Election Special for Feb. 2, 2010 Primary Election

Don’t be a dope when it comes to issues that affect you every day. Politicians influence your health insurance costs, whether you get unemployment insurance, how much you can get in student loans, and what taxes you pay for a coffee or soft drink. How much lower might your rates be if the Cook County health system were streamlined and worked better? Will you be happy waiting longer for the CTA? If you must go to court, as a victim or the accused, who will be judging you?

You can figure out which candidates have views that match your own — even among that daunting list of judges running for election. There are no perfect choices, but voting based on facts is betterthan voting blind or not voting at all.

Here is ChicagoTalks’ guide to the primary election on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010 in Chicago and Cook County. You can vote (if you haven’t done early voting) on Feb. 2 between 6 a.m. –  7 p.m., if you are registered voter.

If you have problems or see something that looks fishy, tell the election judge at your polling place and report it to your election authority for Chicago or Cook County. Then call ChicagoTalks. Here’s how:

• City of Chicago voters should call the Election Hotline at (312) 269-7870.

• County voters should call the Vote Fraud Hotline (Cook County, but not City of Chicago) at (312) 603-0909.

• Call ChicagoTalks at (312) 436-1820. We are working with reporters from Lake Effect News, Center Square Ledger and The Columbia Chronicle to report problems and voting irregularities.

Voting for judges doesn’t have to be hard or take long. First, go to http://voteforjudges.org/, a nonprofit site that explains the details of these elections and provides guides to help you gauge who is qualified and who is not. Print these guides and take them with you when you vote. Whether you are interested in justice and gender, justice and race, or justice and fairness, these guides are better than voting blind or not voting at all. Find more judicial recommendations you can use here.

• If you are voting in one of the 120-plus towns and villages in suburban Cook County, your election authority is the Cook County Clerk’s office. Here are resources for you:

• Find your polling place
• See a sample ballot
  
• What if I’m not listed as being registered?
• What options do voters with disabilities have?
• What will happen at the polling place?
• What kind of voting equipment will I use?
• How do I vote?
• What if I make a mistake?
• What if I need help on Election Day?

• If you are voting in the city of Chicago, your election information is at www.chicagoelections.com.
  • Chicago voter F.A.Q.
  • Check your registration and see a sample ballot

• The e-voter site is a non-partisan voting information site.

• From Lake Effect, former Ald. Dick Simpson on The Cook County Wars provides a quick review of how Cook County commissioners voted since the last election.

• Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke tell all in Election Follies : Age-old feuds, nepotism, logrolling, and Moonies—it must be primary season in Chicago.

Remember, this is a PRIMARY election, so most candidates are running to be the official party candidate in the November election. If you don’t feel comfortable asking for a Democratic, Republican or Green Party ballot, you have the right to request a non-partisan one.