The U.S. is the only country to have a system where voters select a body of electors with the sole function of choosing the president.
Thousands of Illinois voters cast ballots in the lead-up to Election Day, but when will those votes be counted now that the big day has finally arrived?
Early voting opened in Illinois on Sept. 26, and polling places were open all the way up until Nov. 4. Voters were also able to cast mail-in ballots, and were allowed to do so until Election Day itself under state law.
With all of those thousands of ballots already cast, many voters are likely curious when the votes will be counted.
According to the Chicago Board of Elections, all early voting ballots and mail-in ballots received by Sunday are cast and processed for counting prior to the time that polls close in Illinois, which is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Even though the ballots have been scanned, the results of those ballots are kept secret until polls close, and according to the Chicago Board of Elections, no employee can view the vote counts until that 7 p.m. hour.
Once that process takes place, the results are released along with the first batch of Election Day ballot counts, according to officials.
Vote-by-mail ballots received after Sunday are not included in the first rounds of ballot counts, according to officials. Those ballots are added to the unofficial count beginning on Thursday, Chicago officials say.
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Voters are also reminded that counts are not made official until the results are certified three weeks from Election Day.
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