Long Wait Times At Lake Co. Polls As Thousands Cast Ballots

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Long wait times are still being reported Wednesday, two days after early voting opened at more sites across the Chicago area, but more than 28,000 Lake County voters have stopped out so far to cast their ballot. As of early on Wednesday afternoon, the Lake County Clerk's Office reported 28,646 voters have cast their ballot early at one of its 17 early voting sites.

In addition, voters have returned 49,417 mail-in ballots, which is 31 percent of the total sent out, according to numbers provided by the clerk's office.

The move to vote early and by mail has become the norm amid a heated presidential election and a pandemic. And the Lake County Clerk's Office has been reporting long lines at polling places since Monday.

To help voters avoid wait times, the clerk's office launched an online tracker that you can use to check the estimated wait time at your polling place before stopping out. Early on Wednesday afternoon, some Lake County voters were waiting more than two hours to cast their ballot, while many had more than an hour wait. A handful were also getting voters in and out in less than 15 minutes.

You may use any of Early Voting site choices regardless of where you live in Lake County.

All sites will offer weekday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and weekend hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Nov. 1. On Monday, Nov. 2, early voting will be available only at four locations, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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You can find locations, addresses, dates and times on the Lake County Clerk's Office website, use the clerk's office online voting sites finder or, for more information, call the Lake County Clerk's Office Voter Registration Services Department at 847-377-Vote (8683).

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