Incorrect Ballots Sent To Skokie Residents Ahead Of Election

SKOKIE, IL — Some Skokie residents may have to recast their votes due to receiving incorrect ballots ahead of the April 1 Consolidated Election, according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office.

According to Skokie Village Clerk candidate Naema Abraham, who was physically present at an early-voting facility on Friday, two voters told her they had to recast their ballots because they were assigned to the wrong district.

"In the first days of early voting, voters have encountered preventable errors—from incorrect information being shared online to ballots tied to the wrong district. These aren’t minor slip-ups—they impact whether every vote is counted and every voter is informed," Skokie Village Clerk candidate Naema Abraham wrote in a statement on Facebook.

The information from voters prompted Abraham to contact the Illinois Board of Elections, which confirmed the County Clerk’s office sent an updated map for Trustee districts to the Village at the end of 2024. After the map was provided, it was up to the Village Clerk to review it and respond if any corrections were needed.

According to Village spokesperson Patrick Deignan, the Skokie Village Clerk's office became aware of the error on March 17 when two residents informed officials they received ballots that listed candidates in the wrong district.

Immediately after being notified, the Clerk's Office contacted the Cook County Election Board to promptly have the error fixed.

"In a phone call with the Village, Cook County Election Board representatives stated several times that 'These errors sometimes occur, and will be corrected,'" Village officials said.

As requested by the Village, the error was corrected the next morning and letters were issued to inform voters who received incorrect ballots about the mistake and provide them with new ones. There were no issues with any ballots cast on March 18 or later, according to the County Election Board.

According to Carrie Bradean, who serves as a campaign organizer for District 2 candidate Nathan Norman and spoke with Cook County election officials about the situation, the error seems to have mistakenly sorted some addresses into the wrong district.

Specifically, Bradean said odd-numbered addresses along Greenleaf Street from street numbers 4965 to 5169 were put in District 2 until Wednesday, when they should be located in District 4. According to Bradean, as of Thursday morning:

• six people already voted early in person before the error was fixed;
• five people had returned their mail-in ballots before the error was fixed;
• and 13 people had incorrect mail-in ballots that were not returned yet.

While an exact number of total voters affected by the error is unknown, somewhere between 50-300 residents are believed to have been assigned the wrong Trustee district, according to estimates.

This is the first election in Skokie that the new hybrid electoral system, which combines at-large and district-based Trustee positions, has been used. After voters approved a referendum in December 2023, the Village was divided into four geographic election districts.

Due to the erroneously sent ballots, some voters may have to recast their ballots. Votes for at-large positions and non-village positions should be unaffected by the error, officials said.

Voters who believe they may have submitted an incorrect ballot or have any questions regarding their ballots were encouraged to call the Cook County Election Board at 312-603-0926 or visit an early voting center for clarification.

Early voting centers in Skokie are located at the following places:

• Oakton College - 7701 N Lincoln Ave.
• Skokie Courthouse Cafeteria Room 100 - 5600 Old Orchard Rd.

Both locations will be open Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated votes could be disqualified due to the error on the ballots, no early votes or vote by mail ballots will be disqualified, according to the County Clerk’s Office.