What You Need To Know About Voting In Next Month’s Illinois Primary

If you don't have an IL drivers license or state ID, today is the deadline for you to register to vote.

If you’re a U.S. citizen age 18 or olde,r or you will be 18 by November 6, you can register to vote in the Illinois primary election on March 20th in one of several ways.

Let's deal with the most time-sensitive forms of registration first. The deadline for these types of registration is February 20.

In person: At the Department of Motor Vehicles.

By mail: For those without an IL driver's license or state ID. You'll need to print this form and mail a copy of a current out-of-state ID or proof of residence, like a current utility bill or bank statement. Your application must be postmarked by February 20.

Online by March 4: You can do this only if you already have an IL driver's license or state ID. You can register on the State Board of Elections website by clicking HERE.

More registration details for Rockford area residents can be found here.

So what are we voting for in the primary election on March 4 you ask?

From timeout.com:

The March 20 primary will decide the major-party nominees for several statewide races. Six Democratic hopefuls, including J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss, are vying to challenge Republican incumbent Governor Bruce Rauner in November; Rauner also faces a Republican challenger, Jeanne Ives.

Eight Democrats and two Republicans are running for Illinois attorney general, hoping to replace four-term AG Lisa Madigan, who chose not to run again. Among the broad field of candidates are former Gov. Pat Quinn, State Sen. Kwame Raoul, former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti and former public defender Aaron Goldstein.

Current Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, Comptroller Susana Mendoza and Michael Frerichs, all Democrats, are unopposed in the primary, and only one Republican is running for each office (Jason Helland, Darlene Senger and Jim Dodge, respectively), so the primary will effectively decide November’s winners in those races.

Neither of Illinois’s U.S. senators, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, is up for re-election this year, but every member of the House of Representatives is.