FVAP News Release

January 16, 2009

Illinois to Hold a Special Primary Election on March 3, 2009 for Candidates for Representative in Congress from the 5th District

On Tuesday, March 3, 2009 there will be a special primary election in the 5th Congressional District of Illinois to determine the political parties’ candidates to appear on the ballot for a special general election to be held on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Representative Rahm Emanuel. To determine if your legal residence is in the 5th Congressional District, click on http://fvap.gov/reference/about-elect-officials/index.html and then on “United States House of Representatives.”

Voting Assistance Officers (VAOs) should contact those citizens they assist who are Illinois voters and inform them of this news release and provide help to them in requesting and returning their absentee ballot.

Registering to Vote and Requesting a Ballot:

All members of the U.S. Uniformed Services, their family members and citizens residing outside the U.S. who are Illinois residents from the 5th District should request a ballot for this special general election by completing and submitting a registration and ballot request, Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), SF-76, as soon as possible, if you have not done so already in calendar year 2009. The online version of the FPCA is available from the FVAP website by clicking on the appropriate citizen at www.fvap.gov. The FPCA may be submitted by fax or email in addition to regular mail. To send the FPCA directly by fax or email send to:

Chicago Board of Elections 
Fax: 312-269-1624 Email: fpca@chicagoelections.com

Cook County Clerk 
Fax: 312-603-9786 Email: absentee@cookcountygov.com

Voters who are Illinois residents from the 5th District, who requested and received a ballot for the Federal General election on November 4, 2008 and who have indicated a political party preference will automatically receive the special primary election ballot, and need not take any further action.

The Cook County Clerk or the Chicago Board of Elections must receive the request for absentee ballot not later than Tuesday, February 23, 2009.

Cook County and the Chicago Board of Elections allow members of the U.S. Uniformed Services and their family members to send the FPCA for registration and ballot request by fax or email. After faxing or emailing, submit the original FPCA by mail. The faxed or emailed FPCA should include a Transmittal Cover Sheet which may be found at http://fvap.gov/resources/media/coversheet.pdf (PDF).

By fax: To send directly to your election office, send to:

Chicago Board of Elections Fax: 312-269-1624
Cook County Clerk Fax: 312-603-9786
or use the following toll-free fax numbers through FVAP for the U.S. and Canada:
1-800-368-8683, (703) 693-5527 or DSN 223-5527 (military).

At http://fvap.gov/contact/toll-free-fax/index.html , there is a list of additional toll-free fax numbers from overseas countries.

By email: Scan the Transmittal Cover Sheet and the FPCA as a pdf document and attach the scanned document directly to:

Chicago Board of Elections at fpca@chicagoelections.com
Cook County Clerk at absentee@cookcountygov.com
or to FVAP at ets@fvap.ncr.gov.

Application for Ballot by Proxy:
If you are a member of the Uniformed Service, and your spouse, dependent, mother, father, sister, or brother is registered to vote in your election precinct of voting residence, he or she may use a special application provided by the election official to request that an absentee ballot be sent to you.

Receiving Your Ballot:
Illinois allows you to receive a Special Write-In Absentee Blank Ballot for the special primary election and the special general election by fax or email. Indicate that you desire to receive your ballot by fax or email by checking the appropriate box in Block 4c. on the FPCA. Be sure to include your complete fax number (including country codes) or email address.

Returning Your Ballot:
Illinois will allow you to return your marked Special Write-In Absentee Ballot by mail or fax, but not by email. If returning the marked ballot by fax, you must complete and sign the Transmittal Cover Sheet found at http://fvap.gov/resources/media/coversheet.pdf (PDF). When returned, your ballot will be counted if it is:

Postmarked by midnight the night of March 2, 2009, and

1. Arrives at the appropriate election authority (Chicago for city voters, Cook County Clerk for suburban Cook County voters) no later than March 9, 2009.
2. Faxed and received by the appropriate election authority by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

Additional Information:
State specific information on your precinct, candidates, elections, and voting is available at the Illinois State Board of Elections website, http://www.elections.state.il.us/ .

The FVAP can be contacted via 1-800-438-8683. Citizens may reach the FVAP toll-free from 67 countries using the toll-free numbers listed on the FVAP website, http://www.fvap.gov/contact/toll-free-phone/index.html . Questions regarding the above may also be referred to the Director, Federal Voting Assistance Program, Department of Defense, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC, 20301-1155, vote@fvap.ncr.gov and on the World Wide Web at www.fvap.gov .