Welcome to the 48th Ward Dems!
The 48th Ward Dems are your local grassroots political organization dedicated to advancing and electing progressive candidates within the Democratic Party. Join us to connect with your community and create a progressive future.
Get Involved Today
MONTHLY MEETING: We meet on the 3rd Thursday of every month. Our next meeting is Thursday, Sept 18 from 6:30-8pm at Furama Restaurant (4936 N Broadway). Join us to help build the org and plan our next steps! RSVP here.
MEMBERSHIP: Membership in the 48th Ward Dems is open to people who live, work, or volunteer within the 48th ward that support the purpose of the Organization. Details and apply here.
PETITION VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! All candidates running for office in Illinois must gather signatures to run for office. Join us to help get progressive Dems on the ballot. Petition circulation instructions .
VOTING INFORMATION For helpful information about voting in the 48th ward, see our Voting Info page. To look up your own voter information, see the Chicago Board of Elections site.
Donate to Help Build our Organization
In 2024, we MADE our initial goal of $1000 to help get the 48th Ward Dems off the ground, so we have raised that goal to $2500 in 2025!Donate here — your donation helps us pay for meetings, buttons, signs, and all the things it takes to run an organization (like this very website!)
We meet on the 3rd Thursday of every month, so mark your calendars!
Voting Information
Voter info: See the Chicago Board of Elections website to look up your voter registration information.
Voter registration: See the Chicago Board of Elections for details on what you need to register and remember that Illinois has same-day registration right at the polls!
Polling locations: The map below reflects polling locations for our last election in November 2024. Your polling location may change, so please check the Chicago Board of Elections website for the most accurate information.
Early Voting: the Early Voting location in the 48th ward is Broadway Armory Park (5917 N Broadway)
Note: Chicago voters can vote at any Early Voting site, regardless of what ward you live in. So if there is a closer location to where you work or go to school, you may want to vote there. See the Chicago Board of Elections site for more details on Early Voting.
Note: There is also a printable PDF version of the information below if you prefer a hard copy.
Instructions for Circulators
Required for Circulators
You must be 18 years of age (or 17 if registered to vote in IL) and a US citizen. If you are not both of these, you may not circulate petitions.
Requesting Signatures
Script: Hi, I’m collecting signatures for Democrats running for office in March’s election. Would you sign these petitions so that they can be listed on the ballot? This is not a vote for any of these candidates – it just helps ensure that voters have a choice at the polls.If yes, ask: Are you registered at your current address to vote in this area?
If not sure, go to the State Board of Elections site to check voter registration and political division
If no, they may not sign. Thank them for their time.
If yes, ask: Voters are only allowed to sign for candidates from one party. Have you signed any petitions for candidates for any other party other than the Democratic party?
If no, proceed.
If yes, they may not sign. Thank them for their time.
Determining who can sign which petitions
Eligibility below listed in order of general to specific: If they are registered to vote at their address in ...................., they can sign for .....................
Illinois: Gov, Lt Gov, Sec of State, Atty Gen, and Comptroller
Cook County: President, Assessor, Clerk, Sheriff, Treasurer, Circuit Court, Board of Review
Greater Chicagoland: MWRD
1st Judicial District: Appellate
9th Congressional District: State Central Committeewoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth
When signing
Ask them to sign their name as it appears on their voter registration card in the column “Signature of Qualified Voter”
Ask them to print their name in the column “Printed Name of Qualified Voter"
— Note: Encourage them to print legibly and review their name before they go to make sure you can read it. It is very important that we can read this information.Ask them to print the address where they are registered to vote. (Make sure you can read this as well.)
Discourage people from using ditto marks if they live at the same address.
After signing, thank them and remind them that Election Day is March 17, 2026.
Important notes
The signer must sign in front of you.
The signer cannot sign for anyone else (spouse, relative, etc.) even if they live at the same address.
Do not argue with anyone if they do not wish to sign. Thank them and move on.
If you are a registered voter in the appropriate area, you may sign the petition yourself.
After you have finished circulating
Do not number your sheets.
Do not sign at the bottom of the sheet until you are ready to have it notarized. Your signature on the affidavit (at the bottom of the petition) must be signed in front of a notary public.
To have your sheets notarized, you can do any one of the following:
Bring them to the next 48th Ward Dems meeting on the 3rd Thursday of the month (6:30pm at Furama); we will have a notary present.
You can also get petitions notarized at your bank, UPS stores, or some government offices. Depending on where you go, there may be a small fee to notarize each page. Once they are notarized, you can either:
Drop them off at Chicago Dance Supply (5301 N Clark St, 2nd Floor) during business hours: M-F: 11am to 7pm; Sat: 10am to 5:30pm; Sun: 12pm to 4pm
Mail them to: 5315 N. Clark Street #198 Chicago, IL 60640 (this is a PO Box)
Bring them to the next Dems meeting — Third Thursdays at 6:30pm at Furama
Please do not hold onto your petitions until the very end of petition season! Get them notarized and turned in ASAP. You can always start new petition sheets.
Dates to return
Please turn in what you have so far on each of the following dates so we can make sure we are staying on track with the needed signatures:
Saturday, Aug 30
Saturday, Sept 27
Friday, Oct 17 (Final turn in)
If you have any questions, contact 48th Ward Democratic Committeewoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth at: [email protected]