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News
Big voter turnout expected : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisBig voter turnout expected
| Early voting period begins on Monday at Montgomery, Oswego village halls
| by Matt Schury
| 10/18/2012
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Officials with the Kendall County Clerk's office and the Aurora Election Commission are expecting a large voter turn out in the Nov. 6 election.
"If it doesn't garner a big turn out, I would be shocked," Rennetta Mickelson, Kendall County's chief deputy county clerk, says.
The number of registered voters in Kendall County has actually decreased since the last presidential general election four years ago because the County Clerk's office purged the county's voting registration list in 2009. Mickelson said this was done to get a more accurate list of registered voters in the county. Voters who died or moved in the county were purged from the list.
"It can be people moving out of the county, it can be voters that have since become inactive for lack of voting," she said. "If you moved, you need to update your voter registration status because it could affect your status."
The turn out for the 2008 election was 69.5 percent in Kendall County and some precincts showed an 80 percent voter turnout.
The total active voter count in Kendall County is 64,387. In 2008, the last presidential general election year, there were 64,758 registered voters, slightly more than now.
According to the Aurora Election Commission, which oversees the election for the small portion of the City of Aurora in Kendall, there are 3,050 voters in their jurisdiction. Of those, 347 are inactive voters. Comparatively in 2008 the commission recorded 2,549 voters.
Residents who are not registered to vote still have an opportunity to do so and cast their ballot with grace period. Grace period voting gives residents who didn't get a chance to register before the formal deadline a grace period between now and Nov. 3 when they can register to vote.
Grace period voting takes place at the Kendall County Office Building at 111 W. Fox Street in Yorkville. Residents of Kendall County can grace period vote at the Aurora Election Commission's office located at 323 W. Galena Blvd. in Aurora.
During that grace period, they must register and vote at the same time, and must do it at the county office, as opposed to their local polling place.
For registered voters, early voting will run from next Tuesday, Oct. 22 to Saturday, Nov. 3 at the Kendall County Office Building and Oswego Village Hall, 100 Parkers Mill in Oswego. The Aurora Election Commission offers two sites to vote early-their office in Aurora and the Aurora Public Library locate at 555 S Eola Rd.
Mickelson says she expects to see more people choosing to vote early because it better fits their schedule.
"Based on years, my guess would be that there will be those who will choose to early vote rather than have a possible longer wait on Election Day at the polls," she said.
However, Mickelson says the clerk's office does not have any immediate plans to expand early voting into more satellite sites because it would require more resources and staff as well as security.
She notes the approximate cost to operate the early voting site at Oswego Village Hall is about $59,000 for equipment and $3,000 in judges and labor costs
Mickelson also reminds voters that they have to live with the decision they make once they cast their early vote should something happen in the course of the campaign to change their minds.
She says, given the amount of work that goes into setting up early voting, she hopes citizens utilize it.
"I certainly hope that part of it is the time and monetary investment in making it easier to vote," she said. "I certainly think there was a wave with the declining economy."
Regarding the concerns of officials in other states about voter fraud, Mickelson said the issues needs to be dealt with carefully.
"We're always concerned about the security of an election," she said. "And it is not our desire to prevent any duly registered voter from being able to vote."
Mickelson recommends voters bring a photo ID with them so the process goes more smoothly.
"You want to have your ID just in case because if they don't find information on you, it's gonna be easier to get you set up as a challenged voter or voting provisionally," Mickelson said.
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