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Attorney General Madigan’s Office Will Monitor General Election on November 8th


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Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Chicago —(ENEWSPF)–November 7, 2016.  Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced today that 191 teams of Assistant Attorneys General and Investigators from her office will be working throughout the state on Tuesday, November 8, to monitor the General Election to ensure that Illinois voters’ rights are protected and polling places are accessible.

Madigan urges voters to contact her office if they encounter suspected improper or illegal activity on election day. Chicago area and northern Illinois voters should call 1-866-536-3496 (TTY 1-800-964-3013). Central and southern Illinois voters should call 1-866-559-6812 (TTY 1-877-844-5461).

Voting by Mail
Attorney General Madigan reminded voters who plan to vote by mail to ensure their mail-in ballot is post-marked by November 8 or delivered to the proper election authorities by 7 p.m. November 8 to be counted in the election. A mailed ballot must be completed, signed and sealed in the certification envelope. Voters who choose to deliver their vote-by-mail ballot in person should deliver completed mail-in ballots to the office of their local or county election authority and not to their home polling place.

Voters who applied to vote by mail but did not receive a ballot can vote in person on election day after signing an affidavit verifying that they did not submit a vote-by-mail ballot. These voters may also be required to show identification.

Election Day Registration & Voting
Voters should be aware that the law allows them to register to vote and cast their ballot at the same time on election day.

Voters registering to vote on election day should be prepared to show two forms of identification. The most common forms of identification include a driver’s license or a utility bill, at least one of which must show your current address.

Under the law, counties with a population of 100,000 or more must provide voters with the option of registering to vote and casting their ballots at the same time in their home polling place on election day. Counties with a population of less than 100,000 which use electronic poll books must also provide voters with the option of registering to vote and casting their ballots at the same time in polling places on election day. Smaller counties that do not maintain electronic poll books must offer election day registration at the county’s main election office or at a polling place in the county’s larger municipalities.

Voters should contact their local election authority if they have questions about where they should go to register and vote on election day.

Basic voting rights:

  • If your registration is active and current, you do not need to show identification to cast your vote. If your registration is not active, there are circumstances in which you are required to show identification in order to vote.
  • If your voter registration is in “inactive” status and your address has changed, in order to vote the same day you may be asked to show identification of your current address.
  • If your voter registration is “canceled,” you will need to re-register and must show two forms of identification. The most common forms of identification include a driver’s license or a utility bill, one of which must show your current address.
  • If a voter cannot read, has trouble understanding English or has a disability, that voter has the right to request assistance from anyone other than his or her employer, an agent of his or her employer, or an officer or agent of his or her union (10 ILCS 5/17-14).
  • Voters have the right to take sample ballots or other information into the voting booth for their own use in casting their ballot. Voters should make sure that such information is not visible to other voters in the polling place.
  • If a voter makes a mistake or “spoils” a paper ballot and the voter has not cast the ballot, the voter has the right to receive a replacement ballot (10 ILCS 5/17-11).
  • Voters have the right to take unpaid time from work to vote, but no more than two successive hours, as long as they have applied with their employer before Election Day. The employer may set the time of day (10 ILCS 5/17-15).
  • Voters have the right to vote if they are in line when the polls close at 7 p.m. or at any other time between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Election Day (10 ILCS 5/17-1).
  • No one is allowed to try to influence a voter within 100 feet of the polling place (10 ILCS 5/17-29).
  • Under Illinois law, it is a crime to prevent a person from voting or registering to vote using intimidation, force, threat or deception (10 ILCS 5/29-4).

More information about the voting process and the status of your voter registration can be found on the Illinois Board of Elections website or through the local election authority or county clerks’ offices.

Source: http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov


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