When Illinois polls open and close for voting on Election Day 2024
Election Day is Tuesday, which means polling places will open for voters to cast their ballot for federal, state, and local offices.
But when do polling locations open and close that day? Here is everything you need to know.
What times do Illinois polls open on Election Day?
The polls will be open on Election Day, Nov. 5, at 6 a.m.
Voters can cast their ballot in person at their local polling place. They should check with their local election authority to see where their specific polling place is located. Voters are only able to cast a ballot at their assigned precinct polling place. If they visit another precinct polling place, they will be asked to vote a provisional ballot.
They can also drop off their completed mail-in ballot at their polling place.
Residents who are 18 years of age or older by Election Day and a resident of Illinois for at least 30 days can also register to vote on Election Day through grace period registration.
In the City of Chicago, residents can vote at their precinct polling place or at one of the 51 vote centers, which also open at 6 a.m. There are 50 ward sites and the downtown Supersite, located at 191 N. Clark. Any voter may vote at any vote center on Election Day, no matter where they live in the city.
What time do Illinois polls close on Election Day?
Polling places in Illinois will close at 7 p.m. on Election Day.
However, anyone in line to vote by 7 p.m. will still be allowed to cast their ballot even if it takes past closing time.
What time will Illinois election results come in?
There is no set time for when election results will come in after the polls close on Election Day.
In past elections, many local election authorities have been able to report some of the early voting results shortly after the polls close at 7 p.m. It then could take several hours for the rest of the results to be tabulated and released to the public.
While the winner of many races might be known on election night, some results in very tight races might not be known until after Election Day. That's because residents choosing to vote by mail have until Election Day to postmark their ballot, so it might take a few days for those ballots to get to the proper election authority and be tabulated.
Also, election authorities have 14 days until after Election Day to determine if votes cast via provisional ballots should be counted or not.
