Early voting now open to Illinois residents

For or the March 20, 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election, traditional Early Voting will take place March 5-19. Early Voting locations and hours can be found here.

While some calendars suggest that the Early Voting period in Illinois may begin as early as February 8 ballots will not be available by then. We anticipate ballots being available by the start of the “grace period” or February 21 – by which time most challenges seeking to remove candidates from the ballot should have been decided and we have been able to prepare voting equipment.  People hoping to vote Early at the Cook County Clerk’s office between February 21 and March 5 should be able to do so.

Anyone who appears to vote at our downtown location before ballots are ready will be given an application for a mail ballot.

What do you need to Early Vote?

1. Voters do not need to provide an excuse or reason why they cannot vote on Election Day.
2. Government-issued photo ID is not required but is helpful if there is a question about the voter’s registration, address or signature.  Providing an ID can also speed up the process because we have ID card readers at every check-in station.

You can Register to Vote at ALL Early Vote Sites. NOTE: Any voter who needs to register for the first time or file an address change must present two forms of ID, one of which shows the voter’s current address.

Voting equipment

Early Voting is conducted on touch screens that store every ballot style in the county, permitting any voter in suburban Cook to vote at any location.

Ballot secrecy

Your ballot will remain secret and securely stored.

Early Voting records

The names of the early voters are available to the public and are updated each day during Early Voting. Please call (312) 603-0900 for early voting information.

In-person voting only

Voters who participate in Early Voting must vote in person.

Live outside of suburban Cook County?

For voters outside suburban Cook County, please visit your city or county’s website for more information.

• City of Chicago
• DuPage County
• Kane County
• Kendall County
• Lake County
• McHenry County
• Will County
• State Board of Elections