WASHINGTON–More than 187,000 Illinoisans have already voted, taking advantage of two new options to cast ballots weeks ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
WASHINGTON–More than 187,000 Illinoisans have already voted, taking advantage of two new options to cast ballots weeks ahead of the Nov. 4 election. A total of 111,095 residents used early ballots and 76,936 more participated in grace period registration, according to reports received by the State Board of Elections through Thursday, in a week when most election authorities took off on Monday’s Columbus Day holiday. An additional 187,881 have applied for absentee ballots, the traditional method for voting when not able to vote at a precinct polling place on election day. Some of those may already have been cast, but the figures were not available. The latest numbers are for the entire state, except for a handful of sparsely populated counties, Rupert Borgsmiller, the state election board’s assistant director, said Friday. There was no breakdown by county or region. The differences in the types of early voting are significant. In grace period registration, voters may register until Oct. 21 with proper identification — two weeks after the usual Oct. 7 deadline. The catch? Votes must be cast at the same time. In early voting, people can cast a ballot until Oct. 30. In contrast, absentee voting allows residents to vote by mail or in person until election day but only if they provide one of several permitted excuses for not doing it when most people do. Signs hint at a record turnout. Madison County’s clerk reported that for the first two days the number of early voters averaged 1,900 per day, passing by about 1,000 the highest previous number for an entire election voting period. Borgsmiller said he could not gauge what the high early participation means in terms of likely overall turnout because it is the first time Illinois has had early voting and grace period registration available for a presidential election. Voters had the grace period registration and early voting options in 2006, but officials say they were far less known and much less used. For example, grace period registration began in 2006 with 2,367 signing up for the primary and 6,524 registering for the general election. It’s at least arguably circumstantial evidence beyond the anecdotes from local officials about the public’s heightened interest in a general election that features a major-party presidential candidate from Illinois. And it shows the state’s residents are far more aware of the new options — for some, a more convenient time or a chance to avoid the long lines at the polls. Cook County Clerk David Orr has said early voting should take the pressure off polling place workers and increase the chances that election day runs more smoothly and with fewer mistakes. Also, some officials say many precincts do not have facilities that are accessible to disabled voters, but the places for early voting do. Statewide voter registration recently passed its all-time high of 7.5 million in 2004, with still plenty of time for more registrants. In the spring, registration was at 7.17 million. AP ______ Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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