Election 2026 in Illinois: When does early voting begin?
CHICAGO - Early voting in Illinois' 2026 general election gets underway this month across the Chicago area, with multiple key positions for local, state and federal offices up for grabs.
Election Day is Nov. 3, but there are various opportunities for voters to cast their ballots well before then, either in person or via the mail.
Early voting will begin on Thursday, Sept. 24 across the state, but typically at limited locations. Most counties will expand early, in-person voting beginning next month.
RELATED: 2026 Illinois Midterm Elections: Everything you should know
Here is some basic information for early voting by county.
Chicago
Early voting in the City of Chicago begins on Oct. 1 at two locations in the city's downtown area:
- 137 S. State Street – This is the new location for the downtown voting supersite.
- 69 W. Washington Street, 6th floor
Then, on Oct. 19, early voting opens at sites in all 50 wards in Chicago. Click here to look up the specific voting locations in each ward.
Any voter who lives in Chicago can vote at any of the early voting sites, no matter where they live in the city. All early voting sites are ADA-compliant and accessible to voters with disabilities, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
Ballots are available in 12 different languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Polish, Korean, Tagalog, Gujarati, Urdu, Arabic, Ukrainian, and Russian.
Voters can request a mail-in ballot. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Oct. 29.
Residents can then mail their completed ballot to the Chicago Board of Elections (69 W. Washington St. Ste 600, Chicago, IL 60690-1122) or drop it off in person at that office.
Visit chicagoelections.gov to learn more about early voting requirements and locations.
Suburban Cook County
Early voting in suburban Cook County begins on Oct. 7 at six locations around the county:
- Bridgeview Courthouse, 10220 S. 76th Avenue, Bridgeview
- Cook County Clerk’s Office, 69 W. Washington Street, Chicago (Pedway level)
- Markham Courthouse, 16501 S. Kedzie Avenue, Markham
- Maywood Courthouse (Whitcomb Building) 1311 Maybrook Square, Maywood
- Rolling Meadows Courthouse, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Rolling Meadows
- Skokie Courthouse, 5600 Old Orchard Road, Skokie
Then, early voting will expand to more locations on Oct. 19 at several more voting sites, which are listed on the Cook County Clerk’s Office website, including specific locations, dates and times.
Voters can also request a mail-in ballot online.
DeKalb County
Early voting in DeKalb County begins on Sept. 24, at the county's Legislative Center in the Gathertorium, located at 200 N. Main St. in Sycamore.
Initial hours will be Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and then expand to weekend hours starting on Oct. 24.
Early voting expands to more locations on Oct. 19:
- Kingston Friendship Center, 120 Main St., Kingston
- DeKalb Township Building, 2323 S. 4th St., DeKalb
- NIU-Holmes Student Center Gallery Lounge, 340 Carroll Ave., DeKalb
- Sandwich Library, 925 S. Main St., Sandwich
Visit the DeKalb County Clerk's Office for more on early voting locations and hours.
DuPage County
Early voting in DuPage County will begin (tentatively) on Sept. 24 at five temporary voting locations:
- Addison Township Office, 401 N. Addison Road, Addison
- Bartlett Community Center, 700 S. Bartlett Road, Bartlett
- Downers Grove Village Hall, 850 Curtiss Street, Downers Grove
- DuPage County Fairgrounds, 2015 Manchester Road, Wheaton
- Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle Street, Naperville
The temporary early voting sites will be open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
More early voting locations are tentatively set to open up on Oct. 19 through Election Day. The list of locations can be found on the DuPage County Clerk’s Office.
Those locations will be open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Voters can also request a mail-in ballot. The last day that the clerk's office can send out a mail-in ballot is Oct. 29.
Visit the DuPage County Clerk’s Office website for more on early voting requirements and sites.
Grundy County
Early voting in Grundy County begins Sept. 24 at the county courthouse lobby, located at 111 E. Washington Street, Room 12, in Morris on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information on early voting times and locations, visit the Grundy County Clerk's Office website.
Kane County
Early voting in Kane County begins on Sept. 24 at the Kane County Elections main office and its satellite office in Aurora.
- The Kane County Clerk's Office is located at 719 S. Batavia Ave, Building B, in Geneva.
- The clerk's office's Aurora satellite office is located at 5 E. Downer Place.
Early voting is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Then on Oct. 18, early voting will expand to all of Kane County’s permanent polling places, which are listed on the clerk's office's website.
Voters can also request a mail-in ballot.
Go to the Kane County Clerk’s Office website for more information on early voting locations and requirements.
Kendall County
Early voting in Kendall County will begin on Sept. 20 at the Kendall County Clerk's Office, located at 502 S. Main Street in Yorkville.
Voting will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and those hours will expand starting Oct. 19.
Early voting will also expand on Oct. 19 at the Oswego Village Hall, at 100 Parkers Mill (Community Room) in Oswego. Voting will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
Voters can also register to vote and request a mail-in ballot on the Kendall County Clerk’s website.
Visit the Kendall County Clerk's Office website for more information on early voting.
