Three sites in the Village Free Press readership area will serve as early voting sites for the 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election from June 13 through June 27, providing any suburban Cook County resident the opportunity to cast an in-person ballot prior to Election Day, which is Tuesday, June 28.

While there are no village-level races on the ballot in this election, there are a host of federal, state and county-level posts up for election, including races for U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress; Illinois governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and comptroller; Senate and House seats in the Illinois General Assembly; Cook County Board president, commissioners, sheriff, treasurer, assessor and Board of Review; and a slew of state and county judicial races.

There are seven local referenda on this year’s ballot. Those referenda are in Bellwood, Maywood and Melrose Park. 

The three early voting sites, which are in Bellwood, Maywood and Melrose Park — like all of the roughly 50 early voting sites across suburban Cook County — will be open during the early voting period to voters Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The sites are the following: 

• Bellwood Village Hall | 1000 N. 25th Ave. in Bellwood

• Maywood Courthouse (Whitcomb Building) | 1311 Maybrook Drive in Maywood

• Melrose Park Village Hall | 1000 N. 25th Ave. in Melrose Park 

You do not need an excuse to vote early and a government-issued ID is not required to vote, although it can help if there’s a question about a voter’s signature.

Early voting and Election Day polling places will also now be equipped with electronic voter check-in devices, rolled out by Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough last week during a press conference in Cicero.

The system uses an iPad where voters can check in without polling place workers having to thumb through large paper poll books. Each device can pull up a voter’s registration, verify signatures and ensure they are given the proper ballot.

If you are not registered to vote, you can register at all early voting sites. Anyone registering for the first time or filing for an address change must present two forms of ID. Types of ID acceptable can be found on the Cook County Clerk’s website at tinyurl.com/2y96yedu. 

All early voting is done in person on electronic touchscreens, since poll workers need to be able to offer the correct ballot to all who are registered to vote anywhere in suburban Cook County. Once cast, ballots will be securely stored until votes are counted after polls close on election night.

In addition to the Brookfield Village Hall early voting location, here are other early voting sites located in the vicinity of Brookfield, North Riverside and Riverside:

Any registered voter in suburban Cook County can also opt to vote by mail. For information on voting by mail either for a single election or permanently, visit cookcountyclerkil.gov/elections/ways-to-vote/vote-by-mail.

At her press conference last week, Yarbrough also reiterated the need for Election Day poll workers. Election judges get $200 for Election Day, while polling place technicians are paid $365.

Anyone interested can apply online at cookcountyclerk.com/work.

CONTACT: info@vfpress.news