Saving green and being green is what County Clerk Willard Helander advocates when selecting your voting method. Everyone can now vote by mail. If you prefer the tradition of voting on Election Day, you may find that you have a shorter drive to your Election Day voting site.

Trends show that fewer voters are choosing the traditional Election Day to express their opinions. More than 100,000 voters in Lake County chose the early voting option before Election Day in the 2008 presidential election. Increased resources, which means increased costs, are needed to support newer options of early voting and voting by mail now available to any registered voter.

County Clerk Willard Helander recently recommended the Lake County Board approve consolidation of a number of Election Day voting sites to balance the increasing number of unfunded costs associated with requirements for early voting and vote by mail options.

"We can't administer elections the way we've always done them. The new programs are rapidly expanding taxpayer costs and the county revenues are down," said Helander.

In the consolidation process, the County Clerk's office used GIS mapping data to ensure equity among the county's voters and their distance to travel to vote on Election Day. This same process was used in establishing early voting sites several years ago. The number of county voting sites was reduced by 26 to 137 locations. Reducing the number of sites can save approximately $100,000 for the 2010 elections.

Being fiscally responsible also yields a bonus. Nearly half of the voters affected by consolidation are now closer to their voting site. Where there was an increase in distance, the average was less than ½-mile. Voters impacted by consolidation will receive a new card and can visit the County Clerk's website to see early voting and Election Day voting sites.

Registration and Services at Community Events
Lake County residents were offered convenient voter registration opportunities at Libertyville Days, Lake County Council for Seniors Expo, Kid's First Health Fair, North Chicago Days, and Gurnee Days.