First day of early voting converges with change in ward boundaries, causing confusion for some
‘I thought I was going to vote for the Third Ward Alderperson. I was shocked to find out I had to vote in the Fourth Ward,’ one says.
By Bob Seidenberg
A few Evanston residents apparently encountered confusion Monday, arriving at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center to vote on the first day of early voting for the April 1 municipal election, learning they would be voted in a different ward than they expected.
One voter, who preferred that his name not be used, said he arrived at the civic center shortly after 1 p.m., thinking of himself as a Third Ward resident, only to learn he is now a Fourth Ward resident, under a map change that took place under redistricting approved in 2023.
“I was shocked. I thought I was going there to vote for the Third Ward Alderperson,” he said, naming candidate John Kennedy. “I was shocked to find out I had to vote in the Fourth Ward.”
Evanston City Council members approved a new ward map in June 2023, the first change to ward boundaries since 2003.
The resident’s block, the 1300 block of Chicago Avenue, was among the areas redistricted with council members seeking to correct a population imbalance among the city’s nine wards.
The man said he learned the change after he placed his voting card in one of the electronic machines and when thE ballot “popped up in front of me it showed I had to vote for the Fourth Ward Alderperson.”
He asked one of the Cook County Clerk’s Office election workers at the site why he wasn’t able to vote in the Third Ward and that person said he didn’t know anything about that and that he would ask his supervisor, he said. The election workers said the supervisor then speculated that there was some map change and that it was probably posted in some newspaper but that he didn’t know.
Map explanation makes ‘no sense’
As a result the resident wrote in former Fourth Ward Alderperson Donald Wilson as his choice, impressed by a recent letter Wilson wrote to Evanston Now regarding the Healthy Building ordinance. (He was unaware of Meg Welch’s write-in candidacy until after, he said.)
He said when he searched for redistricted wards in Evanston, he was led to an interactive map on the city’s website, welcoming readers to view “the redistricted wards (effective 5/12/2025) that will be used for the 4/1/2025election.”
“It makes no sense,” the voter responded. “The city is saying that the map effective 5/12/25 but they’re using it for this election.”
He surmised that “lot my neighbors don’t know about the change and are going to the polls expecting to vote in the Third Ward.”
City officials made an effort to alert about the change as part of an email March 10 on the city site (cityofevanston.org), announcing the start of early voting, said City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza, Evanston’s local election official, in a text.
The article included a link for people to find their polling place. https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/elections/your-voter-information
”A few people that were confused appreciated that communication,” she said. Mendoza, who is out of the country at a conference, communicated via text.
She said the wording with the interactive map that some found confusing was drawn from the city’s ordinance and comprised outside her office.
A new trash can? Ask your new Alderperson starting May 12
Essentially, “the map is in effect for voting districts, but not services,” she explained. “So for example if go vote today and you are in a redistricted area you’re (going to) vote for a new council member, but if you call 311 to get a new trash can, they will see that you still live in your old district.”
A general text was sent out to voters affected by the change, explaining early voting, she said. Another one, addressing redistricting, is to be sent midweek, she said.
The voter in the Third Ward could not recall receiving notice. He emailed Third Ward candidate John Kennedy to apologize for not being able to vote for him and Kennedy responded he had heard similar confusion expressed.
“All of a sudden they are voting for someone who they have not researched,” Kennedy said. “This is not a good scene.”
Early voting runs through March 31. Voting hours and other details can be found on the city’s website, cityofevanston.org.
