What’s in our ballot builder — and what’s not
What’s in our ballot builder
This ballot tool covers primary election races in the following counties: Cook (including Chicago), DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will.
In it, you will find questionnaires from candidates in your district. Candidate questionnaires were sent out to Democratic and Republican candidates in the following races:
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House
- Districts 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10
- Illinois Governor
- Only for Republican gubernatorial candidates; the Democratic candidate is an incumbent running unopposed
- Illinois Senate
- Districts 6, 9, 14 and 33
- Illinois House
- Districts 1, 4, 8, 12, 13, 26, 34, 35, 40, 42, 52 and 84
You can also browse through the questionnaires from all candidates who completed them. Follow the Chicago Sun-Times’ ongoing coverage leading up to the March 7 election.
What’s not in our ballot builder
These races are not included in our ballot builder, but they will show up on your ballot on election day.
- Judges: In Cook County, circuit court judges make up the longest part of the ballot. Fewer than half of the seats are actually contested; however to remain on the bench judges must receive 60% or more “yes” votes. To better understand this section of your ballot, read about why so few judges want to run in Cook County from the non-profit newsroom Injustice Watch.
- Committeepersons: Chicago’s 50 wards and all Cook County townships each have a Democratic and Republican committeeperson who work on behalf of their respective party to manage election administration such as voter registration. No, they are not alders. And yes, you vote for them. Read about what a committeeperson does, from our friends at City Cast Chicago.
- Referendums: There are no referendums, also known as ballot measures, on the Cook County ballot this year. However, we did spot ballot measures in DuPage and Will counties. Find out if your ballot has a referendum by looking it up at your county’s local board election site: