Early Voting Ends Today

Today (Thursday) is the last day to vote early. You can vote until 7pm in Room 105 of the County Building, 200 S. 9th Street, in Springfield.

Counties where early voting has been in place for more than one election sometimes have 30% of the public participate in early voting. This year, Sangamon County will be far below that. Part of the reason is that it's something new. Part of the reason is that we only have early voting at one location.

There were a number of changes with elections this year, such as new voting equipment, so the election office staff has had their work cut out for them. But, this should absolutely be the last year that early voting only happens in the County Building. One county in Tennessee I'm familiar with, where early voting has been in place for several years, always has six locations to vote early, despite not being much larger than Sangamon County. That's something I would strongly encourage the County Clerk to do in future elections.

I voted

Monday evening I went to the County Building and voted early. I wanted to get voting taken care of and take part in an interesting change to Illinois election law that allows you to vote before Election Day for any reason.

The new voting machines were first used in the primary so this was the second time I used them to vote. Even so, it took me a little time to remember how they operate and get through the voting process. The machine asks you to confirm your votes so it takes a little longer than the older system.

Because so many people will be using this voting system for the first time, there may be longer lines than usual on Election Day. That's one reason I'm encouraging people to vote early. It guarantees you won't have to wait in line to vote on Election Day, and it will also make it easier for the election judges if they have fewer people to instruct on the day of the election.

If you live in Sangamaon County, vote early at Room 105 of the County Building, 200 S. 9th Street, Springfield. It happens October 16th through November 2nd. Hours will be Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. and on Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

There's also grace period voter registration through October 24th. If you aren't registered to vote, or moved since you last registered, you can vote and register at the same time in the election office in the County Building. You can find more information at the County Clerk's website.