McHenry County
Early voting in McHenry County starts on Sept. 24 at the McHenry County Elections Center, which is at 410 S. Eastwood Dr. in Woodstock.
Voting there will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Other early voting sites will open on Oct. 19:
- Algonquin Library, 2600 Harnish Dr., Algonquin
- Algonquin Township Office, 3702 US Highway 14, Crystal Lake (Building 6B)
- Cary Park District, 255 Briargate Rd., Cary
- Crystal Lake Public Library, 126 Paddock St., Crystal Lake
- Dunham Township Office, 107 Airport Rd., Harvard
- Huntley Park District, 12015 Mill St., Huntley (South entrance)
- Marengo City Hall, 132 E. Prairie St., Marengo (Rear entrance only)
- McHenry Township Office, 3703 N. Richmond Rd., Johnsburg
- Lake in the Hills Village Hall, 600 Harvest Gate, Lake in the Hills
- McHenry City Hall, 333 S. Green St., McHenry
- Nunda Township Office, 3510 Bay Rd, Crystal Lake
Residents can apply for a vote-by-mail application at the McHenry County Clerk’s Office website.
For more information on early voting hours and locations in McHenry County, they can also check out the clerk's office website.
Lake County
Early voting in Lake County starts on Sept. 24 at the County Clerk’s Office, 18 N. County Street in Waukegan, on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More early voting sites will open on March 2, including:
- Antioch Township Office, 1275 Main St., Antioch
- Deerspring Pool, 200 Deerfield Rd., Deerfield
- Ela Township Office, 1155 E. IL Route 2, Lake Zurich
- Fremont Township Center, 22385 IL Route 60, Mundelein
- Grant Township Center, 26725 W. Molidor Rd., Ingleside
- Gurnee Village Hall, 325 N. O’Plaine Rd., Gurnee
- History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff, 509 E. Deerpath Rd., Lake Forest
- Lake County Central Permit Facility, 500 W. Winchester Rd., Libertyville
- Wauconda Township Office, 505 W. Bonner Rd., Wauconda
- William E. Peterson Park, 16652 N. Buffalo Grove Rd., Prairie View
- Zion City Hall, 2828 Sheridan Rd., Zion
Early voting will be held on weekdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. with no voting on Sundays.
Other voting sites will have extended hours:
- Diamond Lake Recreation Center, 1016 Diamond Lake Rd., Mundelein
- Highwood Library & Community Center, 102 Highwood Ave., Highwood
- Lake Barrington Village Hall, 23860 N. Old Barrington Rd., Lake Barrington
- Lake County Main Courthouse Lobby, 18 N. County St., Waukegan
- Lilac Cottage at Bowen Park, 1911 N. Sheridan Rd., Waukegan
- North Chicago Public Library, 2100 Argonne Dr., North Chicago
- Round Lake Beach Village Hall, 1937 N. Municipal Way, Round Lake Beach
Voters can also request a mail-in ballot.
https://www.lakecountyil.gov/351/Voter-Power-for-Registered-Voters
Visit the Lake County Clerk’s Office for more information on early voting locations.
Will County
Early voting in Will County begins Sept. 24 at the Will County Clerk's Office, located at 302 N. Chicago Street in Joliet.
Starting in early March, early voting will expand to more than 20 locations including:
- City of Braidwood, 141 W. Main St., Braidwood
- City of Naperville, 300 S. Eagle St., Naperville
- Crete Township, 1367 Wood St., Crete
- Fountaindale Public Library, 300 W. Briarcliff Rd., Bolingbrook
- Frankfort Public Library, 21119 S. Pfeiffer Rd., Frankfort
- Governors State University Hantack House, 1 University Pkwy., University Park (Across from Paul Bunyan statue)
- Hartman Recreation Center, 511 Collins St., Joliet
- Homer Township, 14350 W. 151st St., Homer Glen
- Joliet Park District, 3000 W. Jefferson St., Joliet
- Lockport Township Community Room, 1463 S. Farrell Rd., Lockport
- Naperville Public Library 95th Street, 3015 Cedar Glade Rd., Naperville
- Prairie Activity & Rec. Center, 24550 Renwick Rd., Plainfield
- Spanish Community Center, 309 N. Eastern Ave., Joliet (Use Franklin Street entrance.)
- Troy Township, 25448 W. Seil Rd., Shorewood
- Village of Channahon, 24555 S. Navajo Dr., Channahon
- Village of Elwood, 401 E. Mississippi Ave., Elwood
- Village of Frankfort, 432 W. Nebraska St., Frankfort
- Village of Manhattan, 260 Market Pl., Manhattan
- Village of Mokena, 11004 Carpenter St., Mokena
- Village of Monee, 5130 W. Court St., Monee
- Village of New Lenox, 1 Veterans Pkwy., New Lenox
- Village of Plainfield, 24401 W. Lockport St., Plainfield
- Village of Romeoville, 1050 W. Romeo Rd., Romeoville
- Washington Township, 30200 Town Center Rd., Beecher
Check the Will County Clerk's Office website for more specific early voting site information.