How To Track Your Ballot In McHenry County

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — With a record number of mail-in ballots expected to be cast during this year’s election, McHenry County is offering voters a way to track their ballots from the mailbox to election officials’ hands.

BallotTrax notifies voters about the status of their ballots at each step of the process, from the ballots being mailed out to when they are accepted by election officials, according to a news release.

Voters who sign up for the service on the McHenry County Clerk’s website can choose to receive notifications by call, text or email. Other suburban counties, including Kane County, are also utilizing the online service this election.

Kane County Clerk John Cunningham said the service will make the vote-by-mail process easier and more transparent while increasing voters’ confidence in the system.

“Being able to the track the status of their own ballot through the mail process will help to reassure voters that their ballot was received by the clerk’s office and was not lost in the mail,” Cunningham said.

Clerk's offices in suburban Chicago started mailing ballots on Sept. 24 to those who requested them. McHenry County voters can request a mail-in ballot until Oct 29, but voters are being urged not to wait until then.

McHenry County voters can cast their mail-in ballots by placing them in their personal mailboxes or by taking them to one of three drop boxes set up by election officials. The drop boxes will be located at the Kane County Clerk’s office in Geneva, its Aurora satellite office and Elgin City Hall.

The county’s first early voting station is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the County Administration Building, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock. Eleven more early voting locations will open on Oct. 19.

People who want to drop off their mail-in ballots can do so at the secured 24-hour drop box in front of the administration building. Four more drop boxes will be offered when the remaining early voting stations open Oct. 19. The drop boxes will be located at the Dole Mansion in Crystal Lake, McHenry City Hall in McHenry, Lake in the Hills Village Hall and the McHenry Township Office Johnsburg.

For more information and a detailed schedule for early voting locations, click here