Voting In Illinois

To be eligible to vote in Illinois, you must be:

• A U.S. citizen
• At least 18 years of age by Election Day
• Have been a resident of the precinct at least 30 days prior to Election Day

Two forms of identification are required when registering to vote, one that shows your current residential address. If you register by mail, you must vote in person the first time you vote.

In general, identification is not required to vote at the polls, although you will be required to verify your signature. However, there are individual circumstances that may require that identification be shown. In those cases, you must present a photo ID, and if the photo ID has an address, it must match the registration address. If a photo ID is not used, the document (examples of which are listed below) must show your name and address. This must be presented to an election judge before being permitted to vote.

If you do not present a required form on identification, you may vote on a provisional ballot. For further information, please see Provisional Voting below.

If you registered to vote by mail after January 1, 2003, and you did not submit a copy of the required identification with the registration application at that time, and you will be voting in a jurisdiction for the first time, then you will be required to submit a copy of one of the following:

• Current and valid photo identification
• Utility bill
• Government check
• Paycheck
• Government document

Illinois voters who vote during the early voting period must vote in person and must provide a valid identification. Valid forms of identification for this purpose include a current driver's license, state-issued identification card, or another government-issued identification card.

Registration is open year round except:

• During the 27 day period just prior to an election
• During the 2 days after such election (1 day after in Chicago)

As of February 2006, grace period registration is available in Illinois. The “grace period” for registering to vote is the 27th to the 14th day prior to the election. After the normal registration period closes, grace period registration allows you to register in person at the office of your election authority. However, people who take advantage of the late registration opportunity are limited in the way they can vote. If you register to vote during this two-week period you must vote in the office of the election authority or vote absentee by mail. There are 110 election authorities in Illinois, most of them county clerks and the others are boards established by larger cities. The people who register during the “grace period” do not vote at their polling place on Election Day, nor are they allowed to vote under the new Illinois law that establishes early voting centers.

Under federal law, citizens may apply to register to vote by mailing in an a voter registration application. The applications are available at some public and private facilities where you live. Applications may also be downloaded from the Illinois State Board of Elections website.

When you register by mail your form must be postmarked prior to the close of registration. Please note that if you register by mail, with the exception of those disabled or in the military, you must vote in person at the polling place or by in-person absentee voting the first time you vote.

To verify your voter registration status, please contact your elections office or board of elections for your county, city or state.

You may vote absentee if meet one of the following criteria:

• You expect to be absent from your county of residence on Election Day
• You are appointed to be an election judge in a precinct different from where you reside
• You are unable to be present at the polls because of a physical incapacity
• You are observing a religious holiday and are unable to be present at the polls because of the tenets of your religion
• You have election duties in the office of a state's attorney, county clerk, a board of election commissioners or state board of elections and will be unable to be present at the polls
• You are serving as a sequestered juror on a state or federal jury only
• You are a member of the United States Armed Forces while on active duty, members of the Merchant Marines, or you are a spouse or dependent of the aforementioned, and expect to be absent from your county of residence on Election Day
• You are a member of a religious group or welfare agency (or are a spouse/dependent of the aforementioned), that is officially attached to or assisting members of the armed forces who expect to be absent from the county where they reside on Election Day
• You are a state or federal employee who had a voting residence in the precinct at the time they entered employment, but who now reside elsewhere due to state or federal employment
• You are a registered citizen temporarily residing overseas

Note: If you are a U.S. citizen who resides outside of the country, and is not registered to vote, you may vote by absentee ballot for federal offices only

Steps to request an absentee ballot:

STEP 1: Obtain the proper application for an absentee ballot, either by mail or in person, from your election authority.

STEP 2: Upon receipt, complete the application. Make certain to include your name, home address, address where you want the ballot to be mailed, and please remember to sign the application.

STEP 3: After completing the application, either mail it or hand-deliver it to your election authority. If you return the application in person or complete the application in the election authority's office, you may immediately vote with your absentee ballot in the election authority's office. If you mail the application and it is properly completed, the election authority will mail your absentee ballot to you.

STEP 4: After receiving your ballot, VOTE THE BALLOT IN SECRET. Insert the ballot into the envelope provided, seal it, complete and sign the certification on the back and PERSONALLY return it or mail it. The absentee voter may authorize, in writing, that a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, or licensed motor carrier, should deliver the completed absentee ballot to the election authority in sufficient time to be delivered to the polling place on Election Day.

You can request an absentee ballot by mail from 40 days prior to the election up till 5 days before the election. You can request an absentee ballot in person 40 days before the election up till 1 day before the election. Please contact specific county officials for absentee ballots sent from outside the United States.

Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot from the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Early voting is available from the 22nd day through the 5th day preceding the election.

The next statewide election will be held Tuesday, February 2, 2010. The registration deadline for this election is Wednesday, January 6, 2010. Please check with your local board of elections office for information on local elections.

In order to be a poll worker in Illinois:

• You must be registered to vote in Illinois
• You must be at least 18 years of age
• Political affiliation required
• Term requirement of 2 years
• You will be entitled to compensation
• You must be a resident of the precinct for the 30 days prior to the election
• You must complete required training
• Students with citizenship who are 17 years old may work with written permission from a parent or guardian and school principal and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0

To sign up, contact your local board of elections.

The polls are open from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Employers must grant employees two hours to vote during their regular working shift. This time off is unpaid unless specified otherwise by the employer.

You can find your polling place by utilizing the following local resources: City of Chicago. Lake County McLean County.

If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your county clerk.

An election judge will issue you a provisional ballot at your polling place if:

• Your name does not appear on the lists of registered voters for the precinct
• Your voting status has been challenged by an election judge, poll watcher or another voter and a majority of election judges agree
• A court order is issued instructing your polling place to remain open after 7:00 pm (if this occurs everyone voting after 7:00 pm must cast a provisional ballot)
• You are required to show identification because you registered by mail, but you did not bring ID to the polling place on Election Day or early voting site. In this instance you must supply the election authority with a copy of acceptable identification by 7:00 pm the Thursday after Election Day.

By law, you must vote in your assigned precinct for all votes on your provisional ballot to count.

Provisional ballots are counted after Election Day. The election authority receives all provisional ballots and determines the registration status for each provisional voter within two weeks after the election. If it is determined that you are registered and eligible to vote, your vote will be counted. If you are not registered, your vote will not be counted, but the information you supplied on the affidavit form will serve as a registration application for the next election.

To find out if your vote was counted, please use your state's provisional ballot tool.

The voting systems used in Illinois are optical scan, DRE and hybrid.

To find out what voting machine is used in your county, please visit your state's resource.

Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen.

There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session.

Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show “pages.” On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a “touch screen,” where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for.

You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures is available here.

Numerous provisions are available to aid voters with disabilities. If you are a disabled voter you may request the opportunity to register at home and have registration materials brought to you. You may also request to register to vote by mail.If you are permanently physically disabled, in a nursing home or in a hospital, you may also be eligible for absentee voting.

The Help America Vote Act requires that election authorities have voting equipment in place for voters with disabilities to vote privately and independently, and Illinois is no exception. Additionally, there are options for a seated voting booth, voting assistance from a friend, relative, or two election judges (one from each party), and curbside voting.

Language assistance is alsoavailable where required under amendments to the Federal Voting Act of 1992.

For more information on the provisions available for disabled voters, please contact your local election authority.

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.

CHANGES DUE TO PA 94-0492
Public Act 94-0492 (effective Jan. 1, 2006) requires public institutions of higher learning to post voter registration application forms on their websites.