Election Day is rapidly approaching and is now less than one week away. Given this is a college newspaper, the people reading this article most likely are voting in their first presidential election. Are you unsure if you are already registered to vote?  You can check your voter status on the official Illinois state website.

If you are just now realizing that you’ve forgotten to register to vote, don’t freak out. Though the deadline to register to vote online has passed, you can still vote on the day of the election. Here’s what you need to do.

Find your local polling place in advance.

You can find where your local polling place is simply by entering your address at the following link:  https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/

The polls in Illinois will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 3.

Make sure you have proper forms of identification.

At the polling place, you must have a valid form of identification, including the following:

• an Illinois driver’s license;
• a United States passport;
• a U.S. military ID

Obviously, you must be above the age of 18 and a citizen of the United States to vote.

Aside from Election Day, early voting is still going on up until the day before the election on Nov. 2. For early voting, the process is the same as voting on Election Day. 

Meghan is a junior in LAS.

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