Kane County clerk unveils polling wait-time tool, reports passport and vote-by-mail figures

Kane County’s clerk’s office demonstrated a new online tool for voters to check polling-place wait times and reported recent election and passport activity at the public service committee meeting on Feb. 19.

The clerk said the county processed a record 6,545 passport applications in 2025 and that the office will add extra staff on busy nights to handle demand. Elections staff demonstrated a website feature that estimates wait times for the five closest polling locations by using real-time input from election judges’ tablets. "It'll tell you the times, like, 5 minutes, 0 minutes, 10 minutes," one elections staff member said during the demonstration.

The clerk also reported that 22,305 vote-by-mail packets were sent and that the county has 294,966 registered voters. The clerk said the wait-time estimates are calculated from judges’ on-the-ground inputs and assumed a two- to three-minute average voting time per voter, and that the office is preparing contingency staffing and temporary outdoor space in Aurora on heavy days.

Why it matters: The tool is intended to help voters choose less-crowded polling locations on election day and to allow election administrators to shift resources in real time. Officials said the county has experience handling surges tied to past state-level changes and that they are preparing staffing plans if demand increases.

Committee members asked for details about how input will be collected and how wait estimates are calculated; elections staff said judges will record line counts on tablets and the tool will compute estimated times using those counts and an assumed average voting duration. The clerk said the office has handled similar surges before and will seek additional temporary locations where needed.

Next steps: The clerk said the office will continue to refine the tool ahead of upcoming elections and will report back on any operational issues or changes in voter demand.