts, voter turnout, or results by precinct. Filtering functions allow you to customize and download reports in different file formats. The site contains a search function and uses a responsive design to fit the size of your viewing screen.