Early voting for the March 17 primary election expands in McHenry County Monday.
Voters can go to any of the early voting locations in McHenry County no matter where in the county they live, county officials said in a news release.
Seven of the early voting locations will have voting until 7 p.m. March 16, the day before the election, officials said.
Voters have until March 12 to request a vote-by-mail ballot, which they can do on the clerk’s website. The deadline is set by state statute, McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio previously said.
Trio has urged voters to request election materials early and turn them in early because of new postmark changes that mean mail might not get postmarked the day the US Postal Service receives it.
Tirio has also encouraged voters to drop their vote-by-mail ballots in the post at least 10 days before Election Day to allow for ample time for the ballot to arrive. Ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within 14 days after that to count.
Voters can ask for a manual postmark, free of charge, at the post office counter, officials said.
People who want to bypass the post office can also stick it in a dropbox. A 24/7 dropbox is located at the McHenry County Administration Building, 667 Ware Road in Woodstock. Six of the early voting locations also have dropboxes during voting hours.
Voters with a mail ballot who change their mind can also bring their ballot to the poll and surrender it and vote in-person.
A full list of early voting locations with hours and dropbox availability is available on the clerk’s website, mchenrycountyil.gov/departments/county-clerk. People can check their mail ballot’s status on the clerk’s website as well. A sample ballot and Election Day polling place finder are available online.
People can also call the clerk’s office at 815-334-4242 to find their voting places.
The McHenry County Election Center, 410 S. Eastwood Drive in Woodstock is also a universal polling place on Election Day.
People who are not registered to vote or who have changed their address since the last election can register to vote in-person at the polls. Those signing up need to bring two forms of identification with them, one of which has their current address.
Some valid forms of ID include a driver’s license, social security card, utility bill, student or employee ID, residence lease or contract, credit card, civic, union or professional membership card or Firearm Owner’s Identification card, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections website.