Valentine's Day, Meeting TEO, March Election News, and Office Hours

Lake County, Illinois sent this bulletin at 03/04/2020 04:26 PM CST

March 2020

Valentine’s Day at the Courthouse

Judge Stephen M. DeRue performed 23 Valentine’s Day ceremonies in his courtroom chambers on Friday, Feb. 14. Many of the couples then stopped in our office to have their photos taken. We wish everyone much happiness and love in their new lives together.

Send us a photo of your Lake County ceremony to vitalrecords@lakecountyil.gov, and we will add it to our office's display!

Meeting TEO (Turtle Executive Officer)

In late February, Clerk O'Connor met her adopted baby turtle, TEO (Turtle Executive Officer), at a behind-the-scenes tour of Lake County Forest Preserve's Blanding's Turtle Recovery Program's wildlife conservation facility in Antioch. She learned about the daily life of her turtle and what it takes to keep him healthy and thriving until his release into the wild sometime in late May.

TEO's profile and growth chart

March 17, 2020 General Primary Election News

Lake County’s Election Security

Protecting Lake County's election system is our highest priority. We take this new reality seriously and are partnering closely with Lake County’s Information Technology Division, Homeland Security, Illinois Department of Innovation Technology (DoIT), and the State of Illinois to safeguard your vote and prevent any interference with the election process.

The Illinois Cyber Navigator Program provides year-round protection to all of Illinois’ election officials’ systems by continuously monitoring networks for cyber breaches or intrusions. In the event of a security compromise, the Illinois Cyber Navigator Program will notify both our office and Lake County’s Information Technology Division. Then, our established recovery plan will be implemented.

Read the Public Act 100-0587 outlining this security program.

Best Protection of your Vote

Being well-versed about your candidates and issues is your best defense in protecting your vote.

Know what’s on your ballot by previewing your personalized sample ballot on our March election web page.
Meet the candidate at an event, debate, or rally and ask questions.
Visit the candidate’s website and social media pages.
Go to your school board, municipal, or township public meetings.
Read several different newspapers.

March Election Web Page

Visit LakeCountyClerk.info and click on the “March 2020 Primary” icon to review:

the candidate list;
public questions on the ballot;
Voter Information Guide;
your personalized sample ballot;
all 16 early voting sites, times, and dates; and
your assigned Election Day voting site.

Vote by Mail

Your required electronic or paper ballot application must be received at our office by 5 PM on Thursday, March 12.
Your voted ballot must be hand-delivered to our office by 7 PM on Election Day, or it may be returned via mail with a postmark no later than March 17th and received in our office by March 31st.
Track our receipt of your voted ballot by logging onto LakeVoterPower.info.

Early Voting

Now open at 16 convenient locations.
You may use any early voting site regardless of where you live in Lake County.
Early voting days and hours vary at the different sites through March 16.
Find a convenient location with a day and time that fits your schedule.

Election Day Voting

March 17, 2020
Polls are open 6 AM to 7 PM.
You must use your assigned neighborhood voting site serving your address.

Grace Period Registration

Available at every early voting site, your assigned Election Day voting site, or our office.
You are required to:
- meet all age, citizenship, and residency requirements;
- present two forms of valid identification; and
- vote at the time of registration.

Hospitalized Voter

If you are admitted to a hospital, nursing home, or rehabilitation center within 14 days before Election Day, you may qualify for personal delivery of a ballot by a friend or family member, subject to statutory conditions and completion of an application.

Applications are available by contacting our Election Department at VotingByMail@lakecountyil.gov or 847-377-VOTE.

Hospitalized voter information and online application forms

Election Results

After the polls close on Tuesday, March 17, and all voters in line by 7 PM have been served, Election Day voting site totals are the first results to be seen online at LakeCountyClerk.info.

Immediately following the complete transmission of all Election Day totals, early and vote by mail ballot totals will be added.

Per Illinois election law, election results are not final until 14 days after Election Day allowing for verified provisional ballots and still-arriving mailed ballots postmarked no later than Election Day.

Election Results

Provisional Ballot

Provisional ballots are issued in the early or Election Day voting sites for many reasons such as a voter not being able to provide the required identification if registering. Provisional ballots are not cast in the voting site but are secured by the election judges and returned to our office for determination AFTER Election Day.

If you were issued a provisional ballot, you have seven days to provide the required documentation to our office. Read more or check the status of your provisional ballot.