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Quote/Term of the Week
Primary Election / noun
An election to nominate a candidate from the major political parties to vie for public office in a General Election.
Ex: The winner of the Republican primary race for Illinois governor will face Gov. J.B. Pritzker in the General Election on Nov. 3.
Your cheat sheet to the 2026 Primaries
Early voting for the 2026 primary elections has begun in Chicago, so we’ve compiled some of our favorite resources to help Chicagoans navigate the ballot.
Before that, here a few important voting need-to-knows:
Polls are open from 6 a.m.- 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, March 17. As long as you are in line by 7 p.m., you can vote. Click here to see your rights as a voter and contact information for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioner if you have trouble.
You do not need a government-issued photo ID to vote, however, sometimes you may need to show documentation confirming your current address . Click here to view the acceptable forms of ID and when you need them.
You can register to vote on Election Day in Illinois. You will need to present two forms of ID, one of these two IDs must list your current address. You can also register online before March 1.
You can vote by mail in Illinois. Applications to vote by mail will be accepted until 5 p.m. on March 12. Click here to learn more.
When and where to vote
Early voting began on Feb. 12 and will continue through March 16, the day before Election Day. Chicagoans from any neighborhood can cast their votes now at the two Downtown early voting locations:
Chicago Board of Elections Loop Supersite, 137 S. State St. (This is a new location!)
Chicago Board of Elections Office, 69 W. Washington St. 6th Floor
Starting at 9 a.m. March 2 , early voting will expand to sites in all 50 wards. (See a full list here, find your ward here).
All Chicago voters can vote at any early voting site, regardless of where you live in the city, including on Election Day.
See here for a complete early voting schedule.
On Election Day, March 17, the Loop Supersite (137 S. State. St.) and all early voting sites in the 50 wards will also be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Click here to find your local polling place. Verify your voter registration, locate your precinct polling place or closest vote center on Election Day and view your sample ballot here.
What are we voting for?
Not every position on the ballot is being contested among Democrat, Republican and Libertarian candidates. Illinois law requires voters to choose a ballot for only one political party for primaries, so your ballot could look a little different depending on where you’re registered and which ballot you choose.
Here’s a rundown of the contested races you could see:
Illinois Governor and Lieutenant Governor (Republican candidates only. Incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker is uncontested in the Democratic primary)
U.S. House of Representatives
*Check Your Judges with Injustice Watch
Judges are the elected officials any voter is most likely to encounter and the ones whose decisions can have the biggest direct impact on their life. They're involved in everything from traffic tickets to divorces, lawsuits, evictions, and criminal cases.
But when it comes to deciding who should be a judge, the experience for voters can be overwhelming. There are a lot of names on the ballot and it can be hard to find information about the candidates. That's why every election, Injustice Watch creates a nonpartisan judicial election guide for Cook County. Their team of reporters spends months researching each candidate’s background, legal experience, political connections, conduct, and more — all so you can make an informed decision about who should be a Cook County judge.
This year, 26 candidates are running for 17 judicial vacancies in Cook County.
Here's everything you need to make an informed choice about who sits on the bench.
What you can do:
Find your local polling place:
Click here to find your local polling place.
Find your ward here and locate your ward’s early voting site here.
Make sure your registration is up date:
Verify your voter registration, locate your precinct polling place or closest vote center on Election Day and view your sample ballot here.
Register when you go to vote. Click here to view the acceptable forms of ID and when you need them.
Check your judges: Fill out Injustice Watch’s Judicial Voting Guide BEFORE heading to the polls.
A version of this story was first published in the February 25, 2026 issue of the Newswire, an email newsletter that is your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what we can do to make our city great. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter here.
Have thoughts on what you'd like to see in this feature? Email Civic Editor Dawn Rhodes at dawn@citybureau.org.