Voting by Mail

REQUESTING YOUR BALLOT

Illinois allows voters to apply for permanent vote by mail status. This means the Kendall County Clerk will automatically send you a ballot for every election! The Kendall County Democrats recommend that every voter in Kendall apply for permanent vote by mail status.

Request your mail in ballot using the links below. Using the Electronic Request link, you can request either a mail-in-ballot for only the March 17, 2026 election, or permanent vote-by-mail status.

Using the paper request link, you can only request permanent vote-by-mail status. You must fill out the form and mail it or drop the form off in-person at the Clerk’s office.

The last day the clerk will accept a vote by mail request is March 12, 2026, but we do not recommend requesting a mail-in ballot later than March 9th, 2026. You should plan to vote early or on election day instead.

Your ballot must be postmarked by March 17, 2026 to be valid. Postal service rules have changed, your ballot IS NOT guaranteed to be postmarked the day you mail it. It will be postmarked the day it is processed by the USPS. This could be several days later, potentially invalidating your ballot. After March 6th, you should either:

• Bring the ballot to a post office and ask for a manual postmark, guaranteeing the ballot is postmarked the day you send it.

• Bring the ballot to the County Clerk’s office and place it in the dropbox, instructions are shown below.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Do not lose your mail-in ballot. Voting with an outstanding mail-in ballot is not impossible, but it is difficult. Call the Kendall County clerk at (630) 553-4105 if you have lost your mail-in ballot.

• Be sure to sign and seal your ballot properly before mailing your ballot. Your signature should match the signature on your voter ID.

• Use the proper postage and mail in your ballot as soon as possible.

• If you do not want to mail your ballot, you can drop the ballot off yourself using the drop box in front of the Kendall County Clerk’s office: 502 S. Main Street in Yorkville. You do not need to enter the building.

• If you have a ballot but do not want to vote by mail anymore, bring the entire vote-by-mail packet to a polling location and surrender it to the election judges. You can then vote in person.

Step-by-step instructions for voting by mail:

1. Fill in the front of your ballot using a black ballpoint pen. Fill in the entire circle for your chosen candidate. Ensure that an election judge initialed your ballot. If the ballot is not initialed, you will have to contact the Clerk. An un-initialed ballot will be rejected.

2. Fill in the back of your ballot. Most sections allow you vote for only one candidate. Take special care in the County Board section where it asks you to vote for multiple candidates.

3. Fill out the security envelope

• You do not need to write anything in the ballot code section.

• You only need to date and sign the bottom of the security envelope. You can fill out the other sections of the security envelope, but it is not required.

4. Insert the folded ballot into the security envelope.

5. Check again that you have signed the security envelope. Unsigned security envelopes will be rejected.

6. Seal the security envelope. It is possible that your security envelope will not have glue on the flap. Seal with tape or a glue stick instead. Unsealed security envelopes will be rejected.

7. Place the security envelope in the outer mailing envelope. Seal the outer envelope. If the adhesive doesn’t work, seal with tape or a glue stick. Unsealed mailing envelopes will be rejected.

8. If you are mailing your ballot, place first class postage on the front and then drop the ballot in a mailbox. You do not need to fill out the back of the envelope if you are mailing it.

9. If you are dropping your ballot off in person, bring it to the Kendall County Clerk’s office: 502 S. Main St, Yorkville. The outdoor dropbox is available 24x7 - you do not need to go into the building to drop off your ballot. Postage is not required. Ballots are removed from the dropbox twice daily during business hours.

If someone else is dropping your ballot off in person, the back of the envelope must be filled out.