Will County voters to weigh in on local, state and federal races in 2022

The 2022 election cycle is underway, and voters will have their say on federal, state and county offices. However, this time it will be on a delayed timeline compared with previous years.

The Illinois primary election is scheduled for June 28, a little more than three months later than when primary elections typically are held.

Last year, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law that moved the 2022 primary election date back because of a delay in collecting 2020 census data and reapportioning legislative districts based on those data.

That redistricting process changed the borders of legislative districts at the county, state and federal levels. Those wanting to learn what districts they live in can go to willcountyclerk.com.

Candidates are collecting signatures for petitions to get on the ballot ahead of the primary election. They will be able to file their petitions March 7 through 14.

After candidates file their petitions, there will be a period of time for them to be challenged, a tactic used by opponents or members of the public aiming to knock candidates off the ballot.

Which positions are on the ballot?

Voters will cast their ballots for county, state and federal offices in the 2022 election.

At the federal level, Illinois residents will vote on the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Tammy Duckworth, who won her first term in 2016.

All 17 U.S. House seats in Illinois are also on the ballot this year. Will County is split into multiple districts, namely the 14th District, in which incumbent Democrat Lauren Underwood is running.

The 1st District will see a new representative after Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush announced his retirement. The redrawn district covers part of Will County.

The 11th District reaches to the northwest portion of Will County and the 2nd District includes the easternmost part of the county.

Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, is up for reelection in 2022, as are legislators in the State Senate and House of Representatives. Will County is split up into multiple state legislative districts, as well.

At the county level, four countywide positions are on the ballot, including county clerk, treasurer, sheriff and regional superintendent of schools.

Also, the entire Will County Board is up for reelection after its redistricting process. Democrats on the board approved a map that reduced the number of districts from 13 to 11, which reduced the number of members from 26 to 22, since two members represent each district.

Voting options in 2022

As for voting in this cycle, the Will County Clerk’s Office has been working to better accommodate what officials expect will be a sustained increase in vote-by-mail requests. This comes after a historic increase in mail-in voting in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic forced many to stay away from crowded places, including the polls.

As a result, more than 123,000 mail-in ballots were processed in Will County in the 2020 election, about a 310% increase from past cycles, according to a county report.

To handle that demand, the county clerk’s office had to hire 20 more election judges to specifically handle mail-in ballots, according to Charles Pelkie, the chief of staff to Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry.

“We increased our staff in the county clerk’s office because we had to get those vote-by-mail packets manually assembled,” Pelkie said.

The clerk’s office was able to pay for the increased staffing costs with emergency pandemic aid. But to offset future anticipated cost increases, the county bought new equipment to automatically handle the mail-in ballots.

Pelkie said the clerk’s office already has a high-speed ballot printer and is waiting for delivery of an inserter to prepare mail-in ballots to send to residents.

He said the equipment will allow the office to increase the “speed and efficiency on both outgoing and incoming ballots” compared with the process in 2020.

As for other voting options in Will County, Pelkie said the clerk’s office again will offer drop boxes around the county for residents to deposit their ballots. While the clerk’s office finalizes the complete list of drop box locations, he said they will be at traditional locations in Frankfort, Governors State University, Bolingbrook, Plainfield, Naperville, Wilmington and Lockport. Voters also will be able to drop off their completed ballot at the clerk’s office in the Will County Office Building, located at 302 N. Chicago St. in Joliet. There also will be a drop box outside of the building.

For information, visit willcountyclerk.gov.