Election officials in McLean County said a recent Supreme Court ruling allowing President Donald Trump to pursue mail-in voting restrictions will not immediately affect Bloomington-Normal.
“It's business as usual. We will be notified by the ISBE [Illinois State Board of Elections] if anything changes,” Bloomington Election Commission Acting Executive Director Stephanie Hanner said.
Director of Elections for McLean County Mark Senger said he was concerned that the county clerk's office may lose potential vote-by-mail voters in the future, but as of now, this ruling does not impact how they are approaching the Nov. 3 general election.
“Nothing has changed, and quite honestly, we are seeing a great influx of vote-by-mail applications coming in, not just for the November election, but being on the permanent list,” Senger said. “I think that’s a really good thing that voters are still trustworthy with the vote-by-mail system that the state has in place.”
Senger said this influx of vote-by-mail applications is mostly due to a law requiring the office to send a permanent vote-by-mail application to every registered voter in the area.
According to Senger, the McLean County Clerk’s Office is required to stick to the current election laws, and voters should not hesitate to vote-by-mail.
The Bloomington Election Commission and McLean County Clerk’s Office urged mail-in voters to return their ballots as soon as possible.
“As long as the ballot is postmarked by or on Election Day and received by the BEC [Bloomington Election Commission] office within 14 days of the election, it will be processed,” Hanner said. “There is a 24-hour drop box in front of the BEC office, available until 7 p.m. on Election Day, as well.”
“Do not procrastinate on your mail-in ballots,” Senger said.
Drop boxes are located under around-the-clock public surveillance and are safe and secure, according to Senger.
“This office is excited about this election and future elections.” Senger said. “This is our time to shine in the elections department, and this is what we live for.”
Mail-in ballots will start being sent out on Sept. 24.
The 2026 general election will take place Nov. 3.
For early voting dates, times and locations, take a look at the McLean County Clerk’s Office’s early voting page or the City of Bloomington Board of Election Commissioners’ early voting page.
