Make sure you are registered to vote
In this year’s Nov. 4 General Election, public employees face the most serious attack to date on their unions, their standard of living, quality of life and retirement security. That’s why making sure to get everyone you know – co-workers, friends, family – registered to vote is so important this year.
While in many states the enemies of unions and public workers have done everything they can to make it harder to vote, in Illinois we have a very open system that allows early voting, no-questions-asked absentee voting and broadly available voter registration, even on Election Day, though that’s not the easiest way to do it.
So join the fight for high-quality public services and respect for the people who provide them: Make sure you are registered – if you move, you have to re-register – and then look for people who haven’t registered yet and urge them to jump in.
To register or update your registration using the NEW Online Registration Tool you need:
- Your Illinois Driver’s License number or Illinois Secretary of State issued State ID number.
- Date the license or ID was issued (printed on your DL).
- The last four digits of your Social Security number.
- Your birth date.
If you don’t have a driver’s license or state ID, you can register by going here.
Early voting starts on Oct. 1 at select locations around the state. Anyone can vote early with the proper ID or proof of residence at an early voting site. Check here to find a location near you.
Here are some key dates for the election:
Oct. 7 — Last day for registration or transfer of registration within the offices of the election authority.
Oct. 8 — First day for grace period registration and grace period voting in the office of the election authority or at a location designated for this purpose by the election authority. Grace period voting may be done by mail at the discretion of the election authority (begins at the close of registration and continues until 7:00 PM on Election Day).
Oct. 20 — First day for early voting at the office of the election authority or at a location designated by the election authority for this purpose (begins 15th day preceding election and extends through the 2nd day prior to an election).
Nov. 2 — Last day for early voting in the office of the election authority and at locations designated by the election authority.
Nov. 4 — Election Day
Here are the websites you can use to get more information:
Illinois Online Voter Registration