Assigned Polling Places Swapped For 'Vote-Center Model' In Lake County

LAKE COUNTY, IL — The Lake County Clerk's Office has switched this year to a vote center model for Election Day, meaning voters can cast their ballot at any voting site in the county and are not required to vote at a specified polling place, Lake County Clerk's Office officials told Patch this past week.

With local consolidated elections coming up on April 1 — a time when voters can cast their ballot for open school board, village board and mayoral races — the switch is meant to increase "accessibility, convenience and efficiency for all voters in Lake County," according to a news release from the Lake County Clerk's Office.

The change started with the consolidated primary election in February. Only voters in North Chicago and Waukegan cast their ballots during primaries, so the widespread change will become effective to all Lake County voters on April 1.

What this means is that all Lake County voters will have a "preferred site," which you can find by visiting here. But if you end up at a different polling place in Lake County, that is OK, too.

The vote center model is designed to reduce common frustrations associated with traditional precinct-based voting. Under this system, Lake County voters will no longer face the inconvenience of being in the "wrong" voting site within the county.

"We switched to this model to increase the convenience to our voters. We recognize that our voters have busy lives, and sometimes getting to their assigned polling site before or after work can be hard. We wanted to give them this added convenience so they can choose where they vote - as long as it's in Lake County," Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega said Tuesday.

All vote centers are fully equipped to serve any registered voter in Lake County, ensuring a seamless and efficient voting experience, according to the clerk's office. Vega said typically, 2 to 3 percent of voters on an Election Day would end up at the wrong polling place, which could amount to hundreds or a few thousand "depending on the volume of turnout."

"Every election, as much as we try to avoid it, has some polling site changes either due to construction, site declining to host us, or any other reason," said Vega, which could add to confusion and frustration for the voters who went to the wrong polling place.

New technology and efforts to make voting easier and more accessible are behind the changes, according to clerk's office officials.

"Lake County is joining counties in Illinois and across the country that make elections as convenient and accessible as possible to our voters. With the implementation of our Tenex Touchpad pollbooks and on-demand printing capabilities in 2024, we are reaffirming our commitment to accessibility by giving Lake County voters increased opportunity to cast their ballots," Vega said. "Gone are the days of a voter showing up to the wrong polling location and having them be redirected or vote provisionally."

Voters do need to remember they can only vote within Lake County, and cannot cast their ballot outside the county on Election Day or during early voting, according to the clerk's office. Voters attempting to vote outside of Lake County or non-Lake County voters attempting to vote here may still need to vote provisionally or could be redirected depending on the circumstances, according to the clerk's office.

"Vote centers are successfully used in many counties across the nation and have been shown to make voting more accessible and convenient while streamlining the election process. By maximizing resources, optimizing staffing, and equipping each vote center to handle any voter within the county," according to a county clerk's office press release.

Other counties that have a vote-center model in Illinois include DuPage, Kane and Champaign counties.

Early Voting Is Underway

As of March 17, early voting is underway for various races in the county. You can find out more about where and when you can go to vote early here.

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