Contested elections are nonexistent on Tuesday’s 2024 Lake County primary election ballots unless voters reside in Grayslake, the Round Lake area, Wadsworth, Deer Park or parts of Waukegan, Wauconda and Fox Lake.
Voters in some areas will choose nominees to represent them in Congress or on the Lake County Board, as well as whether to increase their property taxes when they cast primary ballots Tuesday.
Polls will be open between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday. If voters are uncertain of their polling place, they can click the appropriate link on the Lake County Clerk’s Office website to find out where to vote.
County Clerk Anthony Vega said he anticipates a lighter than usual crowd on primary day, in part because of the lack of contests on the ballot to nominate candidates in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.
Vega said early voter turnout was more brisk before Super Tuesday on March 5, when 13 states held presidential primaries.
President Joseph Biden secured the Democratic presidential nomination on that date, and former President Donald Trump amassed enough votes then to become the presumptive Republican candidate. Trump clinched the GOP nomination a week later.
“There are not many contests on the Democratic or Republican side,” Vega said. “Super Tuesday was two weeks ago, and since then we have seen early voting drop.”
Though turnout is typically highest in a presidential election like this one, less than a third of the people who voted early four years ago have already cast their ballots this time, he said.
When early votes and vote-by-mail ballots received are combined, the pre-election turnout is approximately 43% of what it was four years ago in the last presidential primary. Despite the apparent lack of enthusiasm, Vega said people should vote.
“Research shows people who vote in the primary are more likely to vote in the fall,” he said.
As of Sunday evening, Vega said 10,271 people voted early as opposed to 33,989 in the last presidential primary in 2020. Of the 29,587 vote-by-mail ballots requested, 16,482 were returned as of Friday. Four years ago, he said 16,225 mail ballots were issued and 12,929 cast.
Both Lake County Democratic Chair Lauren Beth Gash and Keith Brin, the chair of the Lake County Republicans, said it remains important to vote, even when voting in an uncontested contest with only one candidate.
“Primaries are important to choose the candidates you believe in,” Brin said. “Since this is important to many of us in Lake County, this is your opportunity to pick the party and learn more about the candidate who will represent you in the general election.”
Whether voting in the 11th Congressional District or the Lake County Board’s 8th District, where races are contested, or places where they are not, Brin and Gash said it is important to vote
“It’s critical Democrats turn out in large numbers to let our candidates know we support them and have their backs,” Gash said. “Voters should be in the habit of voting, and we certainly want to encourage the habit as we move toward the November election.”
Democratic voters in the County Board’s 8th District in northern Waukegan and southern Beach Park will choose between incumbent Diane Hewitt and challenger Charles A. Rukstales. There is no Republican contender.
In the 11th Congressional District — which includes parts of Wauconda and Fox Lake — Democrats will pick their nominee between incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, and challenger Qasim Rashid, also of Naperville.
Seeking the GOP nomination in the 11th District are Jerry Evans of Warrenville, Susan Hathaway-Altman of Geneva and Kent Mercado of Bartlett.
Along with the three contests for office, there are four referendums on the ballot in different parts of Lake County.
Voters living in the Round Lake Public Library District will decide whether to spend approximately $34.6 million to build a new library.
Voters in Grayslake Consolidated School District 46 will decide if they want to add approximately $6 million to the real estate tax levy to make improvements to the elementary and middle schools.
In Deer Park, voters will decide whether to extend the city’s home rule sales tax another four years; while people in Wadsworth will determine whether to elect rather than appoint a village clerk.
