Equip for Equality Voter Guide
This resource sheet is a guide to voting rights for people with disabilities. Nothing written here shall be understood to be legal advice. For specific legal advice an attorney should be consulted.
For alternate formats, contact Equip for Equality at 800.537.3632, TTY: 800.610.2779.
Important Dates in 2008
Voter Registration
- October 7: Last day to register to vote by Deputy Registrar
- October 8: First day for grace period registration at election authority
- October 21: Last day for grace period registration at election authority
Early Voting
- October 14*: First day of early voting (at locations named by the election authority)
- October 30: Last day of early voting (at locations named by the election authority)
*Some election authorities may begin early voting on October 13th.
Check with your local election authority to find out when early voting will begin in your election district.
Absentee Voting
- September 25: First day to apply for an absentee ballot (in person or by mail)
- October 30: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot by mail
- October 30: First day to submit absentee ballot applications for voters admitted to a hospital, nursing home, or rehabilitation center 5 days or less before Election Day
- November 3: Last day to apply for and vote an absentee ballot in person
- November 3: Last day to mail a voted absentee ballot (ballot must be postmarked by this date to be counted
- November 4: Last day to return voted absentee ballots for voters admitted to a hospital, nursing home, or rehabilitation center 5 days or less before Election Day
- Note: In-person absentee voting at election authority offices or other designated places is available during the 4 days just before an election (October 31-November 3). However, some municipalities, townships, and villages may offer in-person absentee voting during the same or different time periods. Check with your local election authority for details.
- November 4: Presidential General Election (Polling places are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.)
Provisional Voting
- November 6: Last day a person who voted a provisional ballot may provide additional information to the county clerk or board of election commissioners to verify or support his or her registration status
Registration
Who can register to vote?
- Citizens of the U.S. on Election Day
- Who are at least 18 years of age on or before Election Day
- Residents of the precinct at least 30 days as of the day of the next election
You must register to vote if:
- You have never registered before
- You have recently moved or changed your name
- If you move within 28 days of an election but reside in the same precinct you may vote by signing an affidavit
When can you register to vote?
- Voter registration by deputy registrars is open year round except for the 27-day period just prior to an election and during the 2-day period after each election (one day after in Chicago). See: grace period above for in-person registration.
When you register, bring at least two pieces of identification -- with at least one that has your address:
- Driver’s License
- Illinois State ID
- Public assistance ID card
- Social Security card
- Library card
- Employee or student ID card
- Civic, union or professional association membership card
- Recent Utility bill
- Credit card
- Birth certificate
Where can you register to vote?
In Person:
- Equip for Equality offices
- Your local election authority
- County Clerk’s office
- Board of Elections office
- City and village offices
- Township offices
- Precinct Committeemen
- Military recruitment offices
- Some corporations
- Some labor groups
- Some civic groups
- Some public libraries
- Some employers and schools; check with your employer or school to see if they sponsor a voter registration drive or suggest that they do.
When applying for services at the following:
- Driver’s License Facilities
- Department of Healthcare and Family Services offices
- Department of Public Health offices
- Div. of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities offices
- Division of Rehabilitation Services offices
Mail-In Registration
- Illinois State Board of Elections website has forms to download, print and mail in: www.elections.state.il.us.
- Contact your local election authority for details
- A person who registers by mail must vote in person the first time and show identification, unless he or she first provides the proper election authority with sufficient proof of identity that has been verified by the election authority. In that case, the person may vote by absentee ballot.
Voter Rights
- Federal law says that polling places must be accessible to persons with disabilities. But if you want to be sure you can vote on Election Day, it’s best to plan ahead.
- Call the election office in your city or county and tell them where you live and that you have a disability and you need an accessible voting place.
- Curbside voting -- if the building is not accessible, curbside voting should be provided. The election judges bring the ballot out to you. To take advantage of this, you are asked to contact your election authority before Election Day. However, election judges should be prepared to offer curbside voting whenever a voter requests it.
- As a voter, you have a choice to ask anyone you want to assist you at the polls, except for your employer or an officer of a union of which you are a member. (You may bring a friend, family member, teacher, personal attendant, neighbor, etc.)
- You may also ask the election judges for help.
- Two judges must assist you in the voting booth-one Democrat and one Republican.
- You sign a paper that states you have requested assistance, states your disability and whether it is temporary or permanent.
- You can be given instructions on how to vote with a sample ballot without signing the assistance paper.
- The person who assists you is not allowed to try to influence you to vote a certain way.
Voting Resources:
Equip for Equality
Chicago Office Tel: 800.537.2632 TTY: 800.610.2779
Rock Island Office Tel/TTY: 800.758.6869
Springfield Office Tel/TTY: 800.758.0464
Carbondale Office Tel/TTY: 800.758.0559
www.equipforequality.org
Overview of EFE’s voting activities
Help America Vote Act (HAVA) information
Links to other voting sites
On Election Day, November 4, 2008, Equip for Equality will have advocates available by telephone to answer your questions about any voting problem you might experience.
Call: 800.537.2632
Chicago Board of Elections
Tel: 312.269.7976
www.chicagoelections.com
Find out your registration status, where your polling place is located, and the elected officials in your area
Watch a voter instruction video and print multi-language voter information sheets and sample ballots.
Download an absentee ballot application to fill out.
Chicago Council of Lawyers
www.chicagoappleseed.org
Read reviews of federal and state judges.
Cook County Clerk, David Orr
Tel: 312.603.0906 TDD: 312.603.0902
Spanish (Espanol): 312.603.6767
www.voterinfonet.com
Cook County suburban residents: Type in your street address to access a virtual ballot
Locate your polling place
Check an online voter guide to learn more about candidates
Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan
Chicago Tel: 312.814.3000 TTY: 312.814.3374).
Springfield Tel: 217.782.1090 TTY: 217.785.2771.
Carbondale Tel: 618.529.6400/6401 TTY: 618.529.6403
www.ag.state.il.us
Contact the Attorney General if you have encountered discrimination or you suspect improper or illegal activity at the polling place or while registering to vote.
Illinois State Bar Association
Springfield Tel: 217.525.1760, 800.252.8908
Chicago Regional Office Tel: 312.726.8775,
800.678.4009
www.isba.org
Check out how the ISBA rates the qualifications of judges based upon ISBA standards
Illinois State Board of Elections
Chicago Office
Tel: 312.814.6440 TDD: 312.814.6431
Springfield Office
Tel: 217.782.4141 TDD: 217.782.1518
www.elections.state.il.us
Look up contact information for your local election authority
Look up information on how to register and vote
Print voter registration forms
Locate candidate-filing information.
Find election totals
Read about campaign disclosures
League of Women Voters of Illinois
Tel: 312.939.5935
www.lwvil.org
Get information about voting with an absentee ballot
Print a yearly election calendar
Learn about the candidates through forums
Resources/contacts
National Technical Assistance Center for Voting & Cognitive Access
Nancy Ward, Oklahoma Disability Law Center
2915 N Classen Blvd., Suite 350
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
Tel: 405.528.1900
E-mail: nward@thedesk.info
www.govoter.org
Assist people to make voting accessible for citizens with cognitive disabilities and visual disabilities
Equip For Equality, 20 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60602 Tel: 800.537.2632, Fax: 312.341.0295, TTY: 800.610.2779, www.equipforequality.org
Equip For Equality is an independent nonprofit organization. Our mission is to advance the human and civil rights of people with disabilities.
