Lake County, IL: Early Voting Experience

Illinois Regional Early Voting Centers opened today. I just got home from voting. I have been early voting at the same location since it was first introduced in Illinois. In the past, the longest line I waited in was eight people.

Today the outside line was out the entrance and around two sides of the building. Everyone was keeping social distance. Everyone wore masks. I thought it would be hours, but the outside wait was 24 minutes. The line moved fast. In past years there were at most three election judges. Today I counted eight judges in the room, five on the signature verification computers plus a walker sharing estimated wait times and telling people who were just returning vote-by-mail ballots to go straight to the computers and bypass the line.

The actual voting time once I was in the room was an amazingly short five minutes.

One judge told me she had started the day at another center and had been moved to this one. Two judges told me they had never had a day like this before. The county has an interactive map showing estimated wait times at each early voting center.

Total time from getting out of my car back to my car - 49 minutes.

Many thanks to all the employees, temporary employees, and volunteer for making this a positive experience. Please remember to vote early and encourage your friends and family to do the same.