lindsay.welbers@gmail.com

To research your ballot you will need the following materials:

Access to the internet
A printer or way to take notes by hand or electronically
Beer, wine, coffee, tea or beverage of your choice
A comfy chair or standing desk, your preference

Get your sample ballot:

Sit down in your comfy chair. Take sips of your drink as-needed. (Pace yourself, we’re doing a democracy here.)
Google the name of your city or county and “board of elections.” I live in Chicago so I googled “Chicago board of elections.” Here you should be able to look up information pertinent to you specifically.
Select “Your Voter Information” or whichever link indicates it will let you look up information that pertains to you specifically. Enter your name and address to make sure you’re registered where you think you are registered and to find your sample ballot.
Your sample ballot should be listed here. It is the finalized version of the ballot you will be handed on Election Day, or when you go to vote early. You can choose either the Democratic or Republican or Nonpartisan sample ballot (at least where I live). Treat this like your practice test.
Print out your sample ballot. This is the single best underutilized tool available for every voter. We’re going to take notes on it.

Now that you have your sample ballot let’s do the easy stuff first:

Do you already know who you’re voting for in some of these races? Cool, circle or highlight those names and we’ll move on.
You’re probably left with a list of candidates running for offices you’ve never heard of, or you’re not sure what they do. That’s okay, we’re wearing our research hats today. Not sure what the Water Reclamation District does? Google it.
You’re also probably left with a lot of uncontested races. Because during a primary, you only vote for candidates from one party, you may not like a candidate on the ballot you are given. The way I see it, a candidate running in an uncontested race has done nothing to earn my vote. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t earn it, they just haven’t yet and therefore aren’t entitled to it. You are under no obligation to vote for that person in the primary. Right now, my state senator is running unopposed in the primary for re-election. Regardless of whether or not I think he deserves another term, I will have the opportunity to vote for or against him in November. For this reason, I don’t like voting for a candidate in an uncontested race. Unless I feel strongly in support of a candidate, I will generally just leave a race blank during a primary election. In Chicago, you do not have to vote in every race and your ballot will still be counted.
Let’s skip down to the judges. If you live in Cook County (which I do) probably about half of your ballot is a long list of names for judge. There’s a really good chance you have never heard a single one of these names before but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doing their job. Trying to research individual judges is next to impossible, and even if I could evaluate them all myself, I don’t know enough about the law to determine if a judge is ruling fairly. But you know who does know if a judge is ruling fairly? The lawyers who argue before those judges. Every election professional organizations of attorneys issue guide to voters. I like the Alliance of Bar Associations’ guide, because that’s the one the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois pointed me to, and it’s an aggregate of other attorney organizations. See who has the most “NR” (Not Recommended) markings and the most “HR” (Highly Recommended) markings and evaluate that way. If you’ve got two equally recommended candidates, do what I do and vote for the woman. It’s a little bit like picking a name from a hat, sure, but at least I’m looking at what’s inside the hat before I do.
A word on write-in candidates: If so you desire, you can write in a candidate. To be eligible in Illinois a write-in candidate must register with the board of elections. You can learn more about them here. Yes, you can write in any name you want, but there are specific ways it must be done to be counted as an official vote. You can write in Mickey Mouse if you want, this is America after all, just recognize that cartoon mouse is never going to serve in office and someone you may not like might.
Referenda are questions on the ballot that sometimes change policy, and often gauge public support for a particular issue. Sometimes they matter for practical purpose and sometimes they don’t. Even if they will have no real effect on policy, they are still important to vote in. Perfect example: This spring in Chicago, and this November all over Illinois, you will be able to vote in a referendum on cannabis legalization. Will overwhelming support for the referendum legalize cannabis? Nope. The referendum has no teeth. Vote in it anyway. If turnout is low, those who think cannabis should remain illegal will be the ones answering that referendum. Politicians will then use that as evidence that the public does not support changing cannabis law. Want your politicians to change (or not change) cannabis law? Tell them so with your ballot. If there’s a referendum on your ballot that presents vague language, gives you pause, or that you just don’t understand what it is referring to, hold off. We’ll come back to it.

Now this is where things get fun:
What’s you’ve got left are the races where you haven’t chosen a candidate or referenda you weren’t sure about. Do the following things:

Open a fresh web browser.
Enjoy this gif. We’re having a ballot prep party y’all.
Open another tab and navigate to your local newspaper or local media outlet. Newspapers generally send identical surveys to candidates running in local elections. For me, this is the best apples-to-apples way to evaluate candidates in races I haven’t watched. This is exceptionally helpful for smaller races that matter a great deal (looking at you, Water Reclamation District.) Use the candidates’ responses to those surveys to determine how you will vote in that particular race. Think about what issues are important to you, and evaluate how a candidate’s answers to that survey reflect what you want to see happen. If one candidate turned in a poorly written survey, but the opposition candidate did not return a survey at all, vote for the poorly written candidate. Someone who took the time to respond to the voters is more likely to be a better public servant than someone who can’t be bothered to answer questions when asking for a job. And that’s what running for office really is, asking the voters for a job. The voters are the hiring managers, and the candidates are our applicants.
Sun-Times 2018 Illinois Primary Voting Guide
Chicago Tribune Illinois Primary Election Candidate Surveys
Sites like Ballotready and Ballotpedia can be really useful for getting the lay of the land, but if you’re the sort of person who likes knowing exactly who you’re voting for and why, your local newspapers are probably going to have much more information than either site.
Go down your ballot race-by-race evaluating each candidate and his or her merits. Keep going until you have answered all of them. Stuck on a race? Ask someone you trust what they think. Read up on their positions and listen to your gut. Not sure what a comptroller does? Google it, then look at the candidates’ responses and see who is best qualified to do that job.
Review your sample ballot top to bottom. Have you picked a candidate in every contested race? Great. Have you answered all the referenda? Cool. Can you read your own notes? Great job!
Fold this paper neatly and put it someplace where you will remember to bring it on Election Day or when you go to vote early. I usually keep mine in my backpack.
Reference your notes when you are in the voting booth. You are legally allowed to bring notes into the voting booth with you. Contact the board of elections immediately if someone says you cannot take your sample ballot into the booth with you.
Cast your ballot like an informed voter! You did it! Great job participating in democracy!

TL;DR

Get your sample ballot from your local board of elections’ website
Fill in the races you are already familiar with
In Chicago you do not need to vote in every race and your ballot will still be counted
Google any job or position you aren’t familiar with, or aren’t sure what it does (i.e. Water Reclamation District)
Check local newspaper and media’s websites for candidate surveys
Check your local attorney’s organizations for recommendations on judges
Read the referenda, will it cost/gain/help/hurt you? Google anything you aren’t sure about
Bring your notes into the ballot booth with you – legally you are allowed to bring notes in with you to vote