Illinois voters will be able to register and vote up through Election Day next month, Attorney General Lisa Madigan said last week.

Madigan made the announcement after the Seventh District Court of Appeals stayed an order by a lower court last week to limit same-day voting registration in counties with populations of more than 100,000.

The law requires counties with populations of more than 100,000 to offer same-day voter registration at precinct places, while counties with populations less than 100,000 are not required to offer the same-day registration service at all voting sites. The initial ruling would have allowed same-day registration only at central voting locations.

“Election day registration allows all voters the opportunity to participate in our elections,” Madigan said in a news release.
An appeal was filed to the decision in late September that limited same-day registration only to central voting locations.

In the original case, the nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center challenged the law, arguing the same-day voter legislation unfairly discriminated against those in counties with populations of less than 100,000.

Early voting has already begun in Illinois and will last until the election on Nov. 8.

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