National Voter Registration Day and Registration Information
Happy National Voter Registration Day! Are you registered to vote? Have you checked your registration status or requested a mail-in ballot if you are not voting in person? Make sure you exercise your constitutional right to vote in this election. In honor of National Voter Registration Day, we have compiled some information to help you register and prepare for Election Day, which is on November 3, 2020.
In Illinois, you can register to vote online at the Illinois State Board of Elections’ website. You can also print out a voter registration form online and mail it in or register in person. In order to register online through Illinois’ online voter registration system, you will need an Illinois driver’s license or state ID and a Social Security number. If you do not have an Illinois-issued ID, you can still register to vote by mail. The deadline to register online is October 18, 2020. If you choose to print out a voter registration form, fill it out, and mail it in, the postmark deadline is October 6, 2020.
The deadline to register in person is November 3, 2020. If you choose to register to vote after the regular voter deadline time of October 6, you can do this at a local election office, a permanent polling place, at early voting sites, at some polling places on election day, and at any other location that is specifically designated for grace-period voting by the Illinois election authority. We encourage you to register as soon as possible, especially if you choose to request an absentee/ mail-in ballot before the election.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot in Illinois is October 29. Once you have received your absentee ballot in the mail, the absolute deadline to return it by mail is a postmark date of November 3. Once again, we recommend that you return your mail-in/absentee ballot as soon as possible!
Are you able to register to vote in Illinois? To register in Illinois, you must:
- -be a citizen of the United States
- -be a resident of Illinois and of your election precinct for at least 30 days before the next election
- -be 17 years old on or before the date of the Primary Election and turn 18 on or before the General Election
- -cannot be serving a sentence of confinement in any penal institution as a result of a conviction of any crime
- -not claim the right to vote anywhere else
Are you not sure if you are registered to vote already? You can check your voter registration status in Illinois here. Even if you are already registered, you will still have to request a mail-in ballot if that is your preferred voting method. Do you want to request a mail-in ballot? Make sure you send in your mail-in ballot application to the county clerk or board of election commissioners with jurisdiction over your voter registration, not the Illinois State Board of Elections. If you are registered to vote in Cook County, you can apply for a mail-in ballot here.
Happy Voter Registration Day from Strellis and Field! We hope to see you all registered and ready to vote for the big election on November 3!
