Voting by Mail: A Step by Step Guide
This guide is specific to Chicagoans voting in the February 28, 2023 Municipal Election.
Who Can Vote by Mail?
Any registered voter.
How Do I Apply to Vote by Mail?
You can apply online or by mail.
Only one application is processed for each voter. If an additional application is received for a voter, it will not be processed.
If you apply online, you will receive an email when your application is accepted.
Can I Vote by Mail Every Election?
Thanks to a new Illinois law, voters can now join a Permanent Vote By Mail Roster and have their ballots sent directly to their preferred address ahead of every election. As part of the online Vote By Mail application, you will be asked if you want to join this roster and receive your ballot through the mail for all future elections.
When Will I Receive My Mail-In Ballot?
Ballots will start being sent January 19. All Vote By Mail ballots come with postage-paid ballot return envelopes.
How Do I Do It?
Fill in the ballot using a blue or black pen.
Place your completed ballot in the envelope provided.
Seal the envelope and sign your name on the back, where indicated. Your signature will be compared to the signature you provided when you registered to vote.
When and How Should I Return My Ballot?
You have several options.
Drop Boxes
You may return the completed ballot to a Secured Drop Box at any Early Voting location before Election Day.
To guard against voter fraud, staff at the Early Voting site will check to make sure the ballot envelope has been signed. Staff also will remove ballots from each drop box every evening and follow strict chain-of-custody procedures.
You may authorize another person to carry your ballot to an Early Voting site and place it in the drop box. You must do so by filling out the form on the back of the ballot envelope.
One person who has been authorized to deliver completed mail-in ballots may return a maximum of ten ballots.
Postal Service Mail Boxes
You may place your completed mail-in ballot in a USPS mailbox.
The envelope must be postmarked or time-stamped on or before Election Day, February 28. It will be counted as long as it arrives within 14 days of Election Day.
Any mail ballot that is postmarked February 29 or later cannot be counted, by law. If a ballot envelope is placed in a US Postal Service box on or near Election Day, that envelope may be postmarked late and may not be eligible to be counted.
Personal Delivery
You may personally deliver the completed ballot to the Election Board at 69 W. Washington, Sixth Floor.
How Do I Know My Ballot Was Received?
An online tracking number will be issued as soon as the mail-in ballot is sent. You will be notified when the completed ballot is received. You will be contacted by elections officials if there is a problem with the ballot.
What If I Change My Mind?
If you already submitted your mail-in ballot, you cannot retract it.
If you still have your mail-in ballot but don’t want to complete it, you may turn in the ballot at an Early Voting site or in your precinct polling place on Election Day. The mail-in ballot will be voided, and you will be allowed to vote in person on a new ballot.
What If I Don’t Get My Ballot?
If you requested but did not receive a mail-in ballot, you will be allowed to vote at an Early Voting site or on Election Day with a provisional ballot after completing an affidavit stating the ballot was never received or that it was received and lost.
The provisional ballot will be counted as long as the mail-in ballot is not received by the Board of Elections by the March 14 deadline for receipt of mail-in ballots.
What Happens to My Ballot?
Mail-in ballots are reviewed by a panel of three judges. The judges compare the signature on the ballot envelope to the voter’s registration signature to guard against fraud. All three judges must agree on any disparity between signatures to disqualify the ballot.
Mail-in ballots that have been qualified by the judges are scanned. The information from this ballot scanning is stored and consolidated with the election results from the voter’s precinct after the polls close on Election Day.
Mail-in ballots received after Election Day are validated and scanned. This information will be consolidated with the Election Day information to produce the final totals. Final totals are reported 14 days after Election Day.