Today, citizens of DuPage County will be voting for local candidates and a proposed referendum. Both national and school-sponsored organizations are working to empower eligible voters by driving them towards the polls.
Positions up for election include: Judge of the Appellate Court, State Attorney, Clerk of Circuit Court, County Auditor, Coroner, Recorder, County Board, and Commissioner of the Forest Preserve. Later, on April 1st, the Village and Library Board Candidates will be chosen. Candidate petitions will still be accepted up to November 18th.
The Glenbard West Social Studies Department recently held a mock election event, in partnership with the League of Women Voters to encourage student participation in upcoming votes. The mock election ballot did not include local offices, but did include the referendum, which passed by a large margin.
Judith Kinn, Co-President of the League of Women Voters, stated, “I think it’s important for students to have an in-person experience.” In addition to hosting mock elections, the League of Women Voters also works with the Civic Betterment Committee, composed of private citizens who work to find and support candidates for local elections. She recommends looking for more candidate information online: “On the League website, we have conducted candidate forms for District 4 county board, District 4 DuPage Forest Preserve Board.”
West’s Women’s Empowerment Club has been working to increase registration by pairing up with LWV, sponsoring a “I Voted” sticker competition, and presenting to social studies classes about registration. Ms. Hass, club sponsor and English teacher, stated, “The mission statement they appointed for the club is really about empowering people.” She advises voters to “decide what’s important to you then research what candidates have said.” One resource for doing this in the Daily Herald Election Race Information and Candidate Profiles.
Mr. Hass, a government teacher at Glenbard West, stated, “As much as we follow national politics and the media does that […] certainly local elections matter as well.” He specifically references taxes, ordinances, the school board, and zoning.
One change in taxes that will be voted on is the Forest Preserve’s Proposed Referendum for more funds, which will be allocated towards continuing programming for county members, making sure locations continue to remain safe and sanitary, acquiring more land, and finishing a project laid out in 2019 (including capital investment and restoration projects).
Karie Friling, Director of the DuPage County Forest Preserve, explained that the need for this became apparent as their engagement increased: “What we experienced in Covid was a significant increase in our visitation.”
She understands voters’ reluctance to raise taxes. But, she states that for a typical home in DuPage County “you are going to pay about 35 dollars more a year in total.” She is likely referencing the forest preserve’s referendum information page. She is representing homes in DuPage County valued at $300,000, however, the average estimated worth is $401,306.
The proposed referendum on the ballot states that property taxes will be raised by an additional amount of 0.0350% above the limiting rate, or equal to 0.1033% of the equalized assessed value of taxable property.
Ms. McNally, West government teacher notes: “In Illinois, we vote for a lot more positions than in other states […], so our ballots can be quite long. There’s a lot of resources where you can put in your address and you can almost make yourself a mock ballot, which is a useful exercise to know what you are voting for.”
Early voting for students within the borders of Glenbard West was held at the Glen Ellyn Civic Center, DuPage County Fairgrounds, Yorktown Center and Glendale Heights Sports Club.
The State of Illinois makes casting the ballot very accessible. For students needing assistance, most Glenbard West social studies teachers are able to register students who are U.S. citizens at or above the age of 18 on Election Day.
In Illinois, two forms of identification with at least one showing your current residence are needed for registering to vote in person. If you are submitting online, sufficient proof of identity is required, either through a driver’s license, state identification card number, a copy of current and valid photo identification, a copy of a governmental document that shows your name and address, college identification and postmarked mail, or the last four digits of your social security number.
DuPage County states that voter registration is closed 28 days prior to an election either online, by mail, or in person. Following the close of registration, Illinois allows for a “grace period” until the election if you are in-person at the polls, but online registration is available through the 15th day prior to election day. More information can be found here.
This election will be overseen and verified by DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek.
For those casting their ballot on November 5th, these locations will be available.
