By Michael McDevitt and Elvir Mujkanovic
If you had a wake-up moment and realized you forgot to register to vote for the upcoming midterm elections, you may not be out of luck just yet. Illinois is a state with a grace period and same-day registration — meaning you can register in-person, by mail or online up until, and on, the day of the election.
Election Day is Nov. 6, and in-person voter registration, available at select locations, runs through Election Day for Illinois residents. Online voter registration is still available, and ends Oct. 21.
Any US citizen 18 or older (or any 17-year-old who turns 18 on or before election day) can register to vote. Anyone who wishes to register to vote for the first time or during the grace period must show two forms of identification that show the prospective voter’s current address.
Chicago residents must have lived at their current address for 30 days before the election to register to vote there.
If you can’t make it to the polls on Election Day, but you’re registered, early voting is also going on. You can register in-person and vote early up until Nov. 5 at designated sites across the city. You can also apply to vote by mail and that vote will count as long as it reaches your polling place by Nov. 6. Voters don’t need an excuse to vote early or to vote by mail.
Early votes are final and cannot be changed. The application deadline to vote by mail is Nov. 1.
You can find your precinct polling place, where you’ll cast your vote on Election Day, here.
Beginning Sept. 21, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners began providing military personnel and oversea voters with mailed ballots, e-mailed ballots, and an online ballot access and market system that serves the purpose of allowing out-of-nation citizens to be eligible to vote for the Nov. 6 election.
For an absentee or out-of-state voter, you will need a valid Federal Post Card Application on file with the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. After completing the process, the voter may print out, fill out, and mail the ballot.
You can find more information here, at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners’ website.
