The deadline for voter registration is approaching and the DeKalb County Clerk’s Office is expecting a heavy turnout for November.

Sharon L. Holmes, DeKalb County clerk and recorder, is predicting a 75 percent voter turnout for the county.

“The election office is very busy this year,” Holmes said. “Hundreds of people are coming in every week.”

As of last week, the clerk’s office had sent out over 3,500 registration cards, she said.

The deadline to register is Oct. 5 and students who have moved in this fall should register immediately.

All that is needed to register are two forms of identification, one of which must have a local address, said Nancy Marchiando, elections clerk.

Marchiando said students often use a class schedule or bill with their local address as one form of ID. The second form might be a driver’s license, school ID, vehicle registration, credit card or similar type of identification.

There are several places to register in Dekalb both on-campus and off-campus:

‘The Student Association Office, Holmes Student Center

‘University Resources for Latinos

First National Bank, 141 W. Lincoln Hwy.

‘American National Bank, 913 S. Fourth St.

‘DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St.

The City Clerk’s Office, 200 S. 4th St.

‘The State of Illinois Driver’s License Office, 1360 Oakwood road

Holmes said a common misconception is that people can register at the post office in DeKalb. “Many times people have gone to the post office to register and they didn’t even know where to send them,” she said.

The entire registration process takes about five minutes, Marchiando said. Voters who wait until the last day may have to wait in lines, depending on where they go, she said.

The last day is always the busiest, Holmes said. “People procrastinate and wait until the last minute.”

Four years ago, more than 1,000 people went to the county clerk’s office on the last day, she said.

Students who want to vote in local elections in their hometowns can call or write to their county officials to request an absentee ballot if they are already registered in that county, she said.

Holmes said they will first receive an application for an absentee ballot in the mail, which they must return.

Then they will receive their ballots, cast their votes and mail it back to the county, Holmes said.