Press Release

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Chicago - The Chicago Election Board salutes the life and service of long-time Secretary/Commissioner Richard A. Cowen.

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.

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.

Chicago Election Board officials opened their new annex, the Loop Super Site for Early Voting and Registration, at 15 W. Washington St., a location designed to handle three times as many voters downtown, particularly during peak periods in the last days before Election Day.

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.

The Chicago Election Board hosted a mini-expo of voting equipment vendors to demonstrate some of the newer balloting and tabulation technologies that have emerged since the city and county acquired voting equipment in 2005.