The voting polls for early voters opened on Thursday, Sept. 27 for the gubernatorial elections.

All Chicagoan citizens who are registered to vote can cast their ballots early at any of the early voting locations.

Any Chicagoan who is not registered to vote can register online, mail, in-person at an early-voting location, at the Secretary of State’s office (while getting a new ID) or at their ward’s polling place on the day of the election.

In order to be eligible to vote in Illinois, there are five requirements: must be a United States citizen, must be 18-years-old on or before the general election, live in the location where the election is being held for at least 30 days before the election day, must not be currently incarcerated and may not vote anywhere else.

To register to vote online, visit https://ova.elections.il.gov/ and fill out the Illinois online voter registration application. The application is free, and the deadline is 11:50 p.m. on Oct. 21.

To register for vote through the mail, download “FORM 275 Rv. 03/18” from the Chicago Election website or by searching the form in a search engine. Fill out the form and mail it to the Board of Election Commissioners at 69 W. Washington St. STE 600, Chicago, Illinois 60602-3012. The letter will need a stamp and the deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 9.

To register to vote at an early voting location or at your ward’s designated polling place on the day of the election (Nov. 6), two forms of identification will be needed. One of the two forms of identification must show current residence address.

For more information on the requirements of registering to vote, please visit: https://www.elections.il.gov and view the information under the “voter information” section.

NEIU’s El Centro campus (3390 N. Avondale) will be open the following hours for early voting hours:

•      Mon, Oct. 22 through Sat, Oct. 27: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
•      Sun, Oct. 28: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
•      Mon, Oct. 29 through Fri, Nov. 2: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
•      Sat, Nov. 3: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
•      Sun, Nov. 4: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
•      Mon, Nov. 5: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

From Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, NEIU’s main campus, along with Chicago State, UIC and University of Chicago Reynolds Club, will open to early voting from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All voters are allowed to bring in notes into the polling booths on candidates, referendums, etc. The State Board of Elections website offers a 2019 Candidate Guide to help voters learn more about what to expect on the ballots. It’s available as a free, downloadable PDF.