What time do polls close in Illinois? See key voting hours for today's primaries
The 2026 Illinois primary election is Tuesday, March 17, when voters will get to choose their candidates for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and more. So what time do you need to be at the polls if you're voting on primary day?
What time do polls open in Illinois?
Polls opened on primary day statewide at 6 a.m.
While early voting locations can have different hours depending on the day and location, all polls in the state of Illinois open and close at the same time for primary day voting, and also on Election Day in November.
Hundreds of polling places are open across the state. To find your polling place, visit the Illinois State Board of Elections website and enter your address.
If you are not registered to vote but want to be, you can register on-site at any polling place through primary day. Additionally, Illinois residents who are 17 at the time of the primary, but will be 18 on Election Day in November, are able to vote in both elections and can also register at the polls.
To register to vote at an Illinois polling place, you must provide two valid forms of identification, such as a driver's license or state ID.
If you requested a vote-by-mail ballot but haven't yet put it in the mailbox, many polling places also have drop boxes where you can submit your ballot and be sure it's counted. A full list of drop box locations is available here.
What times do polls close in Illinois?
Polls close on primary day at 7 p.m.
However, if you are in line but have not yet cast your ballot when the polls close at 7 p.m., stay in line! Anyone in line when polls officially close in Illinois will be allowed to vote. You don't need to feel rushed either; your vote will be counted as long as you stay in line and fill out your ballot.
Polls can get busy in the evening hours because of voters getting off work. While historically major waits at the polls have not been reported in Illinois, you may still want to budget extra time for voting if you are planning to go in the evening.
Can you cast your ballot outside of voting hours in Illinois?
Illinois early voting began Feb. 5 in some counties, and was available statewide by March.
The Illinois State Board of Elections and the Chicago Board of Elections have lists of early voting locations and hours on their websites. Early voting ended when those sites closed on March 16.
As of primary day, nearly 188,000 ballots had already been cast early or by mail, which is higher than this point in recent midterm primaries.
When will results start coming in?
Results will start being reported when polls close at 7 p.m.
Some of the races in Tuesday's primary are uncontested, and final results could be near instantaneous. Others have many candidates and may take longer for a winner to be projected.
However, polls need to close before any results, including those from early voting and mail-in voting, can be reported.
The Chicago Board of Elections has reported strong early voting and mail-in voting numbers ahead of primary day. According to the CBOE, as of Sunday, March 15, more than 160,000 early or mail-in votes had been cast or received, higher than the last two midterm election years.
You can see the latest live updates on the Illinois primary election here.
