Did you receive an application to vote by mail from the county clerk, even though you didn’t request one?
Don’t worry, you can still cast your vote at your polling place on Election Day if you prefer. Voting by mail in advance of the election, though, is an option that’s available to all eligible voters in Illinois.
Henry County Clerk Barb Link said state law requires her office to send permanent vote-by-mail applications to “all qualified voters,” whether or not they requested the application.
Link posted a news release on the county’s website which quotes Illinois law as saying:
“The Election Authority shall notify all qualified voters, except voters who have applied for permanent vote by mail status or voters who submit a written request to be excluded from the permanent vote by mail status, not more than 90 days nor less than 45 days before a General Election of the option for permanent vote by mail status by sending a permanent vote by mail application.”
The news release said the applications were mailed to qualified voters in Henry County last Thursday.
The vote by mail application form gives voters the option of voting by mail only in the 2024 general election, or of voting by mail permanently. Those who choose permanent vote-by-mail status can ask to receive ballots for both primary and general elections, or for general elections only.
A third option on the application reads, “I wish to be removed from the mailing list for all Vote by Mail options.”
The last day for the county clerk to receive applications by mail from registered voters is Oct. 31.
Link also said the applications for permanent vote-by-mail status are being sent by a firm hired by the county, and the return address on the envelope in which the applications are mailed isn’t in Henry County.
