Everything you need to know about Evanston’s municipal primary

Daily file illustration by Jacob Fulton

Bobby Burns and Carolyn Murray are facing off in Tuesday’s election for the 5th Ward aldermanic seat. They each sat down with The Daily to discuss their policy stances.

Jacob Fulton, Design Editor
February 23, 2021

Ahead of Tuesday’s municipal primary elections, residents across Evanston’s nine wards have been voting early for two weeks. But for residents who haven’t voted yet, it’s not too late to cast a ballot — and The Daily has all the information you need to know.

Early voting opened on Feb. 8 at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, and continued through 5 p.m. Monday. On Tuesday, polling places across the city will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents can find their polling locations through the website of the Cook County Clerk’s Office.

The ballot will include all races with more than four candidates for aldermanic and City Clerk elections, as well as the mayoral election, which surpassed its threshold of more than two candidates to force a primary. As a result, residents in the 4th and 8th wards will vote in primaries for their aldermen, and all residents will have the chance to vote for a mayoral and City Clerk candidate.

If a mayoral candidate receives a majority of the votes in their election, they will win by default. If no mayoral candidate gets a majority, the top two vote-getters will face off in the city’s general election on April 6. The top two vote-getters for the Clerk and aldermanic races Tuesday will face off in the April general election regardless of the percentage vote they obtain in the primary. The races that did not end up forcing a primary will also appear on the April ballot.

For NU students, first-time voters and voters who have changed addresses since the last election, day-of registration is available at all polling locations. To register, voters must bring two forms of identification, including one which displays their current address. A full list of eligible types of identification is available on the city’s website.

To learn more about the candidates and their policies, check out The Daily’s Candidate List, as well as the links below.

Mayor: