5 things to know about Election Day voting in the Sauk Valley

DIXON – Election Day is upon us; here are five things to know about voting in the Sauk Valley on Nov. 5 based on information from the Illinois State Board of Elections website:

1. Where and when can I vote in person?

There are dozens of polling locations for registered voters throughout Whiteside and Lee counties. To find the location nearest you, visit the Illinois State Board of Election’s website at elections.il.gov and select “Polling Place Locator.” Polls in Illinois are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5.

2: How do I return my mail-in ballot after I get it?

You can mail it, deliver it in person to the office of your local election authority or, in many election jurisdictions, drop it in a secure drop box. About half of Illinois election jurisdictions offer the drop box option. Check the State Board of Elections website for an online list of drop box locations. Ballots sent through the U.S. Postal Service must be postmarked on or before Nov. 5 for the General Election. They must arrive at the office of the local election authority by Nov. 19 for the General Election to be counted. Voters can deposit ballots into a secure drop box, where available, until the close of polls at 7 p.m. on Election Day.

3: Can I drop off my mail ballot at my polling place or an early voting location?

No. Completed mail ballots cannot be accepted at polling places or early voting locations, according to the ISBE. Voters attempting to do so will be offered the option of surrendering their mail ballot and voting in person instead.

4: What if I requested a mail ballot but decide I’d rather vote in person?

If you have already received your mail ballot, take it with you to an early voting site or your polling place on Election Day and surrender it to an election judge. Your mail ballot will be voided, and you will receive a regular ballot. If you have not yet received your mail ballot, you will be asked to sign an affidavit certifying you have not received your ballot. You will then be issued a regular ballot. If you received your mail ballot but lost it, you may sign an affidavit certifying you have not yet voted in this election. You will then be issued a provisional ballot. If your mail ballot arrives after you have voted but on or before Election Day, you must discard the mail ballot. Do not attempt to vote your mail ballot after you have voted in person. Doing so is a Class 3 felony. Because voting systems will not allow more than one vote per voter, your mail ballot will be rejected, according to ISBE.

5. If I haven’t registered, can I still vote?

If you’re not registered to vote, you may sign up on Election Day. You can bring two forms of ID, such as a driver’s license, utility bill, lease or passport. One of the forms of ID needs to have your current address. You can also update your registration at the polls.

Lee County: Individuals who have not properly registered prior to the close of registration (Oct. 8, 2024) and wish to vote in the Nov. 5 election may register to vote and cast a ballot during grace period voting, which includes Election Day. The person must be a U.S. citizen, must be 18 years of age by Nov. 5, 2024, must claim Lee County as their permanent residence. must have resided within their precinct for 30 days preceding the election, and must display a current state-issued photo ID or two other legal forms of identification verifying their name and current address within Lee County. Grace period voting on Nov. 5 will be at the Old Lee County Courthouse, first floor, Election Department from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 5, according to the Lee County Clerk’s website.

Whiteside County: If you missed the deadline to get registered for this election, you can register and are required to vote the same day in the Whiteside County Clerk’s Office, 200 E. Knox St,. Morrison. Grace period voting requires you bring with you two forms of ID, one that has your current name and address on it. These could include a driver’s license, pieces of mail, insurance card, checkbook, etc.

When will the results be in?

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 General Election saw a record number of ballots cast by mail, accounting for roughly one-third of all votes. Of the 6,098,729 ballots cast statewide four years ago, 2,037,106 were mail-in ballots.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections website, in every election, some properly postmarked mail ballots arrive after Election Day and cause the unofficial totals reported on election night to change. Election authorities in Illinois are allowed to process vote-by-mail ballots as they receive them, but they can’t tabulate any totals until polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. The same rule applies to in-person ballots cast during early voting. On election night, voters will likely see the counts for all vote-by-mail ballots that were received and processed before Election Day. But Illinois allows two weeks after Election Day for properly postmarked mail ballots to arrive and be counted, so those figures may change.

If 1 million voters request vote-by-mail ballots and 750,000 returned their ballots before Election Day, the unofficial election night results could change by 250,000 votes as local election authorities receive and process properly postmarked ballots through two weeks after Election Day. Conversely, if only 500,000 ballots have been processed before election day, the statewide vote total could change by 500,000 votes in the two weeks after Election Day.

The State Board of Elections will post throughout this period the number of unreturned mail ballots reported by election authorities statewide so that voters can see the potential for vote totals to change. These updates, which can be checked at the ISBE website, also will be broken down by individual election jurisdiction so voters can see the potential impact on local races, according to the ISBE.