Early voters Virginia Coletta of Waukegan and Pam Rose of Vernon Hills showed no lack of passion as they cast their ballots on the first day of early voting Thursday for the March 17 primary.
Colletta, who chose a Democratic ballot, said she is not happy with what President Donald Trump and the Republican majority in Congress are doing, and she will use her vote to make a statement.
“I want to get rid of that idiot — Trump,” Colletta said. “They’re ruining everything that makes our country great. I voted for (Gov. JB) Pritzker, Raja (Krishnamoorthi) and (U.S. Rep. Brad) Schneider.”
Rose, who said she is a Republican “all the way,” was no less passionate about the votes she cast. She is unhappy with Democrats holding all countywide offices, and the party’s majority control of the Lake County Board
“I want to get Lake County back to the way it was before (State’s Attorney Eric) Rinehart and Sheriff (John) Idleburg were in office,” Rose said.
Rose and Coletta were among 15 people who cast ballots by 12:30 p.m. on the first day of early voting Thursday at the Lake County Courthouse & Administration Building in Waukegan, getting an early start on making their voices heard ahead of the primary.
An election judge, left, talks to two voters just before they put their ballots in the ballot box on the first day of early voting in Lake County on Thursday in Waukegan. (Steve Sadin/For the Lake County News-Sun)
Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega, who oversees elections throughout the county, said 18,000 vote-by-mail ballots were being mailed Thursday, and another 16,000 in the next few days. The U.S. Postal Service recently changed its postmark policy, marking them at the processing centers.
“They won’t be postmarked the day they’re sent,” Vega said. “It could be a day or two later. People should return their vote-by-mail ballots quickly so they’re properly marked.”
Vega said the 2026 primary and general elections are the first statewide and national contests where people can vote anywhere in Lake County. There is now a system in place to print anyone’s ballot at any early voting site they enter.
There was some confusion as people voted for their choices for state central committee person, which is done by congressional district. Vega said before this year, there was one committeeman and one committeewoman. Now two will be elected. There will still be a male and a female.
Lake County Clerk Anthony, right, talks to an election judge about the voting equipment on the first day of early voting in Lake County on Thursday in Waukegan. (Steve Sadin/For the Lake County News-Sun)
“Any change has to come from the state legislature,” Vega said. “Our office knows the genders. The top vote-getter wins. Then the person of the opposite gender with the most votes is the other committee person.”
In some contests, he said a few candidates’ petitions were challenged. Some remain under review by either the Illinois State Board of Elections or the courts. Their names have not been removed from the ballot.
“People need to check to make sure they are voting for valid candidates,” Vega said.
David Coletta, Virginia’s husband, also took a Democratic ballot as he went into the voting booth. A U.S. Navy veteran, he served two of his nine years on a ship off the coast of Vietnam in 1967 and 1968. He, too, has strong feelings.
“They are screwing everything up,” he said, referring to the GOP majority in Congress and the Trump administration.
Claudia Freeeman of Waukegan took a Democratic ballot. She said she was still doing some thinking about her U.S. Senate choice when she stepped into the booth.
“I had my first choice, then I waffled a bit, but went with my first choice,” Freeman said, indicating she voted for Krishnamoorthi.
Voters will be picking GOP and Democratic nominees for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Springfield, their representative in Congress, the Illinois House of Representatives, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller and treasurer.
Along with those offices, nominees will be chosen for the Democratic and Republican candidates for county clerk, county treasurer, sheriff and the Regional Superintendent of Education, as well as some members of the County Board.
Early voting will continue exclusively at the courthouse through Feb. 27 before expanding to 17 other locations around the county on March 2.
Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays through March 8; and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays starting March 9 are the Diamond Lake Recreation Center in Mundelein, the Highwood Library, Lake Barrington Village Hall, the courthouse, Bowen Park in Waukegan, the North Chicago Public Library and Round Lake Beach Village Hall.
Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays will be Deerspring Pool in Deerfield, Fremont Township Center in Mundelein, Grant Township Hall in Ingleside, Gurnee Village Hall, the History Center of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff in Lake Forest, the Lake Villa Township office, the Lakie County Ventral Permit Facility in Libertyville, the Village of Deer Park Vehe Barn, the Wauconda Township office, Peterson Park in Prairie View and Zion City Hall.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/05/lake-county-early-voting/
