CHICAGO (AP) — As voters are beginning to cast their ballots by mail for the Nov. 4 election for governor, U.S. Senate, Congress and state legislative seats, regular voter registration in Illinois draws to a close Tuesday. But other types of registration have been extended under a new state law passed by the Democrat-controlled Legislature last spring. Here are a few things to know about the upcoming election:
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TYPES OF REGISTRATION
Illinois residents who have a driver’s license or state ID can register online through the State Board of Elections website through Tuesday.
Starting Wednesday, voters have a chance to participate in “grace period” registration which runs through election day. Residents must present two forms of identification to election officials in person at county clerk’s offices or at designated “grace period” voting sites. One of these forms must include a current address. People using grace period registration must cast their ballot during the same visit.
Voters can also request absentee ballots through Nov. 3.
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WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?
In addition to heading to the polls on election day, voters can cast absentee ballots by mail through the election. They can also take part in early voting beginning Oct. 20 through Nov. 2, at sites determined by county clerks’ offices around the state. Rupert Borgsmiller, Director of the Illinois State Board of Elections, says 264,181 of 3.8 million voters in the November 2010 general election used absentee ballots. Another 380,883 residents took advantage of early voting.
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WHERE DO I VOTE?
The Illinois State Board of Elections features an online database on its website that helps voters find their assigned polling places. Early voting locations include libraries, village halls and community centers throughout the state, and are listed by county clerks’ offices.
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WHAT’S DIFFERENT THIS YEAR?
The Legislature passed a law late in the spring session to extend early and grace-period voting for the 2014 election only. The deadlines for those options in years past have been the weekend before the election. Republicans say the law is an example of maneuvering to get more Democratic voters to the polls. But Democrats say they’re encouraging early voting following abysmal primary turnout.
Borgsmiller — who notes about 50 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the 2010 governor’s race — says he’s uncertain of how much of an uptick in votes the changes will cause.
“The only way we’ll know is by the final numbers when we put this together after the election is over with,” he said.
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TURNOUT EFFORTS
Both parties are working hard to get their respective bases to turn out and vote early this election to leave nothing to chance, particularly in the expectedly tight governor’s race between Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican Bruce Rauner. First lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to hold a Tuesday rally for Quinn at the University of Illinois at Chicago to encourage supporters of Quinn to cast their ballots early this year. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says Illinois Democrats’ coordinated campaign is working to get “falloff” voters who vote in presidential, but not off year elections to go to the polls, noting it’s “a lot easier (to vote) in Illinois than it used to be.”
The Illinois Republican Party says it’s countering Democrats’ “DC fly-ins with proven Republican winners like Congressmen Peter Roskam and Aaron Schock, not to mention Sen. Mark Kirk and former Gov. Jim Edgar, and turnout in competitive Congressional races throughout the state that are suffering from Quinn’s drag on the ticket.”
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Online: www.elections.illinois.gov
