To get started:

1. Find information and decide on the candidates.

2. Find out where to go on Election Day. Polling places can be found online at www.champaigncountyclerk.com or on voter identification cards.

3. Voters who have never voted before or people whose voter identification cards say to bring identification should make sure to bring a form of ID that states their present address. Identification can include an updated driver’s license, utility bill, government document or a tuition statement as proof of address. Photo ID is not necessary.

4. No ID is necessary for people who have voted before. Signatures will be used to verify identification.

5. Polling place hours are from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters must be in line by 7 p.m.

6. If voters forgot to change their address and were registered to vote in Champaign County, they can vote with the Federal-only ballot, which allows them to vote only for the presidential and U.S. congressional races. If voters did not receive absentee ballots, they must return to where they registered in order to vote.

7. Absentee voters who have already received their ballots need to send their votes to their county by Election Day.

At the polling place:

1. First, voters should fill out an application to vote.

2. The election judge will then check the voter registration list for the voters’ names.

3. If the signature on the application matches with the one on the list, the judge will initial the ballot and give it to the voters.

4. If voters’ names are not on the list, but they have registered, they can get a provisional ballot. They then have two days after the election to provide proof of registration, such as a registration

receipt. The provisional ballot votes won’t be counted until proof is provided.

5. At this point, voters should stop and ask any questions before casting their votes.

6. Voters can practice punching the ballot card in the demonstration booth before the actual voting booth if they so choose.

7. Voters can then go to the booth to vote.

Using the ballot:

1. Insert the ballot from the top into the vote recorder.

2. Turn the pages of the recorder and read the instructions carefully.

3. Use the stylus, the pin-like punching tool, to select the candidate’s name and make sure to punch through the hole completely. If it is not punched completely, the vote will not be counted.

4. Voters do not have to vote for every office.

5. Voters can choose to write in a candidate’s name by using the write-in form or the upper long stub on a fold-over ballot.

6. Check the ballot before leaving the booth. The number of the punched hole should match with the candidate’s number on the ballot. Again, make sure the holes are punched completely.

7. Place the ballot in the security sleeve or the security envelope.

8. After leaving the booth, hand the ballot to the election judge.

9. The judge will drop the ballot into the ballot box.

10. If there is an error on the ballot, voters might be notified, depending on the polling location and system. Errors include over-voting or under-voting, where too many or too little votes are made.

After leaving the polling place, look for election results on TV and the county clerk’s Web site, www.champaigncountyclerk.com.