County clerk sees increased activity two weeks into Illinois’ early voting

[June 03, 2022]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Early voting for Illinois’ June 28 primary has been underway for two full weeks and one county clerk says voters are taking advantage of the various options.

Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray also said transparency is crucial to voter confidence.

Early voting so far in Gray’s jurisdiction has already surpassed early voting from in 2018 by 28% and 12% from the presidential primary in 2020.

“That’s a great trend,” Gray told WMAY. “It’s wonderful to see that. People are becoming much more comfortable with the form of services of early voting and vote by mail. And they’re heeding the call and utilizing the convenience.”

Voters in the primary must select which party ballot, Democratic or Republican, they want to cast votes for. They can’t do both.

“It’s been a pretty equal blend between both parties so far,” Gray said of Sangamon County early voting. “You’re kind of getting the loyalists of those that utilize vote by mail and early voting, getting it accomplished now in advance of the [June] 28th primary election day itself.”

Mail-in ballots must be requested from your local jurisdiction. Gray said that requires a signed application that’s compared with the voter registration signature on file. There may also be ballot dropboxes for the mail-in option.

“Some very heavy duty secure, weather proof, tamper proof, video monitored drop boxes for vote by mail,” Gray said.

New voters can also register and vote on the same day up to just before the June 28 primary election.
 

Illinois has experience with some voter databases being breached by hackers, as was the case in 2016. Gray said the state has been leading the effort to combat cyber attacks.
 

Some may have questions about the mail-in ballot process. Gray said elections officials are open to all scrutiny.

“The system, in the end, to have a result in which you have confidence in just requires that everyone understands exactly how it operates and has confidence in doing so,” Gray said. “We’ll keep educating to that. We’ll keep analyzing. We’ll keep tweaking and working our procedures in the direction that everyone can be proud of our result.”

Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning Newsfeed out of Springfield.