Early voting begins Thursday for DeKalb mayoral primary: What to know

DeKALB – Voting begins Thursday for DeKalb residents to cast their ballot in the Democratic mayoral primary.

Although no candidates' names will appear on the ballot, voters will have an option to fill in a blank.

There’s only one eligible write-in candidate: Linh Nguyen, a Northern Illinois University educator.

DeKalb County Clerk Tasha Sims said her office has determined that Nguyen only needs a minimum of 20 valid write-ins to make it onto the ballot.

“After extensive discussions with the Illinois State Board of Elections, we have reached a consensus on the interpretation of the following statutes: write-in vote requirements and signature requirements for independent candidates,” Sims wrote in an email to Shaw Local.

[ DeKalb candidate Linh Nguyen triggers mayoral primary election in February ]

Three others already have secured their names on the April consolidated election ballot: incumbent Mayor Cohen Barnes, 7th Ward Alderman John Walker and NIU IT support associate Kouame Sanan.

The last day to vote in the primary election is Feb. 25.

Should Nguyen’s campaign overcome its petition challenges to stay on the ballot, she’ll face Barnes, Walker and Sanan in the April 1 election.

The last time the city held a mayoral election was 2021, which saw 3,918 total voters, officials said. A mayoral primary is historic in DeKalb, Sims has said. Mayoral primaries across the state are not unheard of, however.

Sims said that based on state statute, the total 2021 voter count of 3,918 is multiplied by a half-percent and rounded up to determine that only 20 write-ins are needed to win the 2025 DeKalb Democratic primary election.

“In this instance, we are using the total voter count of 3,918 as the baseline, as we do not have any historical data on Democratic primary electors in this jurisdiction due to the fact that a Democratic primary has not been held here before,” Sims wrote. “This calculation serves as the most reasonable and practical approach based on the information available.”

Thursday will mark the kick off of the first primary election administered in DeKalb County since 1981.

Sims said she doesn’t know what kind of turnout to expect. Only voters within DeKalb city limits are eligible.

“We’re sending out about 750 vote-by-mail ballots to those who are on our permanent vote-by-mail list,” Sims said. “Only the individuals who request to receive a Democratic primary ballot will receive those.”

Sims said there’s nothing deterring Republicans or independents from participating in this Democratic primary election as long as they’re DeKalb residents.

“In Illinois, we don’t register under parties,” Sims said. “Every time you vote in a primary, you can pick whichever ballot at the time you want. So, really anyone within the city of DeKalb, if they wish to pull to vote on this Democratic primary, they can.”

In November, Nguyen was removed from the list of candidates expected to appear on the ballot for the April 1 election over failing to file in a timely manner and inconsistencies in name usage. Nguyen and her campaign have pushed back against the ruling and are actively appealing it in DeKalb County court, records show. That appeal will go before a judge Jan. 30.

Nguyen’s attorney, Ed Mullen, previously said he believes there are issues with the election code and that deviations are excusable as long as it doesn’t affect the integrity of the election.

“There’s no harm in her filing her petitions earlier,” Mullen said. “If you assume that she filed on the first day that she was allowed to file, it would go into a lottery. She does not expect to automatically be at the top of the pile because she filed at the nonpartisan period.”

Objector William Vodden’s attorney, Andrew Acker, previously said he believes Nguyen should be disqualified for creating what he called an uneven playing field.

Nguyen has been consistent in her response to her candidacy challenges.

“I am not asking for special treatment,” Nguyen said to Shaw Local News Network. “I’m asking for the law to be upheld. How can you put a price on a functioning democracy? We have laws to protect people’s choices at the ballot box and defend our democracy.”