DeKALB | Students going home this weekend can still make their votes count.

Residents of DeKalb and surrounding counties have the opportunity to vote early or cast an absentee ballot.

Early voting will be offered to any eligible voter, without reason — voters are not required to be absent, physically disabled, etc. — through election day, according to DeKalb County’s election Web site. The deadline for mail-in applications is Thursday.

Persons who have registered by mail and will be voting for the first time are not eligible to vote absentee by mail. However, they may vote absentee in person, according Kane County’s voting Web site.

While not all counties allow voters to submit an absentee ballot after Nov. 2, some, such as Cook, have locations available to do so.

For future elections, there is also a Temporarily Absent Student Program available for students who will be out of their precinct. However, once enrolled in the program, the election commission automatically sends an application for absentee ballot form and ballot to the student for every election in the two-year period after enrollment in the program. The student may not claim the right to vote in more than one jurisdiction, according to DuPage’s voting Web site.