Early voting starts next month and McHenry County has a new Election Center where any registered voter can go

McHenry County has a new center that will host all things election starting this fall.

The center has space for voting equipment storage, election official training and will serve as a universal polling place this fall.

The center is located at 410 S. Eastwood Drive in Woodstock, in the same strip mall as the Illinois Secretary of State’s local office. McHenry County Board member Jim Kearns, R-Huntley, said in January the election center being by the DMV would bring in more potential early voters.

The space will serve as a polling place for early voting when it starts on Sept. 26. On Election Day, Nov. 5, the election center will serve as the universal polling place and voters from all over the county can cast ballots there.

There’s also space to tabulate votes, and McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio said members of the public will be able to see what’s going on inside from the sidewalk windows. There’s also a little pay window that can be used if needed for services as a “contingency,” Tirio said, or to return equipment.

Anything involving paper, such as marriage licenses or candidate filing, will continued to be handled at the Clerk’s main office on the county campus at 667 Ware Road in Woodstock, Tirio said.

The McHenry County Board voted to approve the space in January after officials from the clerk’s office explained the need for the new space.

Deputy County Clerk Debra Nieto said at the time, “Every election, we are expected to play Jenga with equipment and space in this building in the hopes that one wrong move of a 75-pound piece of equipment doesn’t cause the tower of preparation to fall.”

Tirio had told the county board in January there could be a “dramatic reduction” in overtime with the new space. He said Tuesday that was the “biggest impact” of the election center. In the existing clerk’s office, employees were constantly moving heavy equipment around, and it took a toll on the staff. In addition, the elevator went out a few times in the past, making it hard to bring equipment up from the basement, Tirio said. It’s much easier to move things around in the new space.

“Pretty much everything here is on wheels,” Tirio said.

The new election center is also on one floor, which also makes it easier for older voters or those with mobility issues to access early voting, Tirio said.

Inside the building is an area currently set up with tables, chairs and a projector for training. Tirio said last week there was a training for officials for the 2025 spring municipal and local elections. Candidate packet pickup for those elections began Tuesday.

Once training is done, the tables go to storage and the room will be set up as a polling place.

Officials hoped to have the new election center up and running last month, but hit some snags along the way, including needing another HVAC unit for the back of the building that increased the cost of the center. Tirio said he had been hoping to have a grand opening by now, and a permanent sign for the building is on the way.

He encouraged the public to vote early this election. His office is currently redesigning a limited edition “I voted” sticker for early voting, and he’s “hoping that will get people out.”