Peoria County and the Peoria County Election Commission have changed their respective websites to .gov domains effective today, Thursday, February 10. Peoria County’s former web address, www.peoriacounty.org, is now www.peoriacounty.gov, and the Peoria County Election Commission’s former website, www.peoriaelections.org, is now www.peoriaelections.gov. Email addresses and other County-owned websites will not be affected at this time.
Residents are advised to update browser bookmarks, though both .org websites will redirect visitors to the new .gov addresses for the foreseeable future.
“The .gov domain is the most secure domain available, as it is only obtainable by government entities that undertake a thorough vetting process,” said Thomas Bride, Peoria County Election Commission Director. “We welcome the change, as it adds another layer of security to the Election Commission.”
“Website visitors can be sure they are visiting a legitimate and secure website when it uses the .gov domain,” Peoria County Administrator Scott Sorrel added. “In an age where parody and deceptive websites abound, we want to do everything we can to assure our website users that they are interacting with a true government website.”
In addition, as a local election authority, the Peoria County Election Commission is required under State of Illinois Election Code (10 ILCS 5/1-18) to implement the use of a .gov domain by June 16, 2022.
Again, website users should see no noticeable impact with the change, as the content on the websites remains the same. Users who put in either .org address will be automatically routed to the .gov addresses.