With the COVID-19 pandemic, voting might look a little different this year. Here’s how to make sure your vote counts.
VOTING IN PERSON
If you decide to vote in person, there are some things to keep in mind. The most important one — remember, there’s no electioneering allowed within 100 feet of polling places. That means you can’t wear a hat or t-shirt with your favorite candidate’s name on it or stand outside with a sign.
It’s also illegal to take a picture of your completed ballot. Take a selfie with your “I Voted” sticker instead.
The only thing required to vote is your signature — no ID is required as long as you’re already registered. If you’re asked for ID, contact your local election authority and let them know.
Poll watchers are allowed in Illinois, but they have to be credentialed through the election authority in advance. And they aren’t allowed to interfere with voters; if they do the election judges can make them leave.
If you’re blind, physically disabled or unable to read or write english, you’re allowed to get help marking your ballot.
And if your polling places is inaccessible, you can vote from your car with curbside voting. This year, you can also request curbside voting if you’re worried about COVID.
Curbside voting should be arranged at least 24 hours in advance, so call your local election authority to see how your county is setting it up.
If you show up to vote and your name isn’t on the books, first check to make sure you’re in the right polling place.
If you are, you can also have the election judges contact the local election authority call your local election office to make sure your name hasn’t been removed for some reason — like, say, you haven’t voted in the past 4 years.
If that happens, you’re in luck. Illinois allows same-day voter registration. You will need two pieces of ID to register to vote. If you don’t have those on you, you can still cast a provisional ballot. Those will only be counted if you complete your registration within seven days.
VOTING BY MAIL
If you’re voting by mail, make sure you follow the instructions on the envelopes — you’ll need to fill out your ballot and put it in the secrecy envelope and fill out the certification sheet. Then put the secrecy envelope and certification sheet both of those in the outer envelope and send it off.
Ballots require 70 cents postage — that’s more than one regular stamp, so make sure you put enough. Ballots can also be dropped off at your local election authority or put in designated dropboxes. If someone else takes your ballot to the election offices for you, they have to complete the authorization form on the outer envelope.
All ballots must be postmarked by November 3rd and arrive at the election authority within 14 days of the election to be counted. Send yours in early to be safe!
If you make a mistake on your mail in ballot — crossing out or erasing isn’t allowed — you can take your spoiled ballot in to your election office and exchange it for a new one.
If your ballot is rejected for some reason, state law requires officials to contact you within 48 hours. The most common reasons ballots are rejected include a signature that doesn’t match the one on your voter registration. If that’s the case, you’ll be given a chance to correct that error.
Ballots can also be rejected if they aren’t sealed properly in the secrecy envelope. If that’s the case, you may be able to cast a new ballot — unless election day has already passed.
Some counties let you track your ballot online. Voters in Champaign, Clinton, Hamilton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, Pike, Randolph, St. Clair, and Williamson counties can track their ballots via their county’s election website. Voters in all other counties can call their local county clerk and see if their ballot has been received and processed.
If all this has made you change your mind about voting by mail, that’s okay! You can still vote in person as long as you take your mail in ballot with you and turn it in to the workers at your polling station.
ELECTION RESULTS
Ballots can’t be counted until election night - but they can be processed before then. Still, election night may be more like election week, with so many more people voting by mail. The Illinois State Board of Elections and local authorities do track how many vote by mail ballots were sent and how many have arrived. So it’s possible to see how many votes could still be outstanding. No matter what, it’s possible vote counts may change, especially in close races.
All vote counts are provisional until certified by the state, a few weeks after the election.
