Frequently Asked Questions About Elections in Kane County, Illinois

How do I get a JB Pritzker sign, or any other candidate sign for my yard or business?

This has been our most frequently asked question and we are so happy you are interested in showing support for these candidates! All candidate signs are available at our office in St. Charles.

473 Dunham Road, Suite 102
St. Charles, IL 60174

Hours:
Monday – Friday from 10-2pm
Tuesdays and Fridays from 6-8pm

Can Political Yard Signs be Recycled?

Yes they can be recycled, but only at special locations! While it is always best to return old campaign yard signs to the candidate for use during future campaigns, you can also bring them in to special recycle locations such as Chicago Logistic Services, 1333 Davis Road, Elgin 60123. They will recycle political signs and are open Monday through Friday. chicagologisticservice.com

How do I vote in Kane County?

Make your voice heard! We live in a wonderful democracy which will only thrive if we all intelligently participate in our government.  The resources below should help you register to vote, find your polling place and make wise decisions.

Kane County Elections Official Website

The official Kane County Elections website has a wealth of useful information on it. http://kanecountyelections.org/. Other helpful information can be found on http://elections.illinois.gov/.

Register to Vote – Online or by Mail

You can easily register to vote online (https://ova.elections.il.gov/) or register by mail (http://www.kanecountyclerk.org/Elections/Pages/Voter-Registration.aspx)

Sample Ballots

The news covers the high profile election campaigns, but what about issues closer to home? Local government matters more than you could imagine. Make sure you know about ALL the issues that will be on your ballot by looking at the ballot and doing your research BEFORE you visit your polling place. Kane County generally does a great job of making sure sample ballots are available for all polling places before Early Voting starts. http://www.kanecountyclerk.org/Elections/Pages/Voter-Search.aspx

Find Your Polling Place

Your voter registration card should have the location of your polling place.  You can look up your information online to verify the location and polling times. http://www.kanecountyclerk.org/Elections/Pages/Voter-Search.aspx

Early Voting

If you have researched the candidates and issues, you have the option of voting early.  You can find out details here: http://www.kanecountyclerk.org/Elections/Pages/Early-Voting.aspx

Vote by Mail

If you would rather take your time to research candidates while looking at the ballot from the comfort of your own home, then vote-by-mail may be your best option. You must first complete a registration to vote-by-mail available here: Vote by Mail Application

For more information on the vote-by-mail process, please find additional details here: http://www.kanecountyclerk.org/Elections/Pages/Vote-by-Mail.aspx

How do I become a precinct committeeperson in Kane County?

There are two ways to become a precinct committeeperson (or PC for short) in Kane County.

1. Be elected by your precinct
   1. To be elected, you must gather at least 10 signatures for your nominating petition, available here. You need to also submit a Statement of Candidacy when you go to the county clerk to file your petitions. You may also submit a Loyalty Oath, but this is optional. This process begins the September before a general election primary (which occurs in March). PCs are elected every two years. You may only be elected to a precinct in which you live. If you do not live in a precinct that needs a PC, you can be appointed to another precinct.

1. Be appointed by the county chair
   1. To be appointed, you must simply fill out the appointment form, available here. Before doing this, please check with us to be sure that the precinct you are interested in is available. Email us your name and address to info@kanedems.org. If your precinct is not available, we will work with you to find another that is nearby!

How do I run for political office in Kane County?

The first thing we ask you to do is to contact us at info@kanedems.org! We often have additional information about the office you may be seeking and can help guide you to useful resources on best campaigning practices.

Depending on the office you are seeking, a lot of information is available at the Illinois State Board of Elections, specifically the Candidate’s Guide. This includes a list of offices requiring nomination or election, the important filing dates, requirements for filing as well as the nomination and objection processes. There is also an FAQ about the nomination procedures.

If the office you are seeking is larger than a county office, for example for state senate or state representative, the Democratic Party of Illinois has a wealth of resources for candidates as well. You can visit their website here.

How do I circulate petitions for a candidate?

Petitions will appear on the Kane County Clerk’s Website as the election grows near. Depending on your office, you will have to look through the Kane County Candidate’s Guide to find the office that you are running for as well as the requirements for petition signatures.

If you would like to circulate petitions for candidates (not yourself), you can download available petitions here OR visit the Kane Dems Office at 473 Dunham Rd. Suite 102 in St. Charles. Please call ahead to ensure someone will be available when you stop by! Our phone number is (630) 513-1588.

There are a few things to remember about petitions:

1. Petition sheets can NOT be circulated more than 90 days in advance by anyone.
2. Each office requires a certain number of petition signatures. This number is based on your party and the size of the district you are running for. If you are running for a county-wide office, you will have to obtain many more signatures than a smaller office such as precinct committeeperson.
   1. We encourage all candidates to try and get at least twice as many signatures as are needed. Often, signatures can be called into question by another candidate and if any are found to be bad, they will be thrown out.
3. When obtaining petition signatures, signers MUST be a registered voter and can only sign petitions belonging to one party. For example, if your friend signed a Republican petition, but you are running for a Democratic office, your friend cannot sign your petition. 
4. Petition sheets are due to the Kane County Clerk’s office (or Springfield, if you are running for a larger, multi-county office), along with a statement of candidacy, statement of economic interests, and loyalty oath (OPTIONAL).

For more information on the filing process and on circulating and signing petitions, please click here to view the 2020 Candidate’s Guide.

How do I walk my precinct?

If you are a PC, you should have access to VoteBuilder, which you can learn more about here. If you need access to VoteBuilder, please contact us at info@kanedems.org and we will get you more information on how to create an account (you need county permissions to do this).

If you are not a PC but still want to walk a precinct, we first encourage you to reach out to your PC or township chair to make a VoteBuilder list for you or even a candidate that you would like to walk for. Otherwise, please contact info@kanedems.org and we can help get you a list!

How do I get access to VoteBuilder?

Only precinct committeepeople and candidates have access to VoteBuilder. If you are not a PC or a candidate, you can still download an app known as MiniVAN and create an ActionID. This will let you download pre-created lists onto your phone which include scripts for what to say, and the information about the residents of the homes you will knock on or call. You will need to work with a campaign or a PC to retrieve a list number though.

If you are a candidate or PC and need access to VoteBuilder, please email us at info@kanedems.org.

How do I see how my representatives voted?

A great website for tracking your representatives and senators in the U.S. Congress is called GovTrack. You can enter your address to find your representatives and subscribe to have emails inform you of important votes. Or, if there is certain legislation that interests you, you can track by subject instead.

Another resource is Countable, which also allows you to easily track your representatives and senators from the U.S. Congress. Countable is also available as a phone app!

You can also download Legislative Reports from http://ilga.gov/reports/default.asp if you want to know what is happening within Illinois State Legislature.

Where can I find additional Democratic or politically-minded organizations?

Some other great organizations to check out and bookmark are:

• Democratic Party of Illinois 
• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)
• Democratic Party
• Kane County Clerk
• Illinois State Board of Elections
• Kane County Government
• Email us at info@kanedems.org if you have other options

Do you have additional questions that were not answered above? Please contact us at info@kanedems.org!