WHEATON, IL: DuPage
County Clerk’s Office election information mailers are arriving to more than
606,000 registered voters. The mailer includes a permanent Vote-By-Mail
application, polling place location and a reminder that voters may choose to
cast a ballot anywhere on Election Day, Nov. 8th, in DuPage County.
Some changes were made to
Election Day polling places, but the Clerk’s office worked to minimize those
changes for the convenience of voters. DuPage increased the number of Election
Day polling places from 263 to 269.
DuPage is the first county in
Illinois to launch the “Vote Anywhere” option for voters to cast a ballot in
any one of its 269 polling places on 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. So far, nearly
50,000 voters have already signed up for permanent Vote-by-Mail in DuPage
County.
“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.”
Sept. 29th is the
first day of Early Voting at the DuPage Fairgrounds. Starting Oct. 24th,
22 Early Voting sites will open – four more than 2020 and double the number
from 2018. Nov. 8th is Election Day with 269 polling places.