The Will County Clerk's office on Tuesday announced eight locations of secure drop boxes for voters to deposit their completed mail-in ballots ahead of the November election.
Those locations, per the clerk's office, are as follows:
- The Will County Clerk’s Office, 302 N. Chicago St., in downtown Joliet. The drop box will be under camera surveillance outside the building. Voters may drive up and deposit their ballots at any time.
- Fountaindale Public Library, 300 W. Briarcliff Road, Bolingbrook. The box will be located inside the library, which is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
- Naperville 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Dr., Naperville. Located inside the library, which is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
- Plainfield Public Library, 15025 S. Illinois St., Plainfield. Located inside the library, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The library is closed Sunday.
- White Oak Library, 121 E. Eighth St., Lockport. Located inside the library, which is open from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
- Wilmington Public Library, 201 S. Kankakee St., Wilmington. Located inside the library, which is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
- Frankfort Public Library, 21119 S. Pfeiffer Road, Frankfort. Located inside the library, which is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The library is closed Sunday.
- Governor State University, 1 University Parkway, University Park. Located inside the university’s main building, which will be open from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
The drop boxes will be in these locations beginning Sept. 24, the clerk's office said, and will remain there through Election Day on Nov. 3.
The boxes will be emptied on a daily basis by "trained election representatives" and immediately taken to the Will County Clerk's office, officials said.
“The drop boxes offer another way to submit a completed Vote By Mail packet for anyone who has concerns about mail delivery,” Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry said in a statement. “These public places have either evening or weekend hours that provide convenient drop off times for voters. Locating boxes inside our local public libraries or our universities also will increase security surrounding our ballots.”
Staley Ferry noted that voters should not attempt to leave ballots with election officials at early voting locations or with election judges at polling places on Election Day.
Chicago Politics
The clerk's office announced the ballot drop boxes in anticipation of record-breaking mail voting as the coronavirus pandemic continues nationwide, and as controversy swirls over changes at the U.S. Postal Service that have caused major delays ahead of the election and prompted U.S.P.S. officials to warn several states that some ballots may not be delivered in time to be counted.
