Citizen’s Reminder: Register to Vote

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It may be bad form to mix politics and real estate blogging (or politics and anything), but I feel compelled to pass along the following reminders.

In order to vote in the upcoming November election, you must be a US citizen, at least 18 years old, have lived in your precinct for at least 30 days before the election, and most importantly, you must be registered.

If you are not already registered to vote in Chicago, the deadline to do so is Tuesday, October 7th - in other words, it’s approaching fast!

Registering is easy. You can register by mail (download the PDF form here) or in person at any driver’s license issuing branch before the deadline. Be sure to bring a photo ID.

If you miss the October 7^th deadline, you can still register to vote during a “grace period” until October 21^st, but it’s a lot less convenient. You must go to 69 W. Washington Street, Suite 600 and bring two ID’s including one with your current home address.

If you’re not sure if you’re registered, you can check your status here through the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners website (which has other useful voter resources).

Once registered, you have the option to vote early. Selected locations will be open between October 13^th and 30^th. This is helpful if wading through long polling station lines doesn’t appeal to you, or if you plan to be out of town on Election Day.

To vote on Election Day, you need to go to your registered polling place. You can find that location by entering your home address here.

And, so you’re not surprised by the full list of candidates and referendums that will be tossed at you on Election Day, the official list of candidates and questions for Chicago voters is here (in PDF format). You will also need to know your legislative districts to know which items apply to you.

So, if you don’t have an answer to this question…

Should the City of Chicago adopt a policy whereby beneficiaries of public subsidies (including TIF) with more than 15 employees must give local residents first chance to apply for jobs, certify that all employees and contractors’ employees receive a living wage and pledge to honor worker rights, including safety standards and the right to organize without interference?

…now may be a better time to sort out your feelings than when you’re in the voting booth.

Hope that helps sort out some of the election year confusion!

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