Voting by mail is safe and legal in Illinois, and you don’t need a reason to participate
Voting by mail is strongly encouraged by the state of Illinois for county residents concerned about coronavirus.
Prior to this state mandate, St. Clair County has never sent out vote by mail applications unless requested by the voter.
With coronavirus a continuing concern as the 2020 general election approaches, I encourage voters to consider voting by mail as a safe, secure and convenient option to in-person voting.
On General Election Day, Nov. 3, all 190 regular polling places are planning to be open for voting from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. We will be following Public Health guidelines, so please plan on socially distancing and wearing a mask at any polling place.
As in past federal elections, St. Clair County will have in-person early voting at the Courthouse beginning Sept. 24, during normal business hours.
Beginning Oct. 19, the Courthouse site as well as sites in O’Fallon and Fairview Heights, will begin in-person voting 7 days a week, which will continue through Nov. 2.
The Illinois General Assembly this year passed an election bill that provides many safeguards against the spread of coronavirus in the voting process for the Nov. 3 general election. Chief among them are provisions to increase voting by mail throughout the state.
The state of Illinois discontinued absentee voting almost a decade ago and replaced it with today’s vote-by-mail system where you DO NOT need a reason to vote by mail before the election.
Vote by mail is a safe and legal process. No person should have to put themselves, their family, co-workers or their community’s health in jeopardy to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
In St. Clair County the special vote-by-mail provisions for the 2020 general election are:
All registered voters will receive a vote by mail application, with a postage paid return envelope within the next few weeks.
Those who registered to vote or updated their registration between March 18 and July 31 will be mailed an application for vote-by-mail ballot
The state’s online voter registration site allows users to request a mail ballot when they register.
Anyone can register to vote or request an application for a ballot on our website: www.countyclerk.co.st-clair.il.us.
Ballots will be mailed to applicants beginning Sept. 24, which is also the first day of early voting. The deadline for applying for a mail ballot is 5 p.m. on Oct. 29. After Oct. 29, voters can still receive a mail ballot by applying in person at the County Clerk’s Office, St. Clair County Courthouse, #10 Public Square, 2nd Floor, Belleville, IL 62220. Ballots must be postmarked no later than Nov. 3 to be accepted, and properly postmarked ballots will be accepted through Nov. 17.
The protocol for vote by mail ballots has in the past, and will continue to be open and fair to assure full bi-partisan verification of ballots.
St. Clair County has a tracking system for voters to check the status of their applications and/or ballots on our website: www.countyclerk.co.st-clair.il.us.
If you have any questions please contact us at 618-825-2366 or email to: elections@co.st-clair.il.us.