How do I verify my vote was counted in Illinois?

If you voted early or will vote by mail, it’s more important than ever to verify your vote was counted.

Key Takeaways:

• Check your status: Voters can verify mail-in ballot receipt and acceptance by contacting their local election authority.

• Common rejection reasons: Ballots are most frequently rejected for missing signatures, signature mismatches, or unsealed envelopes.

• How to fix a rejection: By Illinois law, election authorities must notify you within two days if your ballot is rejected. You have until 7 p.m. Nov. 3 to submit a signature verification statement or cast a provisional ballot.

You can safeguard your vote by verifying your voice was heard in this election.

I voted by mail. Now what?

After you have cast a vote by mail ballot, you have the ability to verify that your ballot was received and counted. You may call your local election authority to verify this information.

If voting in person, you will know your ballot is counted when you submit it to the ballot machine.

My mail ballot was not received. What may have happened?

If a person casts a ballot by mail, yet the election authority has no record, there could be a few explanations. Though unlikely, it is possible for a ballot to be lost in the mail.

The best ways to prevent this from happening is to vote by mail well in advance of election day, drop mail ballots off in person at the election authority or to vote in person.

Why are ballots rejected?

Common reasons for a ballot to be rejected are incorrectly filling out the ballot envelope, or a perceived signature comparison mismatch.

Each precinct has three election judges presiding over the election in their area. With a majority vote of the judges, meaning two out of three vote in favor, a ballot may be for the following reasons:

• The certification envelope contains no signature.
• The ballot envelope was delivered opened.
• The voter has already cast a ballot.
• The voter voted in person on Election Day or for early voting.
• The voter is not registered in that precinct.

With an affirmative vote of all three election judges, a ballot may be rejected because the signature on the certification envelope does not match the signature on file, or if the signature was not in the proper location.

My ballot was rejected. Now what?

If a mail in ballot is rejected, then the election authority must notify the voter within two days.

What happens then:

• If a ballot is rejected for any reason, then the voter may appear before the election authority on or before Nov. 17 to show why the ballot should not be rejected.
• The voter may present evidence supporting the contention that the ballot should be counted.
• A three-judge panel then determines whether the ballot is valid.