Absentee Voting
Who is qualified to vote absentee?
If you are registered* to vote in Madison County, you are eligible to cast an absentee ballot.
As of January 1, 2010, no excuses are necessary for you to vote absentee.
*If you registered by mail without providing identification and will be voting for the first time, you are not eligible to vote absentee by mail. You may vote absentee in person at the County Clerk's Office or may vote early.
In addition, the following unregistered voters are eligible to vote by absentee ballot:
- Members of the Armed Forces or Merchant Marine and their spouses and dependents whether serving in the United States or abroad;
- U.S. citizens and their spouses or dependents, whose permanent residence is in Madison County but who will be temporarily residing abroad on election day;
- U.S. citizens (not their spouses or dependents) who maintained a residence in Madison County immediately prior to their departure from the United States.
The absentee balloting process
- Request application for absentee ballot
- Receive application for absentee ballot
- Return application for absentee ballot
- Receive absentee ballot packet
- Return absentee ballot packet
- Accept/reject absentee ballot packet*
- Ballot ready to cast on election day
*Absentee ballot packets must be complete. They are often rejected because the application is not signed or the application is not included or no signature on affidavit or ballot not in official affidavit envelope.
Absentee Voting by Mail
You need to request an Application for Absentee Ballot using email absentee@co.Madison.il.us or call our office at (618) 296-4500. The Madison County Clerk's Office will need the your name, residence address, mailing address and date of birth at the time of request. An application will be sent to you. After we receive your application, a packet with the ballot, Instructions for Voting by Absentee Ballot, certificate envelope and a return mailing envelope will be mailed to you. Our office will not mail ballots more than 40 days or less than five days prior to the election.
When you get the absentee ballot packet, follow all instructions on how to vote and return the ballot to the County Clerk's office. Your absentee ballots by mail must be postmarked by midnight on the day before the election and received within 14 days after the election. If you personally deliver to the County Clerk's Office, the ballot must be received no later than Election Day. A spouse, parent, child, sibling, or a licensed delivery service can personally deliver your ballot if the authorization form (found on reverse side of instruction sheet) is completed by the voter and included with the ballot.
Absentee Voting in Person
Any qualified voter may cast an absentee ballot in person at the Madison County Clerk's office not more than 40 days or less than one day prior to the election. The Madison County Clerk's office and other offsite voting locations offer early voting to any registered voter without reason (i.e. not required to be absent, physically disabled, etc.). Early voting commences 22 days prior to an election and ends five days prior to the election. For more information, call the Absentee Department at 618-296-4500.
Student Voters
Students away at college who will be unable to vote in person may fill out a Student Absentee Program Application to enroll in a absentee program tailored to your situation. You will automatically be sent an absentee ballot application for student voter for every election within 2 years of the date of the application. Upon expiration, a renewal form will be sent out to students at their permanent address. For more information, call us at 618-296-4500 or email us absentee@co.Madison.il.us.
Temporarily Absent Student Enrollment form (PDF)
Regular Absentee Voters (year after after)
If you live in Madison County and spend part of the year outside of the county, you can enroll in our Regular Absentee Program for convenient absentee ballot voting. During the periods you specify, absentee ballot applications are automatically mailed to the alternate mailing address provided. Call the Absentee Department at 618-296-4500 for more information.
Regular Absentee Program Enrollment form (PDF)
Military/Overseas Voters*
Members of the Uniformed Services and their family members or U.S. citizens residing overseas whose last known address is in Madison County and wish to vote absentee may do so by completing and mailing an FPCA (Federal Post Card Application)* to Madison County Clerk's Office, P.O. Box 218, Edwardsville, IL 62025. By completing this application, you will automatically be sent an absentee ballot for every election through 2 general elections.
Click here for more information and the FPCA form.
Nursing Home Voting
The County Clerk’s Office provides election judges to conduct in-person absentee voting to (registered) residents at those facilities who wish to vote. Voters must be a permanent resident registered at the nursing home address.
Disabled Voters
Illinois State Statute requires voters who are permanently disabled to complete an Application for Absentee Voter's 5 Year Identification Card form* along with an Affidavit of Attending Physician* in order to automatically be sent an absentee ballot application for every election within 5 years after we receive the application. Click here* for an application, fill out the first page and have your doctor fill out the second page and mail it to:
Madison County Clerk
P.O. Box 218
Edwardsville, IL 62025
*These forms must be notarized
Hospitalized Voters
If you enter the hospital fourteen days or less before an election, you can have an absentee ballot brought to them. Contact our office at 618-296-4500 to find out more.
How do we process a voter’s absentee ballot by mail?
For the status of your absentee ballot or request click here.- A voter requests an application for absentee ballot
- We send the voter an application with instructions
- The voter fills out the application and sends it to us.
- We enter the absentee application into the voter registration system.
- We send the voter the absentee ballot packet with instructions.
- The voter votes the ballot and seals it in the ballot envelope.
- The voter provides the sealed ballot envelope to us with applicable affidavits in the mail envelope provided.
- We receive the mail envelope and log receipt in the voter registration system.
- We keep the ballot in the sealed envelope until Election Day.
- On Election Day, election judges open the sealed ballot envelope
- The ballot is scanned into the absentee ballot system (link)
- After the polls close the scanned ballots are tabulated.
- Preliminary Absentee ballot results are reported to the public as part of the precinct results after the polls close on Election Day.
