Voter Empowerment Links and Downloads

Local Election Info FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions)

The League of Women Voters encourages voter participation. If you find information that you think would help others, please email it in.

Under what conditions may I vote?
In Illinois you need to be registered to vote by 28 days before the election. This November 2 election had an October 5 cut-off. (Wisconsin allows registration up to the same day.) You need not register every year. If you have voted within four years and have not moved or changed your name you should still be registered. If you are a felon, out on parole or have time served, your voting rights are restored in Illinois. If you are a detainee in a jail, still awaiting trial, and registered to vote, you have a right to ask for an absentee ballot. See jail personnel to request it. If you do not know your voter registration status, call or stop by your voting authority office (hopefully, before the election).

How can I quickly become informed on the candidates and issues?
Two quick sources are the AAUW candidate issues paper to download and WNIJ Radio's one page election info web page.

When do I vote?
National Elections are Tuesday, November 2, 2004, 6:00am-7:00pm, CST.

Where do I vote?
Your election authority makes the decision of where you vote. Winnebago County, the City of Rockford, Boone County and Rock County all have separate election authorities.

There are several venues called polling places where you vote. These are determined by your address. With optical voting, it is common for three or more precincts to share a polling place.

How do I know my polling place?
http://www.mypollingplace.com/find.php is a dependable web site that somehow knows where you vote. It does not know if you are legally registered to vote. You have to check your voter ID or election authority. This is a list of Winnebago County polling places. Residents of Rockford can also look at http://www.voterockford.com/ to verify both your polling place and registration status. This is a list of Boone County polling places.

I have no transportation. How can I get a ride to the polls?
The League doesn't offer rides, but there are a few known groups to call if you have exhausted all other means of riding to the polls. They will be very busy, so when you call, please be patient. The most important thing is that you get to the polls and vote. There is no charge for transportation to your polling place.

Democratic Party 961-8574 or 968-0840
Republican Party 394-1992

What do I need with me to vote?
You should have received a voter ID card. If you have, it, please bring it, but any photo ID, phone bill, postmarked letter, lease agreement should do for the election judge to look at just in case they do not see your name.

If you are unsure, take the League's Five Things to Remember When You Vote card with you, just in case.

What do I do when I get to my polling place?
When you tell the election judge your name, they will look on the registration list to make sure you are a registered voter. When they find your name and determine your correct precinct, you will sign a form. The election judges will compare the signatures. That usually is all the proof you need. If there is a question show your ID, making sure that one of them has your correct address. If you are newly registered show your receipt, if you were given one.

If a voter cannot read, has trouble understanding English, or is disabled, he or she has the right to request assistance from anyone other than his or her employer, an agent of his or her employer, or an officer or agent of his or her union (10 ILCS 5/17-14). The Illinois Attorney General has other guidelines you may want to read.

The judges will be happy to instruct you on voting procedures. If there is ANYTHING that you are not clear on, feel free to ask. That is their job, to help you have a fair and free election.

What if I am not on their list for my precinct?
Don't fret. There are usually more than one precinct in a polling place. Precincts change all the time. A judge will help you find the right precinct. If you want to be really sure, call or stop by your election authority.

Everything I have says this is my precinct.
I know I registered. How will I vote?
One of the best things about the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) is Provisional Voting. You will be allowed to vote on a separate ballot. It will be sealed in an envelope with your name on it and hand-carried to the office of your election authority to be determined valid and counted. You must have voted in the correct precinct to count, so make sure you are at the right place.

According to the HAVA law you can track whether it was counted or not and why. Check your voting authority for the procedure. Rockford residents can read the Illinois interpretation of Provisional Voting here.

Are all these people there election judges?
No, thought most are election judges, any political party and many independent organizations have poll watchers that observe the process to insure fairness. The American election is an open, transparent process. The only secret is when you enter the private area to vote your conscience. It is no one else's business how you vote.

