We Chicagoans have a great many things to be proud of. Our city’s politics are not often one of them; we know better than to expect lessons in civics from our municipal elections. We should have every reason to expect, though, that our journalists of politics and city life report on the myriad campaigns and candidacies set for the ballot with the educated voter in mind. To that end, we’ve put together a special issue for the elections coming up on February 24.
For this issue, we’ve forgone the horse-race coverage you might find at other publications in favor of in-depth looks at some of the most interesting and important aldermanic contests on the South Side—the races in the 5th, 7th, 11th, and 25th Wards. We’ve also included a brief piece on the passing of 16th ward alderman JoAnn Thompson. On the mayoral front, we’ve compiled a few essentials—a guide to the endorsements received by Emanuel, Garcia, Fioretti, Wilson, and Walls, as well as excerpts from the final debate of the campaign, held at the DuSable Museum on Tuesday, February 10.
If nothing else, we at the Weekly hope that you cast a vote this week. On Election Day—next Tuesday, the 24—polls will be open from 6am to 7pm and voters must go to their assigned polling place to cast a ballot. From now until Saturday, February 21, however, registered voters can vote early at any of the fifty-one available early voting locations from 9am to 5pm, regardless of residence.
All voting workers are entitled to two hours off on Election Day, without penalties, provided that employers are notified at any point before Election Day and work begins prior to 7:59am and ends after 5:01pm. Employers have the right to specify the two-hour window in which workers are permitted to vote.
Registered voters can also cast absentee ballots. The deadline to apply is this Thursday, February 19. Once received, all cast ballots must be mailed, or sent back on or before February 23. Questions about absentee ballots can be directed to the election board at (312)269-7967.
You can still register to vote if you haven’t already. All fifty-one early voting locations will process grace period registrations until Saturday, February 21. To register you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of your precinct for at least thirty days, and at least eighteen years of age on Election Day. Prisoners and those claiming voting rights elsewhere cannot vote.
When registering or casting an early ballot, voters must present at least two forms of identification, including one that indicates residency. Driver’s licenses, passports, state and school issued photo IDs, and bills, paychecks, and bank statements with names and addresses are all valid.
If your registration is challenged on Election Day, you can show the judges two of the above forms of identification as well. Additionally, be sure to ask election judges to check the supplemental voter rolls if this happens. Voters without identification can still cast provisional ballots and present identification at the Election Board’s offices (69 W. Washington St, 6th floor) within seven days of Election Day.
If you find yourself voting in the wrong precinct on Election Day, votes for all citywide offices, including the mayor, will still count. Aldermanic votes will be disqualified.
Finally, voters can check their registration status and their precinct residency, find their polling places, apply for absentee ballots, obtain ward maps and sample ballots, and view candidate lists and referenda at the Board of Election Commissioners’s website: chicagoelections.com. Any Election Day irregularities or difficulties can be reported to the Election Board at (312)269-7900. Additionally, the board can be emailed at cboe@chicagoelections.net.
Only forty-two percent of registered voters cast a ballot in 2011’s municipal elections. Only forty-one percent voted in 2007. We at the Weekly hope that our coverage in this issue, and the elections coverage we’ve brought to you over the past few months, will inform and inspire readers to turn those numbers around.
Have thoughts to add on South Side elections? Send submissions, story ideas, comments, and questions to editor@southsideweekly.com.