Woodford County Democrats
Illinois

Voting is open!

In-person early voting and vote-by-mail are already open. There's more to vote for than "blue state" president: Vote Yes to the graduated (fair) tax is at the top of your ballot. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, U.S. Congressional candidate George Petrilli, and Woodford County Board District 1 candidate Mike Dunlap need your vote. Tell your friends, and make sure that the problems that caused the last 4 years never happen again.

Vote by mail: apply on paper or apply online. Either way, a paper ballot goes to your home or any U.S. address you choose (temporary family for COVID-19, vacation home, etc.) Get the ballot back in the mail before the post office closes on November 3, or put in the drop box at the Eureka courthouse.
Early voting has begun: Room 104 of the Woodford County Courthouse, 115 N. Main St., Eureka IL, every weekday 8am-5pm except Columbus Day, and until 7pm on Thu. Oct. 22 & 29, and on Saturdays Oct. 22 & 29. It's just like voting at your polling place.
Tuesday, November 3, 6am-7pm, in person at your local polling place, which may have changed for this election, but you should receive a letter if it changed.

Questions? Contact the Woodford County Democrats any time, or for urgent questions call the Woodford County Clerk at 1-309-467-2822 option 2 from 8am-5pm weekdays.

We have signs! (round 2)

Regular yard signs available immediately: 26"×16" George Petrilli for Congress, 26"×16" Biden/Durbin (half & half for efficiency), 32"×20" Biden/Harris, and 26"×16" Dick Durbin. We're asking $5/each and they come with support wires.
4'×4' (chest-high) signs: We are looking for a count of locations to put up large George Petrilli signs; contact us as soon as possible if you have such a high-traffic location. We already have Biden/Harris or Dick Durbin; we're asking $50/each. Good for farms or and high-traffic locations, but we have a limited number. If you have a highly-visible location and can't afford $50, tell us and we may be able to match you with a donation.
Taking orders: Vote Yes for the Fair Tax signs ($5/each). Contact us and tell us how many of each you're interested in, to arrange delivery, or to ask any questions.
Contact us to get any of these signs or ask about getting on our local announcement list or getting involved. We're happy to answer your questions about these or anything else.

Vote-by-mail and early voting already in progress: apply on paper, or apply online, or early vote in person • 11 days until Election Day at precincts

If you were wondering if there were Democrats, centrists, and progressives in Woodford County: Now you know! We all do better, when we all do better. Feel free to contact us with questions or to get on our local announcements list. Or click in any title below to expand it and get more information:

17 or older? Register to vote!

If you're a U.S. citizen, not in jail, and will be at least 18 years old by November 3, 2020, you have the right to vote, and should register to vote now, and again whenever you move. You can choose to register online, by mail, or in person:

See if you're already registered in Illinois; this also tells you your polling place.
Register immediately online if you already have an IL drivers license or IL state ID, even if your address is newer than your ID. This takes about 10 minutes and can be done on your mobile device or computer.
Download a paper application (PDF) you can mail in.
Register in person at the County Clerk/Recorder, Room 202, Woodford County Courthouse, 115 N. Main St, Eureka IL. Bring two documents with your name, one of which proves your physical street address. (Because of COVID-19, you may want to call the clerk's office at 1-309-467-2822 option 2 to tell them in advance.)
Contact Woodford Democrats to have a deputy registrar meet you and register you.
Register to vote from overseas as a U.S. citizen whose last American residence was Illinois.

Everything above can also be used to update your address when you move.

Be a paid Election Judge

Election judges sit at the polls, get paid $115-$160 per election day, and get to meet all the voters at the precinct. There are usually only 1 or 2 election days per year, and election judges serve from 5am to around 8pm. Woodford County needs more judges! Want to know more? Contact us for election judge info.

Are you sure you're a Republican?

Does it bug you that adult family minimum wage today ($10/hour) is less than teenage kids made in the 1950s ($11/hour in 2016 dollars)?
Does it bug you that American society has been rearranged to be "too busy" to provide for the mission you were raised to believe in, to feed the starving, cure the sick, and teach the masses?
Does it bug you that some politicians are so twisted inside that they say they "condemn" another politician they know is bad for America, but still "endorse" him/her at the same time?
Does it bug you when someone says that America's better off when fewer people are allowed to vote?

Most of America's traditional values — such as a family-supporting wage for 40 hours/week of work; the moral examples of curing the sick and feeding the needy; the drive to make every child into a responsible, learned, contributing adult even if the parents weren't; the basic principle that no innocent American citizen should be denied their vote — are all Democratic principles. If this sounds more like you, get it touch with us and we'd love to talk to you.

About the Woodford Democrats

The Woodford County Democratic Central Committee (WCDCC) encourages local involvement in political activities, based on Democratic principles. You do not have to join any political organization to come to most Woodford Democrat meetings or activities. We provide election oversight by recruiting precinct committeepersons and election judges. We endeavor to assist and recruit candidates and volunteers who will put the average citizen's concerns above special interests that enrich the few at the expense of the many. Our guiding principle is: We all do better, when we all do better.

Next meetings & events

Meet Democrats, talk politics, do business — and sometimes eat — at least when there's not COVID-19. See the calendar below for events, including virtual events.

Calendars: more Democratic & civic events

The first calendar shows Woodford County Democrats selected events: blue indicates Democratic and progressive events, and orange indicates other civic events.

For people who like to include calendars on their devices: here's the iCal (.ics) feed for Democratic events and iCal (.ics) feed for civic events.

The second calendar combines other group's calendar events; we don't control what is on these calendars, but provide them here for your convenience. Calendar sources by color: Progressive Events in the Peoria Area (from Kat Modisette, Washington Twp. Precinct 16 committeewoman)

News

See the official Woodford County Democratic Party page on Facebook

Help get it done

Donate locally

Woodford County Democrats are locally controlled and organized, and get very little support from the state and national party. So your donations support local decisions on Democratic issues, organizing, and candidates, including local and county Democratic candidates and campaigns. You can donate instantly to us online by clicking here, or contact us to arrange for cash or check donations.

Volunteer, organize, and participate

We're always looking for good people, from barely political to very political, and from background helpers to people going out and making the case. We're locally operated and controlled, growing our own base, and do campaigning and events, as well as coordinating with other nearby groups. Just some of the roles: precinct committeepersons (who get to know their neighbors), election judges, and even people who want to run for local, township, county, and state offices, as well as normal volunteers who help us get the word out. Contact us if you want to get involved or just find out about local and Peoria-area events.

Get the announcements

E-mail us to ask about our announcement or volunteer lists, or other opportunities to meet. We get information about what's going on and when, as well as information on local candidates, and our locally-controlled e-mail list and meetings are a great way to get updated.

Links to political resources

For everyone

Woodford County official government site: information and resources for each department, plus the boards' agendas and minutes
Illinois State Board of Elections: everything about elections in Illinois, including schedules and rules
Illinois SBOE Contributions Search: Search by committee or by candidate. Find who is funding which candidates and political organizations in Illinois, up to the state level. (Yes, even us.)
FEC: Campaign Finance Reports and Data: Find out who is funding which federal Congressional and Presidential campaigns.

For Democrats, progressives, centrists, and recovering Republicans

Contact the Woodford Democrats and ask to be on our Woodford e-mail announcement list.
Illinois Democratic County Chairs' Association (IDCCA): newsletters and events around the state, by the committee that assists county Democratic organizations
National Democratic Training Committee: free articles, videos, and training sessions for anyone wanting to run for office at any level, and including campaign managers and organizers