When polls in Illinois open and close for voting on Election Day 2024

Election Day is Tuesday, which means polls are open to voters cast their votes for federal, state and local offices.

But when do the polls open and close on this day? Here you will find everything you need to know.

What hours are polls open in Illinois on Election Day?

Polls open at 6 a.m. on Election Day, November 5th

Voters can cast their vote in person at their local polling station. You should check with your local election authority to find out where your specific polling station is located. Voters can only cast their vote at their assigned polling station in the district. If they go to another polling place in the county, they will be asked to cast a provisional ballot.

You can also drop off your completed mail-in ballot at your polling station.

Residents who are at least 18 years old on Election Day and have been residents of Illinois for at least 30 days may also register to vote on Election Day through grace period registration.

In the city of Chicago, residents can vote at their polling place or at one of 51 voting centers, which also open at 6 a.m. There are 50 district sites and the downtown supersite, located at 191 N. Clark. Any voter can vote at any voting center on Election Day, regardless of where they live in the city.

When do polls close in Illinois on Election Day?

Polls in Illinois close at 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

However, anyone who takes part in the vote by 7:00 p.m. can still cast their vote even if the vote goes beyond closing time.

When will the Illinois election results be available?

There is no set time for when election results will be announced after polls close on Election Day.

In past elections, many local election authorities were able to report some of these early voting Results shortly after polls closed at 7 p.m. It could then take several hours for the remaining results to be tabulated and made available to the public.

While the winner of many races may not be known until election night, some results in very close races may not be known until after Election Day. That's because residents who choose to vote by mail have until Election Day to postmark their ballot. Therefore, it may take a few days for these ballots to be received by the relevant election authority and tabulated.

Additionally, election authorities have 14 days after Election Day to decide whether or not to count votes cast via provisional ballots.