As early voting continues and Election Day nears, government officials and community advocates are working to turn out the vote and keep elections safe and secure. The Daily spoke with several of these leaders about their work.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Since Oct. 21, the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center has been open for early voting. More than 13,500 people have already voted there by the end of Saturday, up from about 11,000 this time in 2020.
Illinois and Evanston are both solidly left-leaning regions, dealing with fewer safety threats and conspiracy theories than some areas that are more politically divisive. But elections don’t run themselves, and city officials, staff and volunteers are still hard at work to ensure this year’s elections remain free and fair.
From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Edward Simon Cruz. This is Everything Evanston.
Today, we’ll hear from a few government officials and community leaders working to maximize voter education and security this election season.
City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza told us the city has been preparing for election season for several months. The city has temporarily extended the civic center’s hours while ensuring security and support for election judges.
STEPHANIE MENDOZA: We’re pretty centralized for a lot of the suburban locations, so this just turns out to be a really great place for people to come out and vote. It’s very convenient, also secure; we’re (Americans with Disabilities Act)-accessible.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Come Tuesday, the building will become a site for tabulating ballots. Volunteers with the League of Women Voters of Evanston will assist on phone lines and answer voters’ questions throughout the day.
In the last few weeks, the league has also hosted various events supporting causes like local journalism, abortion rights and campaign finance reform. The organization’s president, Michelle Jordan, said these efforts are all meant to ensure voters are educated and easily able to exercise their voice.
MICHELLE JORDAN: It’s very important to not only correct misinformation and correct disinformation, but also I think it’s the duty of government to make sure that we are aware that they are doing every single thing they can to make sure that every single person who votes — their vote is being counted.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Mendoza said her office and the Cook County Clerk’s office can both answer voters’ questions about early voting, registration and other important topics.
STEPHANIE MENDOZA: Especially right now that there (are) really high call volumes both at the City Clerk’s office and the Cook County (Clerk’s office), so just make sure you’re trying both of those numbers to ensure you get the information that you get.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Cook County’s deputy clerk of elections is Edmund Michalowski. He said the clerk’s office uses a digital platform, communicating updates about election security to law enforcement and election officials throughout the state. There’s also a cybersecurity team combating attacks on the office’s systems.
Michalowski discussed a few digital platforms the county uses, including KNOWiNK, which provides electronic poll books the county can use to quickly and accurately verify eligible voters.
EDMUND MICHALOWSKI: Between our Dominion voting system, which we have extreme faith in, our KNOWiNK system and our internal voter registration system and our cybersecurity program, we’re very confident that we use a system that Cook County voters should have a lot of faith in.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: In a statement, Cmdr. Ryan Glew told The Daily that Evanston police officers have periodically visited the Morton Civic Center during early voting, and more officers will monitor polling places throughout the city on Election Day.
Glew added that the Evanston Police Department has not detected any protests or other potential disruptions tied to the election.
As election-related concerns and conspiracy theories move around the city, Michalowski reminded voters that workers need time to ship and process mail-in ballots.
EDMUND MICHALOWSKI: We need people to be patient, and when we don’t know, do not use a seed of doubt or contemplate the worst-case scenario, I think it’s important for us to have faith in a system.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Michalowski reaffirmed his support for his team.
EDMUND MICHALOWSKI: We’re very diverse in race, gender affiliation, age. And when you see all these folks, whether you’re at our mail ballot center or at where we process the technology — it’s just really powerful to see these diverse groups coming together, different parties working together for the same goal.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Mendoza was similarly confident about Evanston’s ability to hold free and fair elections.
STEPHANIE MENDOZA: Evanston has always been a very secure polling location, very welcoming of everyone. We’re ADA-accessible. We have very seasoned election judges and supervisors for our sites. And so, you know, people just need to feel confident and secure about voting.
EDWARD SIMON CRUZ: Thursday was the deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot, but early voting remains open at the Morton Civic Center through Monday, and Illinois voters can still register to vote in person through Election Day. Visit dailynorthwestern.com to find a list of polling places in Evanston and access The Daily’s full 2024 election coverage.
From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Edward Simon Cruz. Thanks for listening to another episode of Everything Evanston. This episode was reported and produced by me, Edward Simon Cruz.
The city editor of The Daily Northwestern is Shreya Srinivasan. The audio editor is me, Edward Simon Cruz. The digital managing editors are Carlotta Angiolillo and Sasha Draeger-Mazer. The editor in chief is Jacob Wendler.
Our theme music is “Revolution” by Xennial, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License and provided by the Free Music Archive.
Follow us on X and Instagram @thedailynu. We’ll be back Wednesday with another election-related episode of Everything Evanston.
Email: [email protected]
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— 2024 Election Guide for Evanston Voters
— Where to vote in Evanston for the 2024 Election
— Political misinformation can decrease voter turnout in local elections, local experts warn
