Aurora Voter Guide: Voting in the Nov. 3, 2026 Election
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 — and in Aurora, your ballot is administered by one of four county clerks, depending on your address. This Aurora voter guide covers early voting in all four counties, the Oct. 29 mail ballot deadline, and the mayoral-recall question every Aurora voter will see.
By Naperville Guide · Published October 25, 2026
Aurora is split four ways: most of the city sits in Kane County, the east side is in DuPage, and smaller pieces reach into Kendall and Will. Each county runs its own election — its own early voting sites, mail ballot handling, and polling assignments. And the Aurora Election Commission you may remember is gone (the story is at the bottom of this guide); your county clerk is your election authority now. Everything below traces to the four county election authorities, the City Clerk's official election notice, and the Illinois State Board of Elections. This guide is nonpartisan: how and where to vote, never who to vote for.
Voting on Election Day in Aurora: Tuesday, Nov. 3
Polls are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, everywhere in Illinois, and if you're in line by 7 p.m. you can still vote. Where you go depends on your county. Kane County voters have it easiest: the County Clerk states that voters can go to any polling place in the county on Election Day. DuPage, Kendall, and Will voters vote at their assigned precinct polling place. Check yours before you leave: Kane's Voter Search, the DuPage County Election Division lookup, the Will County Clerk's Nov. 3 election page, Kendall's County Clerk voting page, or the State Board's registration lookup.
Early voting in Aurora, by county
Early voting is open now and runs through Monday, Nov. 2 in all four counties. Your county — not your nearest site — decides where you can go, so find your county below. (Naperville readers: our Naperville voter guide covers that city's two-county split.)
Kane County voters — two sites inside Aurora
Most Aurorans are Kane voters, and the county keeps two early voting sites in the city: the Clerk's Aurora Satellite Office (5 E. Downer Place, Suite F, downtown), open since Sept. 24, and the Vaughan Athletic Center (2121 W. Indian Trail), open since Oct. 19. Both are open today, Sunday Oct. 25, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Oct. 26–30, satellite 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m. and Vaughan 9 a.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 31, both 8 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 1, both 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Monday, Nov. 2, both close at 4 p.m. Any Kane voter may use any early voting site in the county.
DuPage County voters — Fox Valley Mall
DuPage's Aurora site is Fox Valley Mall (195 Fox Valley Center Dr., Entrance #1, Unit E2) — one of 24 permanent early voting sites, all open weekdays 8 a.m.–7 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m.–5 p.m. through Nov. 2, and any DuPage voter can use any of them.
Kendall County voters — Yorkville and Oswego
A slice of far-southeast Aurora votes in Kendall County, where County Clerk Debbie Gillette's office runs the election. Early voting is at the Election Office, Kendall County Office Building (502 S. Main St., Yorkville): Oct. 26–30, 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 a.m.–3 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 1, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; Monday, Nov. 2, 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m. A second site, Oswego Village Hall (100 Parkers Mill, Oswego), runs weekdays 9 a.m.–7 p.m. through Wednesday, Oct. 28.
Will County voters — the Wheatland corner
Aurora's Will County precincts sit in Wheatland Township, on the city's southeast edge, and the Will County Clerk administers them. Will's early voting sites and hours are on the Clerk's early voting page, and the Clerk's Nov. 3 election page pulls up your sample ballot and polling place by address. On Election Day, Will voters use their assigned polling place.
Voting by mail in Aurora
The mail rules are set by state law, so they're identical in all four counties. Illinois requires no excuse to vote by mail, and your election authority must receive your application by Thursday, Oct. 29 — apply through your own county clerk, or in person at the clerk's office through Nov. 2. A returned ballot counts if it is postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 17, but mail early: a postmark isn't guaranteed the day you drop it in a box. You can also hand-deliver it to your clerk's office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, or use a secure drop box where your county offers one. One rule surprises people every cycle: a completed mail ballot cannot be turned in at a polling place or early voting site — bring it anyway and the judges will offer to let you surrender it and vote in person instead.
Not registered — or moved since you last voted?
Regular registration closed Oct. 6 and online registration closed Oct. 18, but grace-period registration runs through Election Day: register (or fix an address change) in person and vote during the same visit — there's no registering now and voting elsewhere later. Bring two forms of identification, one showing your current address. Kane's permanent early voting sites double as grace-period locations, and the Aurora Satellite Office has taken grace-period registrations since Oct. 7.
