Cook County candidates running in the March 20, 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election will begin filing their nomination petitions at the Clerk’s office on Monday, November 27. Filing ends on Monday, December 4.
County Board President; County Clerk; County Treasurer; County Sheriff; County Assessor; County Commissioners; County Board of Review (Districts 2 & 3); Metropolitan Water Reclamation District; and Township Committeemen. The candidates for Township Committeemen are elected at the primary; everyone else is nominated by their respective parties.
Federal, State and Judicial candidates file nomination papers with the Illinois State Board of Elections in Springfield.
Historically, candidates have jockeyed for the first spots by lining up outside the Cook County Administration Building, 69 W. Washington, long before the building opens at 6 a.m. – a full three hours before filing begins at 9 a.m.
Early birds must line up outside the main Washington Street entrance in order to secure their place in line. At 6 a.m., Clerk’s office employees will escort the line to the Clerk’s Pedway Room in the lower level of the building.
All candidates who are in line by 9 a.m. on Monday, November 27 will have their papers stamped with that time. If there are multiple candidates seeking the same office who file simultaneously, a lottery will be conducted to determine the order in which their names will appear on the ballot.
Additionally, candidates for the same office who file between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the last day of filing – December 4 – will also be included in a lottery for the last spot on the ballot. Anyone who files after 9 a.m. on November 27 and before 3:59 p.m. on December 4 will be on the ballot in the order they turned in their nomination paperwork.
The ballot lotteries will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, December 11 in the Clerk’s office lobby at 69 W. Washington, Suite 500.
The Clerk’s Twitter feed (@cookcountyclerk) will be updated as candidates submit their paperwork. A full list of candidates will be available later in the day at cookcountyclerk.com.
Alicja Otap
