Suburban DuPage County says it will become the first county in the state of Illinois to offer its residents the chance to cast a ballot at any of its 263 polling places during Tuesday’s primary election.
According to a press release, the DuPage County Clerk’s Office will extend its “vote anywhere” program through Tuesday’s election, meaning that any eligible resident can cast a ballot at any of the 263 polling places that will be open during the primary.
“Now voters may cast their ballot conveniently at a polling place near their job or school, instead of rushing to or from their home precinct,” DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek said in a statement. “Best of all, DuPage voters will no longer be turned away on Election Day for being in the wrong polling place in the county.”
Many counties, including DuPage County, already offered residents the ability to cast early ballots at any polling place, not just the one in their respective precinct.
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After experiencing success with that system, officials in DuPage County decided to expand the “vote anywhere” system through Election Day itself, saying that the same process and safeguards will remain in place.
Kaczmarek says that expanding ballot access is critical to improving turnout and participation in the electoral process.
“I’m gratified to bring our citizens so many ways to vote,” she said. “I want the people of DuPage County to have so many voting options that they’re practically tripping over them.”
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Polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and voters can find their polling place on the Illinois State Board of Elections’ website.
