Lake County Election Board Emergency Meeting – April 7, 2026

The Lake County Election Board convened an emergency meeting on April 7, 2026, to address and correct a ballot error discovered during early voting for the Winfield Town Council election. The ballot incorrectly instructed voters to "vote for one" when the correct instruction should have been "vote for two." The error affected Republican ballots only and involved six total ballots across five precincts (Winfield Precincts 1, 3, 8, 9, and 10). The board took multiple actions to reprogram machines, notify affected voters, conduct public testing, and secure replaced equipment.

Ballot Error & Initial Response

• Staff reported that a voter alerted election officials earlier that day when attempting to vote for the Winfield Town Council. Investigation revealed the vote-limit error on the ballot.
• The error only affected the Republican ballot (no Democratic candidates were on the ballot in that race).
• As of the meeting, two absentee mail ballots had already been cast, one voter checked in but did not vote after noticing the error, and one additional absentee ballot application had been received but not processed. Total ballots impacted: six.
• MicroVote, the voting system vendor, had already corrected the ballot programming pending board approval.

Discussion & Procedural Review

• Board members discussed the standard operating procedure for ballot proofing and verification. It was noted that ballots are approved at least three times by both Democratic and Republican representatives using the SVRS system. The error appears to have occurred because most municipal council races are "vote for one" (ward-based), whereas Winfield Town Council is elected at-large with a vote limit of two – an anomaly that was not caught during proofing.
• Members emphasized the need to improve cross-referencing of vote limits in the future to prevent similar issues, especially during high-turnout general elections.

Public Test of Corrected Equipment

• The board conducted a public test of a reprogrammed voting machine that now correctly displayed "vote for two" for the Winfield Town Council race. A zero-proof tape was printed and examined. Board members observed test votes (including one showing an overvote) to confirm proper functionality.

Key Outcomes & Votes (all votes were 5-0 in favor)

1. Adoption of Emergency Meeting Packet – Motion to accept all documents related to the emergency meeting (notice, letters, etc.) into the public record.
2. Authorization for Public Testing – Authorized staff to conduct public testing of the corrected equipment, with one board member from each party observing.
3. Authorization to Reprogram Ballot – Approved reprogramming the ballot to reflect the correct vote limit of two.
4. Contacting Absentee Voters (Mail) – Approved sending an ABS-5 form (affidavit of lost, destroyed, or spoiled ballot) to the two voters who had already returned mail absentee ballots, allowing them to request a new correct ballot.
5. Contacting In-Person Early Voters – Approved sending similar notification and ABS-5 forms to the two voters who voted in person early (the voter who alerted staff but did not vote, and the voter who checked in but did not cast a ballot), giving them the opportunity to recast their vote at the early voting location or by mail.
6. Removal of Check-In for Non-Voter – Approved removing the check-in record for the voter who did not cast a vote, enabling them to cast a corrected ballot.
7. Replacement of Voting Machines – Approved removing one voting machine from each early voting location (crown point and …) and storing them under bipartisan lock and key, and replacing them with machines programmed only for the Winfield races. (Board noted that if a location needs an additional machine, one can be sent out without a new meeting.)
8. Recess to Finalize Testing – The meeting recessed to the election board office to complete finalization of the public test and tabulation of test votes.