How DuPage County residents can join permanent vote-by-mail list

DuPage County voters can sign up to permanently receive mail-in ballots every election.

The county clerk's office is now accepting requests to join a permanent vote-by-mail roster. Mail-in voters previously had to apply one election at a time.

"Permanent vote-by-mail increases voting choices. Nothing else is taken away," DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek said in a statement. "Voters may still vote in person on Election Day or during Early Voting. Also, voters may continue to choose a one-time-only mail ballot."

State lawmakers last year passed legislation allowing election authorities to offer the option of joining permanent vote-by-mail lists. Five states and Washington, D.C., allow any voter to join a permanent mail ballot list and will mail that voter an absentee ballot for each election, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In 2020, the mail-in voting system in Illinois was expanded due to the pandemic. One-third of DuPage voters chose mail-in ballots in the 2020 general election.

"We anticipate that mail voting will gain in popularity, even with the pandemic subsiding," Kaczmarek said. "With new and faster equipment and procedures, our office is ready to handle the growth."

DuPage voters can apply for permanent vote-by-mail status or a single one-time-only ballot on the county clerk's elections website at dupagecounty.gov/Election/VoteByMail/. In the next month, the clerk's office will be mailing voters a paper application to join the permanent vote-by-mail list.

The first batch of ballots won't be sent out until May 19. Ballots may take four to five business days to arrive, election officials say.

The primary election is on June 28. Mailed ballots need to be postmarked no later than Election day to be counted in final tallies.

As an alternative, ballots also can be brought to the county clerk's elections office, at drop boxes located at the parking lot and main entrance of the county administration building, 421 County Farm Road, Wheaton, or at a DuPage polling site.