Lake County, Illinois

The Marion County Election Board says 12 federal monitors, who are not law enforcement officers, will be present in the county on Election Day, with additional monitors also expected in Lake County. Both counties are represented by Democratic members of Congress. Monitors will be barred from vote centers but may observe from outside polling locations, according to County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell. The Department of Justice says the deployment is routine monitoring occurring nationwide, focused on disability-access compliance, language-assistance rules, and provisional ballot handling. Poll workers have received written protocol for interacting with federal officials. Officials emphasized voters cannot be required to speak with monitors.

Lake County, Illinois voters pick a sheriff on Nov. 3. Democratic incumbent John Idleburg, sheriff since 2018 and a former federal Treasury agent, is seeking a third term after winning close and then wider margins in 2018 and 2022. His Republican challenger, Roman Buchberger, a retired Lake County deputy with 19 years on the job, including post-Katrina work in New Orleans, says the office suffers from "gross mismanagement," pointing to jail staffing shortages and inmates housed in McHenry County.

Idleburg touts gains against illegal guns and trafficking, an expanded K-9 program, and a citizen justice council. Buchberger calls for aggressive correctional-officer recruiting, improved jail rehabilitation programming, and a larger school presence for deputies.

The Marion County Clerk's Office says the U.S. Department of Justice will send "election monitors" to the county for the November midterm election. The Marion County Election Board was notified of the plan but has not been told what specifically the monitors will do beyond observing election processes for federal law compliance. Officials say Marion and Lake counties are the only two Indiana counties receiving monitors, and both are represented in Congress by the state's only Democratic federal lawmakers. Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell said the office wasn't informed of the criteria used or why these counties were chosen, but says the board has a plan in place, including a recent policy on poll worker interactions with federal officials, to ensure a smooth, lawful election.

Lake County, Florida voters will decide in November 2026 whether to raise an existing school property tax from 0.75 mills to 1 mill for four years. The current levy, which funds school safety measures, student mental health services and teacher compensation, is set to expire in June 2027. If approved, the higher rate would take effect that July.

District officials say the added revenue is needed to maintain safety and mental health programs while improving teacher pay to attract and retain staff. For a home assessed at $250,000, the increase would cost about $4.70 more per month, or roughly $56 annually. Spending would be overseen by an independent citizens' committee, with school board approval also required.

Reaction among residents has been mixed, with some willing to pay more for better schools and others citing broader economic concerns, including rising costs and local growth issues like roads and construction. A yes vote on Nov. 3, 2026, would extend the higher tax for four years; a no vote would let the current tax expire the following June.

Ohio lawmakers rushed through a 90-day suspension of the state's 38.5-cent gas tax just before early voting, with officials estimating the average driver could save about $55 over the period. Critics note the real savings will likely be smaller, since oil companies and fuel distributors are not expected to pass along the full break to consumers. The holiday will cost the state roughly $725 million in lost revenue, prompting pushback from some lawmakers who argue the money would be better spent on school funding, childcare, or paid sick leave. Both a Republican and a Democratic gubernatorial candidate have claimed credit for the idea.

The debate comes as Ohio also faces unresolved questions over electric grid costs tied to data center growth, with the state's grid operator warning residential customers could absorb higher bills unless lawmakers create new rules before data centers expand further. Separately, Ohio's minimum wage will rise to $11.40 an hour for non-tipped workers in January under the state's inflation-indexing law.

Lake County, Illinois voters will decide on the Nov. 3 ballot whether to impose a 1% countywide sales tax dedicated to school facility improvements. Under a 2007 state law, school districts representing a majority of a county's students can place such a measure on the ballot as an alternative to raising local property taxes. Twenty-three Lake County districts, representing 60% of the county's roughly 114,000 students, approved resolutions to put the question before voters, including Mundelein, Waukegan, Wauconda, Lake Zurich and Barrington districts.

Fifty-seven of Illinois' 102 counties have adopted the tax, but no collar county has previously attempted it. Proceeds could fund safety upgrades, repairs, renovations, new construction and bond repayment, and pay for school resource officers and mental health staff, but not salaries generally, buses, textbooks or furniture. Groceries, medications and vehicles would be exempt. If approved, the tax would take effect July 1, 2027.