Early voting was expanded Monday to all 50 Chicago wards for the upcoming primary election.
Early voting for the March 17 primary election is now open at the Chicago Board of Elections office, located at 69 W. Washington St. on the 6th floor, and at the new Chicago Board of Elections supersite, 137 S. State St., in addition to sites in each ward.
“Any voter registered to vote, and any Chicago resident who is a U.S. citizen and would like to register to vote, can now vote early, and get a head start on their civic duty,” Marisel Hernandez, chairwoman of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, said during a news conference on Feb. 12.
Locally, early voting is available at the Clearing Library, 6423 W. 63rd Place, Archer Heights Library, 5055 S. Archer Ave., Brighton Park Community Campus, 4830 S. Western Ave., St. Faustina Parish, 5157 S. McVicker Ave.
Early voting will run through Election Day.
On Election Day, voters can vote at any of the 50 ward early voting sites, the new downtown supersite — with more than 80 voting machines — or at their assigned precinct polling place.
More than 6,000 people have applied to be election judges for Election Day, with more than 1,300 high school students already assigned, according to Hernandez. The board is still seeking poll workers for Election Day. Election judges make up to $230 for the day.
Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon has also issued a warning for anyone planning to vote by mail.
Gordon said voters should take extra precautions following a recent United States Postal Service policy change that could affect whether mail ballots can be counted.
Effective January 1, the postal service implemented a nationwide change to how it defines a postmark. Under the new policy, a postmark no longer reflects the date a ballot is received by USPS. Instead, it reflects the date the mail is processed, an event that can occur days after a ballot is dropped in the mail.
In Illinois, vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received within 14 days to be counted. Because of the postmark change, voters who mail their ballot on or even several days before Election Day could still see their ballot postmarked too late and therefore rejected, despite having done everything correctly.
“While this change has been described as minor, its potential impact on elections is anything but,” said Gordon. “Under this new rule, voters who mail their ballot on time could still see their ballot postmarked late and not counted through no fault of their own.”
To help ensure that all mail ballots are counted, the Clerk’s Office is urging voters to take the following steps:
- Do not wait until the final days – or Election Day – to mail your ballot.
- If possible, bring your ballot directly to a local post office as far in advance as possible and request a postmark to help ensure timely processing.
- Beginning March 2, when Early Voting begins, voters may drop their mail ballots at any of the 55 secure mail ballot drop box locations that will be available throughout suburban Cook County.
For more information about vote-by-mail options and drop box locations, voters are encouraged to visit www.cookcountyclerk.com/elections.