Post by gatordog on Apr 3, 2011 17:46:44 GMT -5
Early voting numbers point to low turnout on Election Day By Dan Cassidy dcassidy@stmedianetwork.com Apr 3, 2011 02:30AM
If early voting is any indication, turnout might be low for the municipal election Tuesday.
Residents in Naperville will have a chance to vote for mayor, City Council, Park District board, District 203 and 204 school boards, College of DuPage board and more.
However, voters tend to stay away from the polls during elections that don’t involve state or national races.
During the last municipal election in 2009, only 18 percent of voters cast a ballot in DuPage and Will counties. That compares to the 51 percent who came out to vote in the November election, which included a race for governor and congressional contests.
Thursday was the last day of early voting in DuPage and Will counties. In DuPage, 8,250 early votes were cast, compared to 32,596 early votes in the fall election. There are 559,000 registered voters in the county.
The early voting numbers are no surprise, said John Churinoff of the DuPage County Election Commission.
“It’s normal for an off-year election,” he said of the low early voting numbers.
Churinoff said that despite the numbers, early voting has become relatively popular.
“It’s very rare to find someone who doesn’t like it,” he said. “Everybody that does it seems to like it.”
A big reason for that is the convenience, he said. Not only do residents have plenty of time in which to cast a ballot, but there are many sites at which to vote. In DuPage, residents could use any of 12 sites scattered across the county, including the Naperville Municipal Center.
“We tried to have some place in every township” to make it easy to vote early, Churinoff said.
Will County had a similar plan, with early voting sites in different spots around the county, including Naperville.
Naperville City Clerk Pam LeFeber said 235 Will County residents came to the Naperville Municipal Center to vote early, with 50 of them casting ballots on the final day of early voting Thursday.
In fact, some people came in Friday looking to vote, LeFeber said, only to be told that early voting was over.
In Wheatland Township, 59 residents took the opportunity to vote early. Overall, 3,826 Will County residents cast early ballots.
LeFeber said although early voting seems to be getting more popular, there are still a lot of people who hold out to vote on Election Day itself.
“They think maybe something will happen right before the election” that could change their vote, she said.
LeFeber just wishes more people would take the time to vote in municipal elections, either early or on Election Day.
“It is so ironic,” she said. “This is the government that’s closest to the people, and it always gets the worst turnout.”
If early voting is any indication, turnout might be low for the municipal election Tuesday.
Residents in Naperville will have a chance to vote for mayor, City Council, Park District board, District 203 and 204 school boards, College of DuPage board and more.
However, voters tend to stay away from the polls during elections that don’t involve state or national races.
During the last municipal election in 2009, only 18 percent of voters cast a ballot in DuPage and Will counties. That compares to the 51 percent who came out to vote in the November election, which included a race for governor and congressional contests.
Thursday was the last day of early voting in DuPage and Will counties. In DuPage, 8,250 early votes were cast, compared to 32,596 early votes in the fall election. There are 559,000 registered voters in the county.
The early voting numbers are no surprise, said John Churinoff of the DuPage County Election Commission.
“It’s normal for an off-year election,” he said of the low early voting numbers.
Churinoff said that despite the numbers, early voting has become relatively popular.
“It’s very rare to find someone who doesn’t like it,” he said. “Everybody that does it seems to like it.”
A big reason for that is the convenience, he said. Not only do residents have plenty of time in which to cast a ballot, but there are many sites at which to vote. In DuPage, residents could use any of 12 sites scattered across the county, including the Naperville Municipal Center.
“We tried to have some place in every township” to make it easy to vote early, Churinoff said.
Will County had a similar plan, with early voting sites in different spots around the county, including Naperville.
Naperville City Clerk Pam LeFeber said 235 Will County residents came to the Naperville Municipal Center to vote early, with 50 of them casting ballots on the final day of early voting Thursday.
In fact, some people came in Friday looking to vote, LeFeber said, only to be told that early voting was over.
In Wheatland Township, 59 residents took the opportunity to vote early. Overall, 3,826 Will County residents cast early ballots.
LeFeber said although early voting seems to be getting more popular, there are still a lot of people who hold out to vote on Election Day itself.
“They think maybe something will happen right before the election” that could change their vote, she said.
LeFeber just wishes more people would take the time to vote in municipal elections, either early or on Election Day.
“It is so ironic,” she said. “This is the government that’s closest to the people, and it always gets the worst turnout.”