CITY VOTE Frequently Asked Questions about Voting From Chicago Board of Election Commissioners Q: Who will be eligible to vote at the Feb. 26 Election? A: All eligible voters in Chicago, including those who need to use Election Day registration to: (1) register for the first time, or (2) file a change of address, or (3) file a name change. To register you must: - be a U.S. citizen, and - be born on or before Feb. 26, 2001, and - live in your precinct at least 30 days before the election, and - not claim the right to vote elsewhere; and - not be in prison/jail serving time for a conviction. Ex-convicts who have completed their sentences and who meet all other requirements listed aboveare eligible to register and vote in Illinois. (Note: Ex-convicts who have been released from prison/jail and who meet all other requirements listed above are eligible to register and vote in Illinois. Ex-convicts who have been released and are on parole/probation ARE eligible to register and vote in Illinois.) Q: I moved recently. Do I vote in my new precinct or my old precinct? A: The answer depends on when you moved and where you moved from. If you moved on or before Jan. 27, 2019 from anywhere to your current Chicago address, vote at the Chicago precinct polling place for your current address. You may register for the first time or update your registration -- and then vote -- at your new precinct polling place on Election Day with two forms of ID, at least one of which shows your current address. If you moved on or after Jan. 28, 2019 from your old Chicago address to your current Chicago address, vote at the precinct polling place for your old address. Then, after Election Day, update your registration ahead of the next election. Q: What offices will be on the ballots on Feb. 26? A: Voters will elect the Mayor, City Clerk, City Treasurer and the Alderman in each of the city’s 50 wards. Q: Will there be write-in candidates? A: Yes. To vote for a write-in candidate on the touch screen, select “Write-In” and a keyboard will appear for you to enter the write-in candidate’s name. On a paper ballot, you may write-in a candidate if there is a write-in space for that office, and then connect the head and tail of the arrow next to the write-in space. Do not write-in candidates whose names already appear on the ballot. Q: Will there be In-Person Early Voting ahead of the Feb. 26 Election? A: Yes. There will be In-Person Early Voting & Registration at the Loop Super Site at 175 W. Washington starting Jan. 29. The Early Voting program then will grow 8 February 20 - 26, 2019
from Feb. 11 through Feb. 25 to include extends 100 feet from the entrance to the the 50 ward sites. polling place. Campaign signs are permitQ: Will there be Vote By Mail ahead ted on polling-place properties so long as they are outside the “campaign-free zone.” of the Feb. 26 Election? Any voter may Vote By Mail by apply- During Early Voting, you may call 312-263ing online or by applying with the mail-in 1394 with questions about signage at Earform. The Board recommends requesting ly Voting sites. On Election Day, you may a Vote By Mail by the first week of Febru- call Election Central at 312-269-7870 with ary to make sure that the voter has enough questions about campaign signs at polling time to receive and return the ballot on or places. You must call 311 with any other quesbefore Election Day Feb. 26. The absolute tions about campaign signs on other public deadline to apply is 5 pm on Feb. 21, but applying that late gives the voter very little properties such as bridges, parks, intersections, etc. time to receive and return the ballot. Q: If I vote in Early Voting and change Q: When do I have to show ID to my mind, can I vote again on Election vote? A: You do not need ID if you are already Day to cancel out my first ballot? A: No. Once a voter casts a ballot, the registered to vote AND your signature matches the one on file AND there are no voter cannot cast another ballot. Attemptquestions about your registration. How- ing to vote more than once in the same ever, there are times when you do need election is a felony. identification, such as registering to vote Q: What is a Provisional Ballot? or updating the name or address on your When are Provisional Ballots counted? registration in person when you go to vote. A: If the judges cannot locate a voter Q: Do I have to declare a political registration record for a person in that preparty in order to vote in the Feb. 26 cinct: Election? - The election judges may perform a A: No. You will receive a ballot based on “citywide search” in the Electronic Poll where you live. Book to try to find if the voter is in the Q: If I make a mistake while voting, wrong precinct and give the voter the correct precinct polling place; or, can I correct it? - The election judges may use the preA: If you have not cast your ballot yet and you notice a mistake in your selection cinct map, precinct outline