What does the ballot look like?
There are sample ballots available here, Rockford and Winnebago County ballots will be very much alike. Rockford uses a marker to draw a line between two lines. The county uses a marker to color in a dot, like taking a standardized school test. Remember to stay in the lines! ;-)

How do I know my vote was counted?
In Illinois you can under-vote, meaning to not vote for someone, and still have your ballot count. You cannot over-vote, meaning to vote for more than one candidate for an office, and have your ballot count. Because the voting machines in Rockford and Winnebago County are optical scan, the accepting 'ballot box' machine will tell you in an over-vote case and you can ask for another ballot and start over. The old ballot is put in a separate envelope, taken back to the election authority office and is looked at only in case of a recount. (Tech note: in Rockford, if there is an over-vote, and the person does not want to vote another ballot, they can push an override button and everything else will be counted.) Voting on a new ballot is always your best bet in case of an over-vote.

Always remember to keep your receipt.

Is my vote recountable?
Both Executives of Winnebago County and Rockford voting authorities have declared that only optical scan machines with recountable ballots were chosen. All votes are recountable with paper oversite. Even if they had to count them by hand, there would be your original ballot to count. The League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford has extremely high confidence in the honesty of the local voting systems.

What if I can't go to my polling place on election day?
You need to use absentee voting. You may vote absentee up to 40 days before an election.

You can vote in person at the Rockford Board of Elections, if you are a Rockford resident or at the Winnebago County Clerk’s Office, if you live in Winnebago County outside of Rockford. Check your voter ID to be sure.

You or a guardian may request an application for an absentee ballot. Upon receipt of your application, a ballot will be mailed to the address you supplied. Be sure to allow plenty of time for your ballot to arrive back by mail before the election.

What if I am not allowed to vote or not given a provisional ballot, challenged at the polling place or feel that I am too intimidated to vote.
Your vote is your right and your duty as a United States citizen. If you are unsatisfied with your voting experience you need to tell your voting authority as soon as possible. Call the Illinois Attorney General office's toll free voter hot line if you do not receive satisfaction. you may get legal help by calling 1-866-OUR-VOTE. Report to NBC at 1-866-MYVOTE1. As said before, the League does not believe there is any intentional voter problems here in our area. With the extremely high amount of new voter registration this election, there will be glitches, but that is why the voting judges are there...to help you.

Links

Rockford Matters, the League's polling web site http://www.rockfordmatters.com

National League of Women Voters web site http://www.lwv.org

Illinois League of Women Voters web site http://www.lwvil.org

Wisconsin League of Women Voters web site http://www.lwvwi.org

Parent/Student Mock Election – Illinois League of Women Voters web site that held a student election with 80 local schools participating. Check your school after Nov. 2nd at: http://www.illinoisstudentvote.org

City of Rockford Board of Elections,
301 South Sixth Street
Rockford, IL 61104
(815)987-5750
web site http://www.voterockford.com/

Winnebago County Clerk
404 Elm Street
Rockford, IL 61101
(815)987-3089
web site http://www.winnebagocountyclerk.com/elections.asp

Boone County Clerk's election web site http://www.boonecountyil.org/countyclerk/countyclerk.htm

Rock County, WI's County Clerk's election site http://www.co.rock.wi.us/departments/CntyClerk/cty_clerk.htm

State of Illinois Election Authority list http://www.elections.state.il.us/voteinfo/pages/ElecAuthorityList.asp

The Illinois Attorney General's office has established toll-free telephone hot lines for voters to call to report voting problems. State election teams also will randomly visit polling places across the state to ensure that state election laws are being followed.

The toll free hot line numbers are:

Press Releases

LWVGR endeavors to send press releases on all events to the media. The press releases are available for those needing additional information. League calendar may be a great help, too.

Miscellaneous PDFs

Any other files in PDF format are found here.

Software

LWVGR endeavors to send press releases on all events to the media. the press releases are available for those needing additional information.

If you download it successfully and cannot read it, please follow this link to Adobe's download site. You will need to know your operating system, such as Windows 2000 or Windows 98 or Macintosh 9.

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html