WHEATON, IL: DuPage
County Clerk’s Office election information mailers are arriving to more than
636,000 registered voters. The mailer includes a permanent Vote-By-Mail
application, new district information, polling place location and a reminder
that for the first time, voters may choose to cast a ballot anywhere on
Election Day in DuPage County.
As part of the recent
decennial redistricting, voters may notice new district numbers due to the
changes in Congressional and State Legislative districts made by the Illinois
General Assembly, as well as potentially new County Board and Forest Preserve
districts. Some changes were made to Election Day polling places, but the
Clerk’s office worked to minimize those changes for the convenience of voters.
No precinct number changes were made in DuPage County.
DuPage is the first county in
Illinois to launch the “Vote Anywhere” option for voters to cast a ballot in
any one of its 263 polling places, instead of limiting the choice to a voter’s
precinct polling place or a single vote center.
“Now voters may cast their
ballot conveniently at a polling place near their job or school, instead of
rushing to or from their home precinct,” County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek says.
“Best of all, DuPage voters will no longer be turned away on Election Day for
being in the wrong polling place in the county.”
The permanent Vote-By-Mail
application allows voters to receive a mail-in ballot for every election. Until
now, voters preferring mail-in ballots had to apply one election at a time.
2022 is the first year permanent Vote-By-Mail is available in Illinois, after
the Illinois General Assembly passed it into law last year. Mail voting was
expanded in Illinois in 2020 in response to COVID-19 so that voters could
safely vote at home.
“Permanent Vote-By-Mail
increases voting choices. Nothing else is taken away,” County Clerk Kaczmarek
says. “Voters may still vote in person on Election Day or during Early Voting.
Also, voters may continue to choose a one-time-only mail ballot.”
DuPage voters preferring to
sign up for permanent Vote-By-Mail or a single one-time-only mail ballot are
urged to do so on the County Clerk’s Elections website: https://www.dupagecounty.gov/Election/VoteByMail/
This mailer also serves as a
voter verification. State and federal laws require election authorities to
complete regular voter registration verifications to keep the database current
by eliminating voters who have passed away or moved.
If a mailer is delivered to
an individual who no longer lives at the address, residents are encouraged to
mark “RETURN TO SENDER” or “DECEASED” on the mailer and drop it back in the
mail. No additional postage is required. If a forwarding address is known for
the individual who has moved, please include the new address on the mailer.
“I urge voters to look at the
mailer and verify that the information is correct,” County Clerk Kaczmarek
added. “I am also requesting assistance from the public to please notify our
office of voters in a household who have moved or are deceased.”
May 19th is the first day of
Early Voting at the DuPage Fairgrounds. Starting June 13th, 22 Early Voting
sites will open – four more than 2020 and double the number from 2018. June
28th is Primary Election Day with 263 polling places.