Information for students:

If you are a student living in the residence halls and are registered to vote in DeKalb County, you'll vote at the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center. For last minute changes in polling place, check the DeKalb County Clerk's website.

If you are currently living off-campus in an apartment and are registered to vote in DeKalb County, you may vote at a different location. You can look up your polling place by inputting your ZIP code (DeKalb's ZIP code is 60115) and street address.

You can also vote by mail or vote early in your precinct.

Information for NIU employees:

While there are no classes on November 5, Election Day is a regular working day and is not designated as a holiday for university employees in Illinois. However, employees may request paid time off to vote in accordance with State of Illinois law. An Election Day Holiday had previously been passed by the State Legislature as a one-year measure for each of the 2020 and 2022 election years. Similar legislation for 2024 does not apply to colleges and universities. For this reason, the general election will be a regularly scheduled work day.  

The State of Illinois grants up to two hours of paid time to vote under certain circumstances. Generally, employees are expected to vote during non-working hours. However, if an employee’s scheduled work hours conflict with the polling hours, then the employee may be eligible for time off to vote.

As specified in 10 ILCS 5/17-15, NIU must allow you release time to vote on Election Day. The following criteria must be met:

• You are eligible to vote.
• You request the leave before Election Day.
• Your work schedule begins less than two hours after the polls open and ends less than two hours before the polls close.
• The election is general or special, or an election where propositions are submitted to a popular vote in the state.

The polls are open in Illinois from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., so most employees will have time to vote before or after work. However, if you meet the above criteria, you may receive up to two hours of release time during polling hours. Your department may consider operational needs when scheduling the release time.