Election Day in a local race comes down to three things: knowing which supporters have not voted yet, reaching each of them once more, and making sure your volunteers know where to be and when. This checklist covers the week before, the night before, the day itself and the morning after, for candidates on the February 23, 2027 or April 6, 2027 ballot in Illinois. Print it, cross things off, and hand a copy to whoever is running your volunteers.
One rule runs through the whole list: check your election authority's polling hours and rules before you plan anything. Hours, locations and rules about campaigning near polling places come from your county clerk or board of election commissioners, and you should confirm them directly rather than from memory or another campaign.
For the full campaign calendar, see our guide to running for local office in Illinois.
The week before
Your list
- ☐ Pull your supporter list and remove everyone who told you they already voted.
- ☐ Separate opted-in text supporters (dated, written consent) from door-only supporters.
- ☐ Flag supporters who asked for a ride or help finding their polling place.
- ☐ Confirm the last day of early voting with your election authority.
Your rules
- ☐ Check your election authority's polling hours for Election Day.
- ☐ Ask your election authority about rules for campaigning near polling places, and share them with every volunteer.
- ☐ If you want poll watchers, ask your election authority what credentials they need and how to get them.
- ☐ Keep your election authority's phone number handy for any voter who has a problem at the polls.
Your people
- ☐ Confirm every volunteer by name, shift and job (doors, texts, rides, poll greeting where allowed).
- ☐ Assign each door volunteer a specific turf of supporters who have not voted.
- ☐ Line up drivers if you are offering rides, with a coordinator who answers the phone all day.
- ☐ Pick one person to watch the text inbox during each shift.
Your messages
- ☐ Write and schedule your Election Day morning text.
- ☐ Write an afternoon reminder for supporters who have not replied VOTED.
- ☐ Write your thank-you text for the day after.
- ☐ Check every message is under 160 characters and signed.
Our 25 campaign text templates for local races include all three.
The night before
- ☐ Print turf lists or load them on volunteers' phones.
- ☐ Charge phones and pack chargers.
- ☐ Pack the kit: literature, door hangers, pens, clipboards, water, snacks, a printed copy of this checklist.
- ☐ Send each volunteer their start time, meeting place and turf.
- ☐ Confirm your own polling place and when you will vote, if you have not voted early.
- ☐ Set an alarm. Sleep.
Election Day morning
- ☐ Vote, if you have not already.
- ☐ Send the morning text to opted-in supporters who have not told you they voted.
- ☐ Open the meeting place on time with coffee and turf ready.
- ☐ Brief volunteers: the polling hours, the rules near polling places, the script, and who to call with questions.
- ☐ Send the first door teams to supporters who have not voted.
Midday
- ☐ Update the voted list from text replies and door results.
- ☐ Reassign turf so no supporter gets two knocks while another gets none.
- ☐ Answer every text reply. Voters ask where to vote and whether you are on their ballot; send them to the county clerk's website for their polling place.
- ☐ Check in with the ride coordinator.
- ☐ Feed your volunteers.
Afternoon and evening
- ☐ Send the afternoon reminder to supporters who still have not replied VOTED.
- ☐ Put your strongest volunteers on the remaining supporter doors.
- ☐ Watch the clock against your election authority's closing time, and stop sending reminders once the polls close.
- ☐ Thank every volunteer before they leave.
After the polls close
- ☐ Find out from your election authority where and when results are posted.
- ☐ Call or text your opponents, win or lose, once results are clear.
- ☐ Thank your volunteers, by name if you can.
The morning after
- ☐ Send the thank-you text to opted-in supporters.
- ☐ Collect leftover literature, signs and supplies.
- ☐ Ask your election authority or municipality when yard signs need to come down, and arrange pickup.
- ☐ Keep every receipt. If you have a committee, quarterly reports are due on the 15th of the month after each quarter, and the committee keeps filing until it files a Final Report.
- ☐ If you are headed to an April 6 runoff or general after February 23, restart your plan: early voting for April 6 opens March 12 where a February primary ran.
The texting part of Election Day, in CampaignCNX+
On Election Day, texting does three jobs: reminds supporters, collects VOTED replies, and answers questions fast. Here is how to set it up the week before:
- Schedule the morning and afternoon texts to your opted-in supporters. Quiet-hours scheduling keeps them inside reasonable hours.
- Ask for a reply. End the morning text with "Reply VOTED if you already have." Replies land in the two-way inbox. Tag each VOTED reply and move that supporter out of your reminder group before the afternoon send, since sends go to groups.
- Staff the inbox. Add team members with roles (admin, manager, staffer) so a volunteer can answer while you are on the doors. Everyone works the same shared inbox.
- Let STOP handle itself. STOP replies are handled automatically, so no one who opts out gets an afternoon reminder.
Make sure your carrier registration is complete and Campaign Verify is current before Election Day week. CampaignCNX+ files your 10DLC and toll-free registration for you and guides you through Campaign Verify; requests made on or after November 15, 2026 last until January 31, 2029. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. Plans and pricing are on our Illinois political texting page.
For the doors, a canvassing app such as Beacon gives each volunteer a routed walk list, records results like contacted, not home and come back later, and shows progress in real time, so you can see which supporter doors are still open.
Start with early voting
Election Day goes best when most of your supporters have already voted. Our early voting plan for local candidates covers the six weeks before.