or poll sheet on the touch screen, go back and touch (paper list of voters), or call the Voter Regthat choice again and then make the selec- istration Department to verify if the voter’s tion that you want. If you make a mistake address is in the correct precinct. on a paper ballot, you must ask the judge Casting a Provisional Ballot in the wrong to spoil that ballot and get a new paper precinct may result in some or all of the ballot. provisional ballot NOT being counted. For Q: Similar to Early Voting, can a voter this reason, voters should go to the correct go on Election Day to any polling place? polling place when directed. Reasons for voting a Provisional Ballot A: No. On Election Day, a voter must vote only at the polling place assigned to include: that voter’s precinct. a) No registration record found in the Q: Will my precinct polling place be precinct; the same as it was in past elections? b) Voter is challenged and the judges A: Whenever possible, the Board tries uphold the challenge; to keep polling places at the same locac) Voter is required to provide ID but tions. However, there may be some polling does not have acceptable ID; place owners who cannot or will not allow d) Voter is listed as having cast a ballot us to use that site again. in early voting or through vote by mail, but Please note: IF YOU MOVED from one voter believes that record is in error; Chicago precinct to another Chicago pree) Voter is casting a ballot during a cinct on or before Jan. 27, 2019, go to the court-ordered extension of hours at a pollprecinct and polling place for you new ad- ing place. dress. At the polling place for your new Provisional ballots are separated from address, you may update your registration others cast on Election Day. address with any two forms of ID, at least After Election Day, Board employees one of which includes your new address. evaluate provisional ballot applications to Q: There are campaign signs on a determine whether the ballot can be republic property. Will the Election Board leased into the count. Also, each provisionremove them? al voter has 7 calendar days after Election A: The Election Board has jurisdiction Day to submit documents to the Election only over signage at polling places that are Board that will show that voter’s eligibiliused on Election Day or during Early Vot- ty to vote in that precinct (photo ID, utility ing, and even then, only in the polling place bills, bank statements, etc.) itself and the “campaign-free zone” that www.chicagodefender.com
Q: Do employers have to give employees time off from work to vote? A: Yes, employees are entitled to two hours off work, if: a) The employee gives the employer notice, prior to election day (the Election Code does not specify what type of notice is required); b) The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent; c) The employer must permit a 2-hour absence during hours if the employee’s working time begins before 7:59 a.m. (within two hours of the open of polls) and the working time ends after 5:01 p.m. (within two hours of the close of polls). No employer shall refuse an employee the privilege of time off from work nor subject the employee to a penalty, including a reduction in compensation due to such an absence from work. Q: If I am suddenly hospitalized shortly before the election, how can I vote? A: A registered voter who is hospitalized not more than 14 days before an election may request a Vote By Mail ballot. (1) This application must be completed by the voter, the voter’s attending physician and the voter’s representative (a relative or another registered voter from the same precinct). (2) The completed application may be submitted in person at 69 W Washington, 8th Floor or by email to votebymail@chicagoelections.net (3) The voter’s representative will be responsible for picking up the ballot at 69 W. Washington, 8th Floor, delivering the ballot to the voter, and also returning the voted ballot to 69 W. Washington, 8th Floor. (4) If the voter’s application form was submitted by email, the ORIGINAL signed and notarized application form must be submitted with the returned ballot by 7 p.m. on Election Day. By law, a Vote By Mail ballot cannot by submitted by email or fax. Q: What are those numbers to the left of the candidates’ names on the ballots? A: The “punch” numbers are a throwback to the days of the punch-card voting system. Candidates still use the punch numbers in campaign signage, mailings and literature to help people remember. The punch numbers also can help voters who may have limited reading skills. Punch numbers are assigned early in the election cycle about a month after petitions are filed. Once the numbers are assigned, in the order that the candidates appear on the ballot, the numbers do not change, even if some of the other candidates withdraw or are removed from the ballot. Visit chicagoelections.com to find your polling place or for more THE CHICAGO DEFENDER