Clerk's Office will Help the House-Bound Register to Vote

Do you have to register to vote but cannot make it to Village Hall because of a disability?

No problem - someone from the clerk's office will come to the house. A phone call to the village clerk's office at 708-366-2323, is all it takes.

"We've been known to go to the site if you can't make it in," said Vanessa Moritz, Forest Park's village clerk.

Forest Park residents also can register between 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at Village Hall, 517 DesPlaines Ave.

Eligible voters can also register in person from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays at 1311 Maybrook Square, Room 104 in Maywood. Call 708-865-6010 for more information.

If registering to vote in person, you must display two pieces of identification. Neither needs to be a photo ID, but one must include a current address. Acceptable forms of ID include:

• Illinois driver's license.
• Illinois state ID.
• Employee or student ID.
• Credit card.
• Social security card.
• Birth certificate.
• Utility bill in applicant's name.
• Mail postmarked to the applicant.
• Valid U.S. passport.
• Lease or rental contract.

Folks also can request a mail-in voter application form from the Cook County Clerk's Office. Call 312-603-0906. Voter registration applications are available in English, Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Korean and Polish.

First-time voters who register by mail no longer have to vote in person the first time they vote. They can either vote in person or vote absentee by mail.

When submitting a voter registration application:

• Fill out the entire application
• Sign the application
• Mail the completed, signed application to: 
  • David Orr, Cook County Clerk
    69 W. Washington St., Room 500
    Chicago, IL 60602.

The deadline to register is Oct. 9. For more information, click here.