2018 Illinois Midterm Elections

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local News

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local News

By: Ashmar Mandou

Election Day in Illinois is days away and here is what you need to know to help prepare for the big day.

Candidates
There are many candidates to look out for and to view the complete list along with their policies, head over to www.chicagoelections.com

Open Polls
Polls open at 6 a.m. statewide, and will stay open through 7 p.m. But remember – if you are in line when polls close, you can still vote. So if you’re rushing to your polling place at the last minute, don’t worry if you see a line – and don’t let anyone try to dissuade you from casting your ballot. 

Early Voting
If you want to avoid the rush and cast your ballot before Election Day, you have plenty of options. There are several early voting sites across Chicago, suburban Cook County and the area’s suburban counties.  With the exception of Will County, if your county offers multiple early voting locations, you can pick whichever one is most convenient for you. To view the voting sites, visit www.chicagoelections.com

ID
While a government-issued photo ID is not required to vote under Illinois law, it can be helpful to bring one should any questions about registration, address, signature, or more arise during the voting process. It’s important to remember: you legally do not need any form of identification to cast your vote in Illinois, unless you are registering for the first time or changing your registration. 

Problems
If you run into any issues at all, or even have questions about the process, you are encouraged to call the Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (English only), 888-VE-Y-VOTA (English/Spanish) and 888-API-VOTE (English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and Tagalog). The hotline is run by a nonpartisan coalition of more than 100 organizations, led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. 

Comments are closed.