What's on the Nov. 3 ballot for Aurora voters
It's a long ballot. At the top: an open U.S. Senate seat for Illinois, your U.S. House race, Governor and Lt. Governor, and the statewide offices — Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer. Below that: State Senate and State House, your county's offices (county board, clerk, treasurer, sheriff), and judges — including retention questions that need 60% "yes" to keep a judge on the bench.
Aurora is sliced into several congressional and legislative districts across four counties, so any single candidate list printed here would be wrong for most of the city. Use your official sample ballot instead — the county lookups above show the exact ballot for your address, including any small-district question at the end.
The one question every Aurora ballot shares: mayoral recall
However much your ballot differs by county, one question is printed on all of them, in all four counties. It reached the ballot by citizen petition, and the City Clerk's official notice of election gives its exact, binding wording:
"Shall the City of Aurora adopt the following electoral system immediately upon passage of this binding referendum: the Mayor may be recalled and removed by a majority vote at a recall election that may be triggered by the filing of a recall petition signed by a number of Aurora electors equal to 20% of the total votes cast for all candidates for mayor in the immediately preceding mayoral election; and upon the certification of a valid recall petition, the question 'Shall (name of Mayor) be recalled and removed from the Office of Mayor of the City of Aurora' shall be placed on the ballot at the immediately succeeding regularly-scheduled election to be held in the City of Aurora; and that in the event the Mayor is recalled and removed, the City Council shall fill the vacancy in the office of Mayor within 30 days from the date of the recall election, which appointment shall be for the remainder of the term, except that if more than 13 months remain in the term, the City Council shall set a date for a special election to be held within 9 months of the recall election at which time the voters of the City of Aurora shall elect a Mayor to serve the remaining term in office?"
In plain terms: a yes vote adopts that system — a petition reaching the 20% threshold would put a recall question on the next regular ballot, and a majority there would remove the mayor. A no vote leaves Aurora with no mayoral recall process. We checked the counties' filings for other Aurora questions and found no school district, park district, or library question — this is the local item on the ballot, and anything district-specific for your address will print on your sample ballot.
Whatever happened to the Aurora Election Commission?
Long-time Aurorans voted for decades through a city agency, the Aurora Election Commission, created in 1934 to run elections in the Kane, Kendall, and Will portions of the city (DuPage's side was always handled by DuPage). Voters dissolved the commission in a referendum in the March 20, 2018 primary, a court order closed it that June, and the county clerks ran Aurora's elections for the first time that November. One leftover of the change sits downtown: the Kane County Clerk opened the Aurora Satellite Office at 5 E. Downer Place for the transition — the same office most Aurora voters use for early voting today.
FAQ
Which county do I vote in if I live in Aurora?
The county your home is in — most of Aurora is Kane, the east side is DuPage, and smaller areas fall in Kendall and Will. The State Board's registration lookup (linked above) shows your county, and your clerk's lookup pulls up your exact ballot.
Where can I vote early in Aurora?
Kane voters: the Aurora Satellite Office (5 E. Downer Place) or the Vaughan Athletic Center (2121 W. Indian Trail), through Nov. 2. DuPage voters: Fox Valley Mall or any of the county's 24 sites. Kendall voters: the Election Office in Yorkville or Oswego Village Hall. Will voters: sites on the Will County Clerk's early voting page. Hours are in the county cards above.
What is the Aurora mayoral recall question asking?
Whether Aurora should adopt a process for recalling its mayor: a petition signed by electors equal to 20% of the votes cast in the last mayoral election would trigger a recall vote at the next regular election, and a majority would remove the mayor. It's binding, appears on every Aurora ballot, and its full official wording is quoted above.
When is the last day to request a mail ballot in Illinois?
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026 — your election authority must receive the application by then. Returned ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and arrive by Nov. 17 to count; hand-delivery to your clerk's office is due by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3.
Can I still register to vote for the Nov. 3 election?
Yes — grace-period registration runs through Election Day at your clerk's office and early voting sites. Bring two forms of ID (one with your current address) and be ready to vote in the same visit.
Voting done and looking for the rest of the week's plans? The Aurora events calendar has everything else on between now and Election Day.
Sources & verification. Details verified October 25, 2026 against the Kane County Clerk's official early voting poster and early voting page, the DuPage County Election Division, the Kendall County Clerk's official early voting schedule, the Will County Clerk's election pages, the City of Aurora Clerk's Notice of Election (Sept. 29, 2026), and the Illinois State Board of Elections; hours and locations change — confirm before heading out.