Early voting growing in Illinois

Posted on October 26, 2018
The Illinois State Board of Elections is conducting the training for local election managers and county clerks. (Google Maps)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Early voting is robust this year. But it typically does not expand the pie; it simply takes a bigger slice.

Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich says 505,000 ballots have been cast so far. Early voting has grown in popularity, and the mail ballots stand to exceed 375,000.

“We would see more vote-by-mail ballots cast in this election than in the (presidential) election of 2016,” says Dietrich.

Early voting accounted for 22 percent of the total in 2014 and 33 percent in 2016.

Illinois elects its governor in the midterm elections, which have seen about 50 percent turnout. The presidential years are in the seventies.

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