You’d think the mid-November chill would be the only thing on people's minds, but in the fall of 2024, the buzz was all about the polling booth. Honestly, if you live in Illinois, you probably noticed the lines at the library or the local community center starting way earlier than usual. It wasn’t just your imagination. Illinois early voting 2024 didn't just happen; it broke records for in-person participation, even as the overall turnout across the state saw a bit of a dip compared to the chaos of 2020.
Most people think of "Election Day" as a single Tuesday in November. That’s old school. In Illinois, we basically have an "Election Month."
The big shift in Illinois early voting 2024
The numbers coming out of the Illinois State Board of Elections tell a weirdly specific story. While about 5.7 million people total cast a ballot—that's roughly 70.4% of registered voters—the way they did it shifted. In 2020, everyone was terrified of germs, so mail-in ballots were king. This time around? People wanted to show up.
Data shows that 34.65% of all votes were cast in person before Election Day. That is a massive jump. It actually surpassed the 2020 record of 32.89%. It’s kinda fascinating because while the total number of people voting went down slightly, the percentage of "planners"—people who refuse to wait until Tuesday—went up.
Why? Maybe it’s the convenience. Or maybe it’s just that Illinois makes it incredibly easy. You don't need an excuse. You don't need a doctor's note or a travel itinerary. You just show up.
When it all went down
The calendar for the 2024 general election was pretty generous. Early voting actually kicked off on September 26, 2024. That is 40 days before the actual election.
- Sept 26: Early voting starts at primary county board offices (like the big ones in Geneva or Bloomington).
- Oct 9: "Grace period" registration begins. This is huge for anyone who moved and forgot to update their address.
- Oct 21: This is when the floodgates opened. Permanent sites in places like Chicago (all 50 wards!) and the suburbs started their full-scale operations.
- Nov 4: The final day to cast an early ballot before the "real" Election Day on Nov 5.
If you were in Chicago, you had the "Supersite" at 191 N. Clark. In the suburbs, places like the Tinley Park Village Hall or the Kane County Clerk’s office were buzzing for weeks. It sort of turns the election into a slow burn rather than a one-day explosion.
📖 Related: Supreme Court Anthony Kennedy: Why His Legacy Still Matters Today
What most people get wrong about the rules
There’s this persistent myth that you need a special ID or a "reason" to vote early in Illinois.
Wrong.
If you are already registered, you usually don't even need to show a photo ID. Your signature is your bond. The poll workers compare the scrawl you make on the tablet to the one they have on file from when you got your driver's license. If you aren't registered, though, that’s where the "Grace Period" comes in.
You can literally walk into an early voting site, register on the spot, and vote right then and there. You just need two forms of ID for that—one has to show your current address. A utility bill or a bank statement usually does the trick. Honestly, it’s one of the most flexible systems in the country.
The mail-in factor
We can't talk about Illinois early voting 2024 without mentioning the "Permanent Mail-In" list. A couple of years ago, Illinois started letting voters sign up to receive a mail ballot for every election automatically.
In 2024, over 830,000 people sent their ballots back through the mail. It’s a drop from the 2 million-plus we saw during the pandemic, but it’s still about 15% of the electorate. It seems like the "permanent" part of that law is sticking. People like the idea of sitting at their kitchen table with a cup of coffee and googling who the heck the local judicial candidates are before they bubble in a name.
Why the "Red Wave" and "Blue Wall" talk matters here
The certified results showed Kamala Harris winning the state by about 11 points. That’s a solid win, but it’s actually a tighter margin than Joe Biden had in 2020. Donald Trump actually picked up a few thousand more votes in Illinois this time around compared to four years ago.
The early voting data suggests that Republicans are starting to embrace early voting more than they used to. For years, the GOP narrative was "vote on Tuesday." But in 2024, the "Bank the Vote" efforts seemed to resonate. You saw more activity in places like McHenry and Will counties earlier in the cycle.
Even with the record-breaking early in-person numbers, total turnout was the fourth lowest in the last 40 years for a presidential race. That’s the real kicker. Chicago, specifically, saw its second-lowest turnout in 80 years. It turns out that while the people who did vote liked doing it early, a lot of people just stayed home.
A few weird quirks from the 2024 cycle
- The Advisory Questions: Did you see those three random questions at the bottom of the ballot? One was about civil penalties for candidates who interfere with election workers, another about a millionaire tax for property tax relief, and one about insurance covering IVF. They were "advisory," meaning they don't actually change the law. They're basically just giant expensive polls the state runs to see what people think.
- The 16-year-olds: A new law meant 16 and 17-year-olds were automatically preregistered when they got their licenses. They couldn't vote in 2024 unless they turned 18 by Nov 5, but it set the stage for future cycles.
- Two Centers Rule: Any jurisdiction with more than 500,000 people (think Cook, DuPage, etc.) was required to have at least two "vote centers" where any resident of that county could vote, regardless of their specific precinct.
How to use this for the next one
If you missed the boat in 2024 or found yourself stuck in a long line on Tuesday, Nov 5, take a page out of the "Early Voter" playbook.
First, check your registration status. Use the Illinois State Board of Elections "Registration Lookup" tool. It takes ten seconds.
Second, consider the mail-in option. You don't have to use it, but having the ballot show up at your house three weeks early is a great safety net. If you decide you'd rather go in person, you can just take that blank mail ballot to your early voting site, hand it to the judges to "void" it, and vote on the machine instead.
Third, keep an eye on the "Grace Period." If you move in October, don't panic. You can still vote. You just have to do it at an early voting site or a specific grace-period location.
The landscape of Illinois early voting 2024 proved that the way we participate is changing. We’re moving away from the high-drama, single-day event and toward a system that values convenience and "banking" ballots as soon as possible. Whether that’s a good thing for civic engagement is still up for debate, given the lower overall turnout, but the tools are there for anyone who wants to avoid the Tuesday morning rush.
To make sure you're ready for the 2026 midterms, verify your registration now and look into the permanent mail-in list if you want to skip the polling place entirely next time.