Illinois

• Official state website
• Secretary of state website
• Absentee Voting Rules Webpage:

Summary

The General Election will take place on November 4, 2008.

To be eligable to vote, one must be:

• A US citizen
• At least 18 years of age by Election Day
• Must have been a resident of the precinct at least 30 days prior to Election Day.
• Not be convicted and in jail
• Not claim the right to vote anywhere else

Registration open year round except during the 27-day period just prior to an election and during the 2-day period after each election. Note that it is 1 day after in Chicago.

You can register to vote either in person at the list of places listed in your registration form or send your application by mail. If you have never registered to vote in the jurisdiction you are now registering in, you must send the application together with a copy of either:

• current and valid photo identification
• current utlity bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows your name and address.

If you do not provide this, you will be required to provide election officials with this information the first time you vote at a polling place or by in-person absentee ballot.

You are given a "Grace Period" Registration which allows an extension up through 14th day of the election for a voter to register to vote, or to update their registration information. Once registered, you can cast a ballot during this "Grace Period" at the election authority's office or at a location specifically designated for this purpose by the election authority, or by mail.

If you are unable to vote on the Election Day, you may apply for the absentee ballot by mail o or in person before the deadlines listed below. You will receive a ballot by mail. Cast your vote and mail it or personally return it to the election authority's office. The mail must be postmarked before the election date.

For armed forces on duty, they may apply for an absentee ballot by fax machine.

Deadlines

• Deadline to register to vote in November 2008 election: October 7, 2008
• "Grace Period" Registration and Voting: October 8-21, 2008
• Early voting period for election: October 14-30, 2008

• Deadline to register for absentee ballot in November 2008 election:By mail- October 2, 2008. In person: October 6, 2008

Voting Equipment
The counties in Illinois use eSLATE, M100, Accuvote, InsightPlus for their in-precinct voting equipment, while Sangamon county used the Digital Paper Ballot System. For accessible equipment, AutoMARK, TSX, Edge2Plus and eSLATE are used. Find out more information on the equipment your county is using here.