PEORIA, Ill. – With the consolidated elections just a few days away, Peoria County’s early voting turnout has been lower than expected, and local officials are hoping to change that.
Elizabeth Gannon, Executive Director at the Peoria Election Commission, says just over 2,000 people have cast their ballots early in person at early voting sites.
Gannon hopes turnout this weekend improves. To encourage more participation, four early voting sites will be open Friday and Saturday:
- Peoria Election Office
- Dunlap Library
- Alpha Park Library
- Peoria Downtown Library
Vote by mail has had stronger participation with more than 20,000 ballots being sent out, and approximately 5,000 have already been returned. Election officials say they expect to receive roughly 2,000 ballots ahead of Election Day on April 1. The goal is to reach a 20-percent voter turnout rate by Election Day because that would align with past consolidated elections.
“You have until Election Day to get that ballot into us. As long as it’s postmarked by Election Day, it can be counted for this election. And we do have those 3 drop boxes throughout the county that vote by mail Voters can also take advantage of,” Gannon tells 25 News.
While in person early voting has remained low, officials are hoping that vote by mail participation will help balance out the overall voter turnout.
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