What To Do With That Mail-In Ballot You Didn’t Mail In

Oh, procrastination! Happens to the best of us. Well, maybe not the best of us, but certainly a lot of us!

If you still have that mail-in ballot sitting in a pile of other papers on your counter, and you are unsure of what is the best course of action at this point…here are your options:

Mail it in.

Sure, you can still mail it in. Illinois is one of a few states that give voters until Election Day to have thier ballots postmarked, as long as it arrives within 2 weeks after Election Day. But hey, things happen with items in the mail, so there are a few better options.

Fill it out and place it in a drop box.

You still have today and tomorrow to fill out your ballot and place it in a county-controlled ballot drop box. Each county has slightly different rules, but you are able to place your completed ballots in a drop box until polls close on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Just make sure to check the hours of operation for the locations of the drop boxes. Some places like libraries, may not be open certain hours or certain days).

Click here for drop box locations.

You can also hand deliver it to the county clerk’s office. Again, check for hours of operation through the link above to the State Board of Election.

Vote in person.

You can just bring your empty or damaged ballot to your polling place and trade it in for an in-person ballot.

If, for some reason, you requested a mail-in ballot but it never arrived, that’s also no problem. Just go vote in person and sign an affidavit saying that you never received your mail-in ballot.

If you have any other questions or concern not covered here, the SBE has a great FAQ that you can read here:

Vote By Mail Frequently Asked Questions (PDF).