08/27/2026
Today, August 26th, was Women's Equality Day, a day to celebrate American women gaining the right to vote in 1920. Its crazy to think that half of our population has only been able to vote in the elections that influence their every day lives for just over 100 years.
There is A LOT of talk about our voting rights in the US with the upcoming General Election. The most common question I receive is, if the name on my birth certificate does not match my legal name, will I still be able to vote? And I understand the uncertainty. The United States House of Representatives has passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act or SAVE America Act) multiple times. However, the United States Senate has not passed the bill, but is currently being debated. It is frustrating to me, our elected representatives have spent so much time on this bill, when the Federal Government has stated less than 0.05% of voter verification cases are flagged as non US citizens. Further, of that number most were proven to be valid and legitimate voters.
While I could talk rumors, and my gut feeling on what the rules will be for the upcoming election, we will stay with facts (Illinois dependent. Check your state's Board of Elections for more information). According to the Illinois Board of Elections, if you are a registered voter and your name and address match the registration, that is the only verification you need. If it does not match, you can still vote utilizing a provisional ballot in person.
I do urge you all to check your voter registration to ensure you are registered and the information is accurate. Go here to check: https://ova.elections.il.gov/registrationlookup.aspx
For more information on the entire process and FAQ go to: https://www.elections.il.gov/InformationForVoters.aspx?MID=I0cuvBFuZRw%3d
If you have additional questions, feel free to email us at [email protected] I may not know the answer, but I will find it out for you.
Thank you,
Amy Buttram
Chair
Vermilion County Democratic Party
