Voter Registration

Under a new law signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday, Illinois became the tenth state with Automatic Voter Registration (AVR). Now, applications from US citizens for standard state driver’s licenses and state ID cards will double as applications to register to vote for the first time or update their addresses if the applicants have moved.

It's National Voter Registration Day, and the Chicago Election Board is reminding all voters that there is no "'Automatic' voter registration" just yet. Check your voter status online, and if you need to update your registration, you may do so online, with a mail-in form or in person at our offices. Although "automatic voter registration" was recently signed into law, key Illinois agencies do not expect that system to be operating fully until January 2019.

Recently, voters have raised questions regarding the municipal ID program known as "CityKey." This statement outlines: how state and federal laws require election authorities to accept municipal IDs while registering citizens, but those laws allow only U.S. citizens to register and vote. The penalties for non-citizens registering and voting include fine, arrest and deportation. Voter registration and records of participating in elections are public records and are available to federal immigration authorities.

This week, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing Ohio to continue cancelling voter registrations for inactivity after mail is returned as undeliverable. Chicago Election Board leaders noted that the city's voters will not be impacted by this ruling. Chicago's voter-record maintenance programs provide more safeguards and notifications. Additionally, Illinois laws allow for online registration, Grace Period Voter Registration and Election Day Registration and soon, Automatic Voter Registration, to capture more updates to voter records based on changes in records at other state agencies, such as new or updated driver's licenses and state IDs issued by the Illinois Secretary of State's Office.