UPDATE 2:17 P.M.
PEORIA/CHILLICOTHE/WASHINGTON, Ill. – Voters are making their way to the polls on Election Day as they vote on a wide range of candidates and issues.
For some people, such as John Sprinkle in Chillicothe who says he votes in every election, he considers it a civic duty.
“Voting is the American way, and it should be done, and whether you have a strong opinion of a candidate, or a so-so opinion of a candidate, if you don’t vote, don’t complain,” Sprinkle said.
Sprinkle and other voters in Chillicothe are voting on two referendums Tuesday relating to the town’s library district. One question asks voters to raise the tax rate from .15% to .25%, while the other asks to annex four townships in western Marshall County into the district.
Sharon Minnes is Election Judge Coordinator at the Chillicothe Bible Church, and says turnout has been steady throughout the morning. She says there have been no issues, other than a few spoiled ballots.
Chris Safford is the secretary at the church, and says the vibes at the location have been positive.
“We’ve had some lines part of the morning halfway down the hall at 6:00 A.M., and other times a little bit longer line, and sometimes shorter,” Safford said. “But everybody’s been in good spirits.”
In Peoria, county election leaders are reporting high turnout for Election Day.
Election Commission Executive Director Elizabeth Gannon says 16% of registered voters have cast ballots as of late-morning at the 55 polling locations in the county. That’s in addition to more than 36% turnout in early voting.
Gannon says those numbers are not as high as they were in the 2020 election, but says that was an anomaly because of COVID. But she says the numbers are trending higher than 2016 by around 12%.
“I really think that has a lot to do with permanent vote by mail that has been implemented here in Illinois, and I just see those trends continuing to rise,” Gannon said.
Gannon expects turnout to continue to be steady until polls close later this evening.
In Washington, Election judges at one location are also reporting very high turnout.
Jim Busch has been an election judge for ten years, and is stationed at Five Points, which is the polling location for five precincts in the city.
He estimates turnout on Tuesday is bigger than the previous two Presidential elections.
“We’re over actually 1500 voters, which before, we got 1000, we felt good,” Busch said. “And so they were lined here up in the morning, we opened up at 6 o’clock, and they were out here in the driveway.”
Busch says 32% of eligible voters in his precinct had already cast ballots in early voting, which he says is a record. He says it’s good and encouraging to see people turn out in high numbers and participate.
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PEORIA Ill. – Central Illinois voters are ready to make their voices heard today.
Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman tells WMBD’s “Greg and Dan” that polls will be open for in-person voting at 6:00am.
He says while polls close at 7:00 P.M., if you’re there by that time, you will get a ballot.
“You pull up to a polling location at 6:59 P.M. and you see a line out the door and go, I’ll never make it out that line in time – get out of your car and stand in line. As long as you are in line by 7:00 P.M., everybody in that line will be allowed to vote,” John Ackerman said.
Ackerman also spoke to recent improvements done in Pekin and four other local townships, for election day.
“Two months ago, we announced that we received $121,000 from the state in the form of a grant, to pay for ADA improvements for our polling locations. Pekin utilized $63,000 of that to pay for massive upgrades that citizens will see Tuesday,” Ackerman said.
Peoria County Election Commission Executive Director, Elizabeth Gannon, says as of Sunday we have had 34% of registered voters already cast a ballot, in Peoria County.
Election coverage starts on 1470 & 100.3 WMBD Radio at 6:00PM Tuesday.
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