McLean County Times

Illinois Policy says it is more important than ever to verify that your mail-in or early ballot is being counted. 

The Nov. 3 election is one of the most historically significant for the residents of Illinois, as they will have the ability to say "No" to an income tax rate spike for the first time in five decades. Voters will decide if they would like to discard the current constitutional protections that require legislators to raise taxes on all residents at once with a progressive income tax. 

With plenty of skepticism and speculation surrounding mail-in voting and rumors of voter fraud swirling, voters can take measures to make sure their mail-in vote is safe this year. 

After you have cast a vote by mail ballot, you have the ability to verify that your ballot was received and counted. You may call your local election authority to verify this information. Voters can search for their local election authorities online.

When voting in person, ballots are definitively counted when submitted into the machine. 

If the election authority does not have record of a voter's ballot, it is possible that the ballot was lost in the mail, but more likely that the U.S. Postal Service could not deliver the ballot before the due date. The best way to prevent this from happening is to vote by mail well in advance of Election Day, drop mail ballots off in person at the election authority, or vote in person.