Montgomery Patch Election Blog - Updated 9:35 p.m.

9:35 p.m.

Bill Foster has declared victory. Juan Thomas says he will call to concede. Foster's speech was largely about the campaign he plans to wage against Judy Biggert, and the "common-sense solutions for job growth" he plans to bring to the district. More soon, headed off to cover the 84th District race.

8:55 p.m.

Foster's arrived in Glen Ellyn. "I'm feeling good about it so far," he said of the early returns. "From the small amount of returns I've seen so far, there's no reason not to continue to feel good about it."

8:25 p.m.

Couple of photos added. Still no sign of Foster.

8:20 p.m.

I'm at Village Links in Glen Ellyn, hanging with the DuPage Democrats. Bill Foster, who is leading in the 11th Congressional District, is supposed to make an appearance soon. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, CNN is projecting that Mitt Romney has won the Illinois Presidential Primary, which was really fast. What do you think?

Back with a couple of photos in just a minute.

7:15 p.m.

Polls are now closed, everyone. Results should be coming in shortly. It remains to be seen what effect the incorrectly-sized ballots will have in Aurora and DuPage County. I've put all of our results pages into for you. Check back often, we'll be updating it as new totals come in.

3:45 p.m.

So this is apparently happening in DuPage County and in the city of Aurora. Shouldn't affect Montgomery voters - as I understand it, Kane and Kendall counties are fine. But it may affect how quickly results can be tabulated for state and federal elections, such as the 11th Congressional District. More when we know it!

2:40 p.m.

Photos, we have photos!

1:50 p.m.

Visited three more Kendall County polling places, all of them elementary schools.

Judges at Lakewood Creek Elementary told me it had been pretty quiet, except for a few people waiting to vote at 6 a.m. At around 12:30 p.m. they had seen 58 voters there. The story was better at Boulder Hill Elementary School, but not much: between their two precincts there, judges had seen 86 voters by 1 p.m. or so.

I was there to meet the 100th voter at Long Beach Elementary School, a woman named Kathy Knott. Election Judge Mariann Benda said their totals were above average for a primary election there - election day is usually pretty sleepy at Long Beach, she said, and the stream of voters had been pretty steady.

"It's unusual for the middle of the day, on a nice day like this," she said.

is reporting an issue with Kane County's website servers. Could be a long night before we get results.

12:00 p.m.

Just leaving the Lakewood Creek clubhouse, home to two Kendall County precincts. Between the two of them, judges have seen 68 voters so far. While I was there, three more came in to vote, but it was mostly quiet, and judges reported no issues so far.

Election Judge Doris Turano said she never sees too many voters for a primary election.

"The (November) election will have plenty," she said.

I'm off to other Kendall County polling places. More soon!

10:15 a.m.

I stopped into the two Kane County polling places in Montgomery, where things appear to be going well. At Montgomery Village Hall on River Street (where I voted), four of the six voting booths were taken and people were waiting in line to vote.

Election Judge Jen Oberholtzer said they've seen a steady stream of voters this morning, with turnout already outdoing the early voting weeks - only 43 people turned up to vote early at Village Hall, she said. She expects a surge once people get out of work - this morning's turnout has been primarily older people, she said.

Across the street at the VFW Hall, judges have seen more than 80 voters already. There have been lulls, some said, but then times when voters have been lined up.

"It hasn't been rip-roaring, but it's been steady," said Election Judge Debby Gray.

I'm off to get my Kendall County credentials. More soon, including photos.

Original post

It’s Election Day!

As a voter, I know it’s easy to feel like politics – particularly state and national politics – is out of your hands. But this is one of those days when that simply isn’t true. The outcome of today’s races entirely depends on you. You’re going to choose who gets nominated to represent you in your county, your state, your congressional district, and even the White House today.

That’s kind of an awesome thing, which is why I’m hoping for a larger-than-predicted turnout today. The weather is warm – no, scratch that, the weather is hot, and it will be all day. It’s a lovely day to come on out and cast your vote.

This is the Montgomery Patch election blog, if you couldn’t tell by the headline. This is where I plan to post my observations and photos, and yours if you send them to me. If you see anything interesting, or out of the ordinary, or you encounter issues at the polls, let me know at andre.salles@patch.com. Send me your pictures, too.

If you want to brush up on the candidates, go . I also put together this handy list of five things you need to know for today .

Check back with us throughout the day for news and information, and then come back here tonight for results and reactions. And please, go out and vote!