 Registered voters
can submit their ballots at designated early
voting locations until Oct. 28 for the Nov. 2 general election.
Early voters do not have to provide an excuse for submitting their
ballots before Election Day.The state first implemented early
voting before the 2006 statewide general election. Ron Michaelson,
former executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections,
said early voting is beginning to take hold nationwide.
"Each state has an early voting program that's different. Some
states have more satellite voting centers than others. But however
states do it, the voters really seem to like it, and that's why I
think it's here to stay," he said.
Election authorities in each county are tasked with announcing
early voting locations. Local election offices and county clerk's
offices often serve as early voting locations.
There are 110 election authorities throughout the state -- county
clerks in 101 counties, one county election commission and eight
municipal election commissions.
Earlier this year, lawmakers passed and Gov. Pat Quinn inked into
law a pilot program establishing early voting on the campuses of
public universities.
Registered voters have also had the opportunity to submit
absentee ballots for more than two weeks now.
Steve Brown, spokesman for Illinois Democratic Party chairman and
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, said Democrats have
been notifying potential voters for weeks about early voting.
"This is an option, it is an easier way to do it if, for some
reason, you're going to be tied up or think you might be tied up on
Election Day, you'd be able to go cast a ballot now," he said.
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Pat Brady, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, said his
party was also appealing to absentee and early voters in an attempt
to rally support.
"We started putting this together in April and we've been ramping
up our efforts for weeks. We've never had anything like this, this
kind of national support," he said.
Michaelson anticipated candidates would expand outreach efforts
now in an effort to appeal to early and absentee voters.
"Candidates can no longer ramp up their campaign to reach its
peak the day before the election because so many people are voting
two and three and four weeks before an election," he said.
For a list of early voting locations, visit this website for the
Illinois State Board of Elections:
http://www.elections.il.gov/
votinginformation/earlyvotinglocations.aspx.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By KEVIN LEE]
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