Vote Anywhere among several changes on Election Day in DuPage County

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 said in a news release. “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,” Kaczmarek said. “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,” Kaczmarek said. “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 19 is the first day of early voting at the DuPage Fairgrounds. Starting June 13, 22 early voting sites will open – four more than 2020 and double the number from 2018. June 28 is Primary Election Day with 263 polling places.