EARLY VOTING OFF TO STRONG START

| October 24, 2012

Nearly 26,000 suburban Cook County voter have applied for Vote By Mail

Suburban Cook County voters have already requested nearly as many mail ballots as during the last presidential election, Cook County Clerk David Orr stated. “Mail voting is now available to all Illinois voters, so we anticipated a spike in requests,” Orr said. “Voters are clearly interested in voting from the convenience of their homes – more than 2,000 voters have already returned their voted ballots.” Through Monday, 25,941 suburban Cook County voters have applied to vote by mail for the Nov. 6, 2012 Presidential Election. Of those, more than 3,300 were from military and overseas voters. There were 26,747 mail ballots cast in the 2008 Presidential Election, and 25,004 cast in the 2010 Gubernatorial Election. Mail ballots are not automatically sent to voters. Voters can obtain a mail ballot application by: · Downloading and printing the mail ballot application (applications are also available in Spanish, Hindi and Chinese),· Calling the Clerk’s office at (312) 603-0946 to request that we mail you an application, or · Picking up an application at any of the Clerk’s six office locations. The last day to apply for a mail ballot is Nov. 1, but Orr urges voters to apply sooner to allow for mail delivery time. Applications must be submitted by mail, certified courier or in person. Applications cannot be accepted by email or fax. Military and overseas voters, however, may access their ballot online through a secure website at https://cookcountyclerk.everyonecounts.com. Once your application is received, the Clerk’s office will verify your eligibility and compare the signature on your application against the signature on your voter registration record before issuing a ballot. Mailed ballots must be signed and postmarked by Nov. 5 – the day before Election Day — and received in the County Clerk’s office within 14 days after the election in order to be counted. Mailed ballots are processed and counted at our central office using a high-speed scanner that captures voter signatures, sorts by precinct and opens envelopes. The vote-by-mail processing system was first used for the March 20, 2012 Presidential Primary election and funded by a federal grant. Voters who prefer to vote in person may do so on Election Day or during Early Voting, which begins Monday, Oct. 22. There are 44 Early Voting locations in suburban Cook County.

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