Voter Registration

Chicago - Election Board must receive online or mailed-in applications by March 10 in order for those voters to be eligible to vote in person on Election Day in their precinct polling place. Those already registered at their current addresses need not act. If voters need to register or update their records after March 10, voters may use Grace Period registration.

Chicago - Early Voting in advance of the April 7 Supplementary (Run-Off) Elections opens at 51 Chicago sites. Each will offer voter-registration services.

Chicago - In celebration of National Voter Registration Day, Chicago Election Board officials discussed various initiatives that will help engage more young voters in advance of the 2016 elections, including on-line registration, election-day registration, a mobile platform for web services, ongoing leadership in the hiring of young poll workers, and civics education.

Chicago - Voters have until 11:59 p.m. on Tues., Feb. 16 to use online or mail-in registration systems to be eligible to cast a ballot in the March Primary. The Board also will be open through midnight to accept any registrations. After Feb. 16, voters must use in-person registration, which requires voting during that same visit after presenting two forms of ID, at least one of which shows the voter's current address. In-person registration will continue throughout Early Voting. Any voter who waits until Election Day (March 15) must go to the polling place assigned to that voter's home precinct to use in-person registration.

Chicago - For those who missed the chance to register online or by mail, voter registration is available in-person through Election Day, but with two important differences: you must be ready to vote during the same visit, and you must present two forms of ID, one of which shows your current address. Services available at Election Board Feb. 17-Feb. 28, then at various Early Voting sites from Feb. 29-March 14, then on Election Day only at the polling place assigned to your home precinct.

A private organization called the Voter Participation Center (VPC) is sending millions of letters to prospective voters throughout the United States, but some recipients are not eligible because they are too young or not yet citizens. Still other recipients are already registered to vote. And in some cases, recipients have reported the solicitations were addressed to their deceased relatives. While some recipients need to register and will find these forms helpful, voters who are unsure whether they already are registered are advised to check their registration status online here.

View press packet materials from the pre-election media briefing here.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tues., Feb. 28 but only for voters in Chicago's 4th Ward to elect the Alderman of that ward for the remaining two years of the 2015-2019 term. If one of the five candidates on the ballot receives more than half the votes on Feb. 28, that candidate will be elected. If no candidate receives more than half the votes, a run-off between the two candidates who receive the most votes on Feb. 28 will be conducted on April 4. This election is required because the previous alderman resigned in early 2016, less than a year into the current four-year term.