Early voting for the midterms is open in Illinois. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. If you’re a voter with disabilities, elderly or don’t speak English — what are your options? How can you vote? Federal laws and the Illinois Election Code provide tons of ways to help people cast their ballot and make sure voting is accessible.
Accessible polling locations for in-person voting
All polling places must have at least one entrance accessible for wheelchairs, as well as a wheelchair-accessible voting booth.
If you’re elderly or have trouble standing you can request a chair or ask to be moved to the front of the line.
All Illinois voting jurisdictions are also required to offer curbside or drive-up voting for people with mobility issues, where you can fill out your ballot without having to leave your car. Often, you have to contact your local election authority 24 hours in advance to request curbside voting.
Many election authorities also provide in-person voting options at nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
Accessible Voting Machines
Every polling location in Illinois is required to have an accessible voting system. In many counties, they use “ExpressVote” machines. It’s a ballot-marking device, which means it doesn’t count any votes, it just allows voters to electronically fill out their ballot. It's then printed out and submitted.
The machines are equipped with features to help people with disabilities vote. They have remotes with braille to help blind and visually impaired people navigate. Voters can put on headphones and listen to the candidate names and menu options.
These ballot-marking devices also connect to “Sip-n-Puff” devices for people who can’t use their hands. It can switch to Spanish, as well as display in larger print.
Voters without disabilities may also request to use an accessible voting machine.
Need help casting your ballot in-person?
If you’re voting in-person and need help filling out your ballot, whether because of a disability or language barrier, you can bring someone with you to help whether that’s a friend or family member.
There’s no need to call in advance, the person helping you just needs to talk to the poll workers and fill out an affidavit. The person helping you can’t be your employer, union officer, or a candidate on the ballot.
If you can’t bring anyone but still need help, you can ask the election judges. Two election judges — one Republican and one Democrat — will assist you by helping fill in the bubbles on your ballot or reading your ballot out loud to you.
Different ways to vote by mail
Of course, you can also vote by mail. Illinois voters can apply and be added to a permanent vote-by-mail list, which means a ballot will be mailed to you for every election.
If not, you can request an absentee ballot. In some states absentee ballots require an excuse but in Illinois they do not. Absentee ballots can be requested up to five days before the election and must be postmarked by Election Day to be counted.
There are several other ways to deliver a mail-in ballot.
If you’re admitted to a hospital, nursing home, or rehab center within two weeks of an election, you can have a mail-in ballot personally delivered. You have to complete an application with your local election authority which must be signed by you and your doctor.
A family member or registered voter in your precinct brings the application to the election authority, signs an oath, and brings back your ballot, which you fill out. Then they bring it back in a sealed and signed envelope, which is then returned to the election authority and counted.
There’s a recent law in Illinois that also allows for “unassisted” or accessible vote-by-mail for voters with print disabilities where they can't physically mark a vote by mail ballot with a pen.
They contact their local election authority which then electronically transmits a ballot to them so they can use their own assistive technology to fill it out on their computer at home. It’s usually sent back to their election authority, who prints it out so it can be tabulated.
What if I don’t speak English?
Only certain counties and election authorities offer ballots in languages other than English, so it depends on where you live.
It’s based on census data — if more than 5% or 10,000 county residents are part of a single language minority and have limited English proficiency.
In Illinois, five counties are required to provide ballots in Spanish: Cook, Kane, DuPage, Lake, and Will.
Cook County, including Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, is also required to offer ballots in other language families like Chinese (including Taiwanese) and Asian Indian (including Sikh). Cook County goes beyond that, though, and offers ballots in 12 languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Korean, Tagalog, Gujarati and Urdu.
If you live in a county that doesn’t provide ballots in languages other than English and need help, you can bring someone with you to translate your ballot and read it out loud to you.
You can also ask the election judge for help. Some counties have Spanish hotlines to connect voters to bilingual staff. Organizations like the ACLU of Illinois also have voting support helplines in multiple languages, like Spanish, Arabic languages, and Asian & Pacific languages. They even have a number for American Sign Language video calls.
Voter registration information is available in multiple languages on the state’s website. Online is closed now, but you can still register in-person at any polling location through Election Day.
