Illinois Military and Overseas Voters, Submit your Ballot Request for the February 2, 2010 State Primary!

Illinois will hold its State primary election on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. If you are eligible to vote in this election, and requested and received a ballot for the November 4, 2008 presidential election, you will automatically receive an absentee ballot, and need not take any further action unless your mailing address has changed.

Register to Vote

Registration is not required for Uniformed Service members, eligible dependents, and overseas citizens if you only wish to vote for Federal offices. If you want to vote for State and local offices you must register to vote.

Uniformed Service member or family member: You will be registered if your Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) is received by the local election office by January 22, 2010.

U.S. citizen residing temporarily overseas and would like to register: You must submit your FPCA so that it is received by the local election office no later than January 2, 2010.

Registration is required for overseas citizens who would like to receive absentee ballots for State and local offices.

You must still complete the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to request an absentee ballot.

Request Your Ballot

To register to vote or request a ballot for this election submit the FPCA if you have not done so already. Get started by following the prompts at www.fvap.gov. You must indicate your political party affiliation when applying for a primary ballot. Although the deadline for receipt of the FPCA is January 22, 2010, do not wait! Submit the FPCA to your local election office as recommended below:

  • Voters in Iraq, Afghanistan, on ships at sea, and other overseas locations without access to the military postal system should mail it immediately and send it by email or fax (if allowed - see below).
  • Voters in other overseas military installations should mail their FPCA by December 22, 2009.
  • Stateside Uniformed Service members and their families should mail their FPCA by January 15, 2010.

Uniformed Service members and eligible dependents: You may fax your FPCA directly to your local election office. Fax numbers are available at: www.elections.state.il.us/ElectionAuthorities/ElecAuthorityList.aspx?Selected=Election%20Authorities. You may also use the DoD Electronic Transmission Service. Use the cover sheet available at www.fvap.gov/resources/media/coversheet.pdf, and fax to: (703)-693-5527, DSN 223-5527, or toll-free from the U.S., Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to 1-800-368-8683. International toll-free numbers are available at www.fvap.gov.

Uniformed Service members: Your spouse, dependent, mother, father, sister, or brother registered to vote in your election precinct, may request an absentee ballot on your behalf by obtaining a special application provided by the election office.

City of Chicago and Suburban Cook County residents: You may receive your blank ballot by email or fax. Indicate your preference and include your email address or fax number on the FPCA. You may also send your FPCA by email or fax. You must also mail the FPCA. If you choose to email or fax the FPCA, send the form as a scanned email attachment or by fax directly to your local election office. Email addresses and fax numbers can be found at: www.elections.state.il.us/ElectionAuthorities/ElecAuthorityList.aspx?Selected=Election%20Authorities. You may also use the DoD Electronic Transmission Service. Use the cover sheet available at www.fvap.gov/resources/media/coversheet.pdf. Email to vote@fvap.ncr.gov, or fax to: (703)-693-5527, DSN 223-5527, or toll-free from the U.S., Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to 1-800-368-8683. International toll-free numbers are available at www.fvap.gov.

If you are an overseas citizen who is not a resident of the City of Chicago and Suburban Cook County, you must mail your FPCA.

Return Your Ballot

Although Illinois mails ballots for the State primary by December 19, 2009 you may not have time to receive, vote and return it! If you have requested your ballot, submit the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) following the Illinois instructions at www.fvap.gov.

Vote your FWAB by using the official candidates list that will be available by December 19, 2009 at www.elections.state.il.us/Default.aspx.

Return your FWAB by mail. Fold and place the ballot in the security envelope and seal. Insert the sealed security envelope and the Voter's Declaration/Affirmation into the mailing envelope and mail the ballot directly to your local election office. Addresses can be found at www.fvap.gov/contact/addresses/iladdr.html.

Your ballot or FWAB must be received by your local election office by 7 pm February 2, 2010 or by February16, 2010 if postmarked February 1, 2010. To account for mail transit, submit your ballot or FWAB to your local election office as recommended below:

  • Voters in Iraq, Afghanistan, on ships at sea, and other overseas locations without access to the military postal system should mail their ballot by January 2, 2010.
  • Voters in other overseas military installations should mail their ballot by January 9, 2010.
  • Stateside Uniformed Service members and their families should mail their ballot by January 25, 2010.

If you receive the regular State ballot after submitting the FWAB, vote and return it immediately! If both ballots are received by the deadline, only the State ballot will be counted.

Additional information

For More Information go to the Illinois election website at: www.elections.il.gov or visit FVAP at: www.fvap.gov.

We want your feedback! If this document was helpful to you or if you ran into problems or have questions, please contact FVAP at 1-800-438-8683, DSN (312) 425-1584, or at vote@fvap.ncr.gov. Toll-free phone numbers from 67 countries are listed at: www.fvap.gov/contact/tollfreephone.html. With your feedback, we can make this even more helpful for the next election.