Voter Registration
All citizens who desire to vote must register.
For more specific information about voter registration in Lake County:
Click here
Eligibility Qualifications
To be eligible to register to vote you must:
- Be a United States citizen
- Be at least 18 years of age on or before the next election (17-year-old residents may register and vote in primaries if 18th birthday occurs on or before date of the next general or consolidated election)
- Live in your election precinct at least 30 days immediately prior to an election
- Not be convicted and currently in jail or prison (in IL one may vote following sentence completion)
- Not claim the right to vote anywhere else
Identification Requirements
Two forms of identification are required to register through a deputy registrar, both showing current name and one showing current physical Lake County street address.
Acceptable forms of identification currently include:
- Illinois Driver's License
- State of Illinois Identification card
- Utility or service contract service bill addressed to applicant at physical Lake County street address postmarked no more than 30 days prior
- Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card
- Personalized check or bank statement
- Car registration or proof of insurance bearing the applicant’s name and address
In addition to one of the above, you may use:
- U.S. passport
- Military, employee, student, or welfare identification card
- Certified copy of birth certificate
- Social Security or Veteran’s Administration Patient card
- Civic, union, or professional membership card
- Check cashing, debit, or credit card
- Library (some) or insurance card
- Certified copy of marriage license or divorce papers
- U.S. naturalization papers
Expired documents are not acceptable.
Registration Options
While voter registration is open, you can register in-person, by mail, or online. Regular registration is open year-round except during the 27-day period just prior to an election, or for online registration 16 days prior to the election. Registration reopens the second day after an election.
After processing the registration, the Lake County Clerk’s office will send you a Certificate of Registration Card. You do not need to present the card when voting. It is a helpful voting resource showing your polling site address and your congressional, state senate, state representative, and county board districts.
Check here see if you already are registered or need to update your registration due to name or address change.
Automatic Voter Registration (AVR)
When visiting a Secretary of State Drivers Services facility, (or other state government agency) you will be asked if you want to register to vote or update your registration. If you say yes, you have “opted-in” to Automatic Voter Registration. It is not compulsory, and you can say no. The process is an electronic transfer of information from the registering agency to the election agency. For more information about AVR:
Click here
In-Person
You can register in person at:
- Lake County Clerk’s office, 18 N. County Street, Waukegan during weekday business hours
- Illinois Secretary of State Driver Services Facility when there for other services
- Municipal or township offices (Village of Lake Bluff, City of Lake Forest, Shields Township)
- Libraries, (Lake Bluff Public Library, Lake Forest Library)
- Precinct committeemen; or
- Qualified civic organizations, such as the League of Women Voters. See Deputy Registrars*
Find a location in the Clerk’s brochure or look for a poster at a municipal building, library, or deputy registrar event. The cutoff date for registering with a deputy registrar from a civic organization, library, or municipal offices is 27 days prior to an election.
By Mail
You can register by completing and returning an Illinois Voter Registration Application
Click here
Completed applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Lake County Clerk’s office 28 days prior to Election Day. If your identity cannot be verified or sufficient proof of identity is not provided with your application, you must vote in-person the first time and present valid identification before a ballot is issued.
Online
Online voter registration is available at the Illinois State Board of Elections’ website (while voter registration is open). Online voter registration closes 16 days before an election and reopens the second day after an election.
You must provide:
- Valid Illinois Driver’s License or Illinois State ID number
- Last four digits of Social Security number
- Date the license or identification was issued; AND
- Your birth date
Grace Period Registration
Grace Period registration begins 27 days before an election when deputy registrar and mail-in voter registration has closed.
You must:
- Meet citizenship, age, and residency voter registration requirements;
- Provide two forms of valid identification (both identification documents must have current name, and one must show current physical Lake County Street address); AND
- Vote at the time of your registration
Grace Period Registration is available at:
- The Lake County Clerk’s office, 18 N. County Street, Waukegan during weekday business hours through Election Day
- Any early voting site when open
On Election Day (Same Day Voter Registration) the assigned Election Day voting site serving your current address.
See Clerk’s website for registration questions or locations for grace period registration.
Click here