Balloting for the Nov. 3 general election kicks off Thursday with the opening of some early-voting polling sites while election officials across the state begin to mail out ballots to some of the more than 1.7 million applicants and brace for an unprecedented surge in both types of voting because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though election officials will begin sending mail-in ballots to approved Illinois applicants, only some polling places will open Thursday, including a few sites in DuPage, Lake, Kane, Kendall, McHenry and Will counties.
Chicago’s in-person early voting operation doesn’t start until Oct. 1 at the Loop Super Site at 191 N. Clark St., before expanding Oct. 14 to locations in each of the city’s 50 wards.
In suburban Cook County, in-person early voting starts Oct. 7 and will expand Oct. 19 to more than 50 sites.
“We will be hard at work continuing to process mail ballot applications as they come in,” Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for the Cook County clerk’s office, said in an email.
As polling places, mail-in ballots and drop boxes become available to citizens, politicians and voting advocacy organizations have been ramping up fundraising and registration efforts. Election rhetoric also has intensified.
The Democratic Party of Illinois unveiled a hotline and webpage last week to help voters navigate how to cast a ballot. Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan issued letters to local election authorities detailing election law changes.
“We know Donald Trump and his Republican enablers are working hard to suppress the vote and even dispute the outcome of the election, so we are working harder to ensure everyone in Illinois can safely cast their ballot,” Madigan said in a Sept. 17 news release.
The Republican Party of Illinois has been encouraging voters to “get out and lock in their votes early with in-person early voting options,” according to Joe Hackler, a state GOP spokesman. “In terms of directly pushing voters to do that, the various campaigns across the state are taking a lead.”
Adding to the difficulty for candidates is how they should allocate resources during the campaign’s closing weeks, said Kent Redfield, emeritus professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Candidates previously tended to focus their resources on voters closer to Election Day to make sure harder-to-reach people get to the polls. The expanded voting window adds a different wrinkle to candidates’ calculations, Redfield said.
“Election Day you want your supporters to get out there early so you can focus on the stragglers in the afternoon,” Redfield said. “And so this takes that dynamic and spreads it out.”
Voters also may have a lot of anxiety associated with ensuring their ballot gets counted this year given publicity about early voting and potential problems with the Postal Service, he added.
“It’s not going to overwhelm the system but you’re going to have a lot more activity than you normally would,” Redfield said. “There’s no question a huge volume is coming.”
Nevertheless, Redfield predicted “extremely high” voter turnout this year.
“There’s just a lot of energy on both sides,” Redfield said.
Here’s everything you need to know about the start of voting in Illinois:
How do I register to vote?
You need to be registered to vote to cast a ballot in Illinois’ general election.
The State Board of Elections has an online voter registration application page you can fill out to register. You also can print and send your form by mail to your local registration office, such as your county clerk, or register in person by going to a clerk or driver’s license facility.
The deadline is Oct. 6 if the form is sent by mail and Oct. 18 for online submissions, although people can still register to vote at an election authority or early voting site before Election Day and at their home precinct on Nov. 3. To do so, voters must provide two forms of identification, including one that includes their current address.
The state board has a registration lookup site to check if you’re registered in Illinois.
How do I cast my ballot early?
Early voting runs from Thursday until Nov. 2. You don’t need to provide a reason for voting early — any registered voter can cast their ballot early in Illinois.
You have a few early voting options: You can cast your ballot at your local election authority or at designated early polling places, you can send your ballot through the mail or you can drop off your ballot at secured drop box locations in your area.
Remember you can only vote once in an election. Knowingly voting more than once in Illinois is a class 3 felony.
If you decide you’d rather vote in person after applying for a mail-in ballot, you’ll need to bring your mail-in ballot to an early voting site or your election precinct polling place and surrender it to an election judge. The election judge should then give you a standard ballot, which you can fill out to vote in person.
State officials have an online database for all Illinois election boards, which voters can use to check their polling places. Be sure to check dates and hours to make sure the polling place is open on the day you hope to vote.
When can I cast my mail-in ballot?
If you plan to vote by mail, you have to apply. Election authorities must receive the application for a mail-in ballot by Oct. 29.
The Postal Service recommended that Illinois voters wanting to cast a ballot by mail submit their applications “at least 15 days before Election Day at a minimum, and preferably long before that time.”
Election authorities will start sending mail-in ballots to approved applicants on Thursday. Once you’ve filled out the ballot, you can return it through the Postal Service or licensed couriers, or bring it to the election board that has jurisdiction over your area, such as the Chicago Board of Elections or the Cook County clerk.
The ballot must be received within 14 days after Election Day. They also must be postmarked by Election Day, meaning any ballot sent through the mail after Nov. 3 will not be counted.
Before casting your ballot by mail, make sure you sign your return envelope and ballot wherever indicated.
Election boards provide various ways for voters to track their ballot. The Chicago Board of Elections will send an email confirming the ballot was received and another when the vote has been counted.
What’s on the ballot?
Candidates for president and vice president of the United States, candidates for U.S. senator and U.S. representative, candidates for state senator and state representative, as well as county state’s attorneys and county court clerks, and judicial candidates. The state board of elections has a rundown of all candidates who have filed.
The ballot also will include a proposed state constitutional amendment on whether to allow a graduated-rate income tax to replace the currently mandated flat-rate tax, retention of judges and, in Chicago there are three referendum questions on expanding internet service, creating a plan for sustainability and the regulation of “assault weapons.”
Could Illinois experience any voting glitches?
Illinois has a robust voting system that is likely to operate in a good way compared with other states in the lead-up to Election Day, Redfield said. Illinois has conducted mail-in and early voting in past elections, which better prepares the state for the likely surge.
Glitches could come in the form of minor delays or discarded ballots if people don’t follow the rules when sending their votes by mail. Chicago election officials said unsigned return envelopes is a common problem.
Illinois has verification processes and controls in place to limit such situations. Any issues with provisional ballots can be resolved during a 14-day period after Election Day.
Redfield said Illinois should remain “pretty cut and dry” this election, but the pandemic complicates things. There might be problems with staffing polling places and longer lines given COVID-19 restrictions, even with dispersed early voting.
“If we were not having a pandemic, we would say, ‘Boy, Election Day is going to run really smoothly,’ ” Redfield said. “But trying to vote under pandemic conditions means it takes longer.”
Links to election resources
Vote-by-mail secure drop-off locations
Chicago Tribune map of vote-by-mail drop-off locations
Chicago residents
Chicago Board of Election Commissioners
– Application to vote by mail
– Find your polling place
Suburban Cook County residents
– Application to vote by mail
– Early voting and polling place sites
DuPage County residents
DuPage County Election Division
– Application to vote by mail
– Early voting and polling place locations
Kane County residents
Kane County clerk
– Application to vote by mail
– Vote-by-mail drop box locations
– Early voting locations
– Election Day polling places
Kendall County residents
County clerk and recorder
– Application to vote by mail
– Vote-by-mail drop box locations
– Early voting locations
– Polling place locations
Lake County residents
– Application to vote by mail
– Early voting locations
– Election Day polling place locations
McHenry County residents
– Application to vote by mail
– Early voting sites and polling locations
Will County residents
– Application to vote by mail
– Early voting locations
– Election Day polling places
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that election officials would begin sending mail-in ballots to all Illinois residents. Mail-in ballots are only sent to approved Illinois applicants.
