Voting by mail has exploded in popularity in Illinois in recent years, and applications are now open to submit ballots in this fashion for the 2024 general election.
Interested voters can find materials to register via the state Board of Elections’ website, or can read on for more information about the process Illinois uses.
Who is eligible to vote by mail?
According to Illinois state law, all registered voters can request mail-in ballots.
How Illinois residents can apply for vote-by-mail ballots
The simplest way to register to vote by mail is to download and print a form off of the State Board of Elections’ website . Voters can find the form they need from the county they reside in, and then will be directed to return those forms to their county clerk's office.
That form can either be sent via the mail or delivered in-person, and voters will have the option to either vote by mail once or to sign up for permanent vote-by-mail status.
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What are the deadlines associated with voting by mail?
According to the State Board of Elections, requests to vote by mail must be received no later than five days prior to the election, which this year falls on Oct. 31.
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Once a voter receives their ballot in the mail, it must be postmarked no later than the day of the election on Nov. 5, or must be dropped into a designated drop box by that date in order to be counted.
Where can mail-in ballots be dropped off?
The primary options for voters will be to either mail the ballot back in via the return envelope enclosed with their ballot, or to drop it in a designated dropbox at their local county clerk’s office.
Not all counties offer dropboxes for those purposes, but voters can check the state Board of Elections’ website to see if their county offers a box to return mail-in ballots.
What can I do if I want to vote in-person instead?
If for whatever reason a voter wants to vote in-person, they can do so, but they have to go through a process to make that happen.
The easiest way is to present a mail-in ballot to an election judge at a polling place or the county clerk’s office. The ballot will be voided, and the voter will be issued a ballot to cast their votes.
If a ballot is lost in the mail, a voter will be asked to sign an affidavit certifying they have not received it, and then will be allowed to cast their ballot in-person.
A reminder from state officials: attempting to vote both via mail and in-person in the same election is considered a felony in the state.
How can I check if a ballot has been received?
Most counties offer websites to check the status of mail-in ballots. According to state officials, if a ballot is rejected, the county must contact a voter within two days to alert them to the reason for rejection.
