Illinois entered the first phase of its Nov. 3 general election Thursday, with local election authorities able to open early-voting sites and begin sending regular vote-by-mail ballots 40 days before Election Day.

The opening is statewide in law, but access will expand on different schedules across Illinois. In Madison County, for example, early voting began Sept. 24 at the county clerk’s office, while remote sites are scheduled to open Oct. 19. Voters should therefore confirm locations and hours with their own county clerk or municipal election board rather than assume every early-voting site is operating immediately.

The same date also starts the regular mailing window for ballots requested by mail. Madison County’s clerk said applications received before Thursday had been held for lawful processing, not withheld, because the mailing date is fixed by state law. The office said eligible voters who already applied do not need to submit a duplicate request simply because a ballot had not arrived before Sept. 24.

Illinois law gives registered voters several ways to participate before Election Day. Under the Election Code, a voter may apply electronically or by mail for a vote-by-mail ballot from 90 days until five days before an election; an in-person application may be made until one day before. Illinois also maintains an official registration portal where residents can register online or check their status.

The 2026 ballot carries consequences across every level of Illinois government. Voters will choose a successor to retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, decide congressional and General Assembly contests, and vote in statewide races for governor, attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller and treasurer. County, judicial and referendum questions vary by address, making local sample-ballot checks especially important.

The opening date also should not be read as a promise that every convenient site is available for all 40 days. Madison County’s published schedule illustrates the distinction: the clerk’s office starts first, followed weeks later by a larger network of remote locations. Other counties and municipal election boards set their own site calendars within the state framework, so voters need to check the authority serving their registration address.

Mail voters face an additional timing consideration this year. The Illinois State Board of Elections previously urged voters not to wait until Election Day to mail completed ballots because a Postal Service processing change can place the postmark one or two days after a ballot enters the mail. State officials advised using a postal retail counter to request a manual postmark or returning the ballot through an authorized election office or secure drop box, according to a March advisory.

Thursday’s start is therefore a procedural milestone, not a uniform opening of every voting location. The practical next step is local: verify registration, review the correct ballot, and check the election authority’s current hours and return options. Election Day remains Nov. 3, but Illinois voters now have a 40-day window in which early in-person and mail voting can begin.