KNOW YOUR RIGHTS:

VOTING WITH A CRIMINAL RECORD

Regardless of your criminal record, anyone who is not serving time for a conviction is eligible
to vote in Illinois.

TO BE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE, YOU MUST BE:
❏ A United States Citizen
❏ 18 years old on the date of the next General Election or Consolidated Election
❏ Have lived in Illinois for at least 30 days by the date of the next election
If you meet ALL the above criteria and you have a criminal record, you can vote unless you are currently
serving a sentence in any federal or state prison, county jail, or are on work release.

YOU CAN VOTE IF:

YOU CANNOT VOTE IF:

❏ You have been released from jail on parole,
mandatory supervised release, or electronic
monitoring
❏ You have been charged and not convicted.
You can vote if you are in jail pre-trial. You can
also vote if you have been released on bail or
bond, are not convicted for the crime you are
detained for, are under electronic monitoring, or
have recently been arrested but never
convicted
❏ You are on probation
❏ You have been incarcerated before, but are
not currently
❏ You are homeless or don’t have a permanent
living situation

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You are NOT a U.S. Citizen (including
“green card” holders and other people with
lawful status)
You are under 18 on the date of the next
General Election or Consolidated Election
You have been convicted of any crime and
are currently in prison or jail for that
crime
You are on furlough (temporary leave from
prison or jail)
You are a resident of an Adult Transition
Center (“ATC”)
You voted in a different state in the same
election

YOU MUST RE-REGISTER TO VOTE even if you were registered to vote before conviction.
There are three ways you can register to vote: online, by mail, or in-person.

VOTING CHECKLIST
1. Check Eligibility. Review the boxes above.
2. Determine best registration method. There are three ways to register to vote - online, by-mail, or inperson. Which registration method is best for you depends on what I.D. you have, how close Election
Day is, and how flexible your schedule is.

 3. Make sure you have the right I.D. If you have an Illinois Driver’s License or State I.D. and know your
social security number you can register online, by-mail, or in-person. If you do not have these I.D.s then
registering in-person is the best option, because there are many more forms of acceptable I.D. You
need two forms of I.D. to register in-person and one must show your current address. (Remember, you
can vote even if you’re homeless!)
4. Determine best voting method. There are three options for voting. Pick the voting option that works
best for you.
❏ Vote-by-Mail. Use this method if you have restricted movement and it would be difficult to get to
a polling place, or if you have limited time.
❏ Early Voting in Person. Use this method to avoid lines, if you don’t have a flexible schedule
(evening and weekend voting hours are available), or if you are a first time voter. Staff should
have more time to address any issues that come up and help answer questions. You can also
register and vote at the same time when you Early Vote.
❏ Election Day Voting in Person. Use this method to vote alongside others in your home
precinct. In larger counties with a population over 100,000, you can register at your home
precinct polling location on Election Day.
5. Find your polling location. If you are early voting you can vote at a variety of locations. If you are
voting on Election Day you must go to your specific home precinct polling location based on your
address.
6. Vote!

TOP 6 THINGS TO KNOW
1. An IDOC I.D. can be used to register to vote in person - There are many forms of acceptable ID to
use when registering. Your IDOC I.D. can be used when registering in-person, but you must also have
another form of I.D. that shows your current address.
2. You must re-register to vote when you are released from jail even if you were registered to vote
before conviction.
3. Your address can be a shelter, a friend’s house, a food pantry, etc. - so long as you can receive
mail there. If you are registering in-person, you will need a letter from someone verifying that you
receive your mail at that address. This letter can be used as one of your two forms of I.D. when you
register in person.
4. If you have restrictions on your movement you can still vote. For example, if you are on parole,
mandatory supervised release, electronic monitoring, are on a registered sex offender registry, etc. you can either vote early at one of the polling locations where you are not restricted OR apply to vote
by mail.
5. If you have been charged with a crime, but not yet convicted, you can vote. You can vote if:
❏ You have been released on bail or bond
❏ You are in jail but not convicted of the crime for which you are being held
❏ You are under electronic monitoring
❏ You have been recently arrested but not convicted
6. If you are already a registered voter, you do not need to bring an I.D. with you to vote, but it might
be helpful because it is the easiest way to clear up questions, if there are any, about your eligibility to
vote.

Have more questions? Want more information?
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Illinois State Board of Elections at www.elections.il.gov or 217-782-4141
Election Protection at 866ourvote.org or 1-866-OUR-VOTE