You can vote now in the Illinois primary. Here’s how you can cast your ballot
The March 17 Illinois primary is still more than a month away, but beginning Thursday, Feb. 6 citizens can cast their ballots as part of the early voting period.
Voters will decide a political party’s nominee for the fall election on Nov. 3.
The offices on the primary ballot include president, U.S. senator, U.S. representative, state senator, state representative, supreme court, appellate court and county offices such as county board chairman, state’s attorney, coroner and county board members.
Also, residents in O’Fallon, Alorton, Centreville and Caseyville can vote on referendums.
St. Clair County Clerk Tom Holbrook said the early voting and mail-in ballot options are becoming popular with voters.
“I look for a very large turnout,” Holbrook said, since this is a presidential year. Nearly a third of the ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election in St. Clair County were part of the early voting or vote by mail options, Holbrook said.
So with the primary on the horizon, here’s a Q&A on what you need to know about voting:
When is early voting?
Why wait until March 17? Early voting runs from Feb. 6 to March 16.
In St. Clair County, you can go to the county clerk’s office on the second floor of the St. Clair County Building at 10 Public Square to cast a ballot from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Other locations in the county will be open for early voting on Feb. 29 and in March.
Along with the the clerk’s office, you can vote early at The Rec Complex at 9950 Bunkum Road in Fairview Heights and the O’Fallon Township at 801 E. State St. The weekday hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 2-6; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 9-13 and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 16. The weekend hours will be 9 a.m. to noon March 7; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 8; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 14; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 15.
Temporary early voting sites also will be at the following places from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 29: Centreville Township, 4831 Bond Ave, Alorton; Midway Fire Department, 200 N. 74th St., Centreville; Whiteside Middle School, 111 Warrior Way, Belleville; and High Mount School, 1721 Boul Ave., Swansea. For more information, go to the county clerk’s page at www.countyclerk.co.st-clair.il.us or call 618-277-6600, Ext. 2366.
Madison County also will offer various locations for early voting. Go to the Madison County clerk’s page at www.co.madison.il.us or call 618-692-6290.
Where can I find information about candidates?
The Belleville News-Democrat has invited candidates in contested primary races to fill out a questionnaire about why they are running for office.
Several candidates have already returned the questionnaires and you can find them at bnd.com.
You can see a sample ballot via the county’s website. Also, Holbrook said he expects to have a copy of the sample ballot inserted into the print edition BND at a future date.
What’s the deadline to register to vote for the March 17 primary?
The last day to register to vote is Feb. 18 but if you miss that deadline, there’s still a chance for you to vote as part of “grace period voting.”
What is grace period voting?
Under the grace period voting rules, you can register to vote from Feb. 19 to March 16, but you must vote at the time you register. You also can do same-day registration on March 17 at your polling place.
To register to vote, you must have two forms of identification and one must have your current name and address.
Can I vote from home?
Yes, you can vote from the comfort of your home if you mail in your ballot.
March 9 is the last day to apply for a vote by mail application for military members and March 12 is the deadline for civilians.
Do I have to declare a political party to vote?
Yes, you need to choose a party ballot to vote for candidates in the primary. However, you don’t have to do this if you only want to vote on a referendum. O’Fallon residents will be asked whether recreational marijuana sales should be allowed in the city and Alorton and Centreville residents will be asked to vote on whether the two communities should be merged into a town called Alcentra. Caseyville residents will consider a proposal to raise the fire protection tax.
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
