Election

Primary election at a polling place near you

Primary election is Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2026.

Rockton-Roscoe News Staff, Michael McGinnis

Mar 17, 2026 — 6 min read

Cross and Crown Lutheran Church serves as the polling place for two Roscoe precincts. Unofficial results are taped to the glass doors at the end of the night.

The 2026 primary election will begin at 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2026 at a polling place near you. The Republican ballot includes a choice between two candidates for Winnebago County Board District 7. The Democratic ballot includes a Congressional candidate from Roscoe. Each ballot contains two controversial referendum questions about education. Since Illinois has “open primaries,” any registered voter can choose to vote on either party's ballot, regardless of who they plan to vote for in December.

Information to help you decide

Where to vote

For the Primary Election on Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2026, polls will be open continuously from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

ROCKTON TOWNSHIP

1. ROCKTON TOWN HALL (Township Offices), 1315 North Blackhawk Boulevard, Rockton

2. PRINCE OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH, 2336 Freeport Road, Rockton

3. DIDIER HALL (ST. PETER’S CHURCH), 301 Oak Grove Avenue, South Beloit

5. PRINCE OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH, 2336 Freeport Road, Rockton

6. DIDIER HALL (ST. PETER’S CHURCH), 301 Oak Grove Avenue, South Beloit

8. ST. ANDREW LUTHERAN CHURCH, 511 West Rockton Road, Rockton

9. ST. ANDREW LUTHERAN CHURCH, 511 West Rockton Road, Rockton

10. ST. ANDREW LUTHERAN CHURCH, 511 West Rockton Road, Rockton

11. PRINCE OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH, 2336 Freeport Road, Rockton

13. ROCKTON TOWN HALL (Township Offices), 1315 North Blackhawk Boulevard, Rockton

ROSCOE TOWNSHIP

1. ROSCOE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 10816 Main Street, Roscoe

2. HERITAGE BAPTIST CHURCH OF ROSCOE, 12848 Willowbrook Road, Roscoe

3. LEDGES CLUB HOUSE, 7111 McCurry Road, Roscoe

4. HERITAGE BAPTIST CHURCH OF ROSCOE, 12848 Willowbrook Road, Roscoe

5. DIDIER HALL (ST. PETER’S CHURCH), 301 Oak Grove Avenue, South Beloit

6. CROSS & CROWN LUTHERAN CHURCH, 7404 Elevator Road, Roscoe

7. ROSCOE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 10816 Main Street, Roscoe

8. HERITAGE BAPTIST CHURCH OF ROSCOE, 12848 Willowbrook Road, Roscoe

9. CROSS & CROWN LUTHERAN CHURCH, 7404 Elevator Road, Roscoe

10. ROSCOE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 10816 Main Street, Roscoe

11. LIFE CHURCH, 5910 Elevator Road, Roscoe

12. LIFE CHURCH, 5910 Elevator Road, Roscoe

14. LEDGES CLUB HOUSE, 7111 McCurry Road, Roscoe

15. LIFE CHURCH, 5910 Elevator Road, Roscoe

Look up your polling place

Where to go

See the list above. You can't pick and choose where to vote. Voters must vote at the polling place [PDF] designated for the election precinct within which they reside. Many polling places serve more than one precinct - just walk up to whichever table has your precinct number posted on it. What is your precinct number? It's printed on your voter registration card, or you can ask a poll worker to guide you to the right table.

How it works

In a primary election, two types of ballots are printed, one for each major party. The election officials have to ask you which ballot you want handed to you. If you don't want to say it out loud, I suppose you could silently give them a slip of paper with the party name written on it, or whisper. But election judges pride themselves on their professionalism and they will keep your choice a secret.

Electioneering and campaigning is not allowed within 100 feet of a polling place. So if you're wearing your favorite candidate's hat or t-shirt that day, you have to take it off before you get anywhere near the door. It's polite to leave your favorite stuffed elephant or donkey at home. Several churches serve as polling places, but many of them do not allow any campaigning or electioneering, even 100 feet away from the polling place.

Write-in ballots

Only official write-in candidates will be recorded or counted. Your ballot won't be thrown out if you write in the name of someone who isn't on the official list, but it won't accomplish anything. Voting for more than one candidate per office will not do anything good either.

If you have a mail-in ballot

Many of the mail-in ballots requested have not been sent in. You cannot use it to vote at your local polling place - that's why it's called vote by mail. If your mail-in ballot is still lying around the house, you can vote in-person if you hand over your mail-in ballot to an election judge at your polling place. You will receive a new ballot. Or you can drive into Rockford before 7 p.m. and place your ballot in the secure drop box outside of the Winnebago County Administration Building, 404 Elm Street, Rockford, Illinois 61101. The Winnebago County Clerk’s Office has two weeks after Election Day to count them.

Sign your name

By law, Illinois relies on signature verification, not voter ID cards, to help keep the election fair. At polling places throughout the county, two election judges, one from each major party, will watch each voter sign their name and check it against the signature on file. At the end of Election Day, two election judges, one from each major party, will drive to the County Clerk's office in Rockford to deliver the sealed ballots from their polling place after posting the precinct totals at the polling place.

Also by law, election judges may only ask to see an ID when a voter is providing a new signature. Once you make a fresh signature, it will stay on file so you won't be asked next time. Sometimes over the years the voter's signature has changed from the one on file, which may date back to the first time they registered to vote as a young person 60 years before. Though showing your driver's license is not required, voluntarily showing it is welcome. It helps the poll workers look up your registration so they can give you the right ballot.