Vote-by-mail ballot applications continue to flood the Lake County Clerk’s Office.
County Clerk Robin O’Connor said more than 31 percent of all registered voters made the request, with more than three weeks to go before the Nov. 3 election.
Citizens are briskly casting their ballots as well. O’Connor said approximately 1.7 percent of the county’s registered voters have voted either by mail, or at the one early voting center which opened Sept. 24 at the Lake County Building in downtown Waukegan.
O’Connor hopes the current pace of voting by mail continues, and that of early voting expands when 16 more sites open Oct. 19 easing traditional Election Day crowds during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We really want the numbers to be controllable on Election Day to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” she said. “That will be huge if we have the spacing.”
As of Thursday, O’Connor said her office received 148,637 vote-by-mail applications, with 23,240 arriving in the last seven days.
With the initial batch of ballots mailed to voters Sept. 24, she said completed ones began arriving through the mail after Oct. 1 with 4,160 received so far. Another 3,750 people voted early since Sept. 24 at the county’s lone site.
“People are lining up early to vote, and waiting in line,” O’Connor said, indicating she has seen lines 15 deep an hour before voting starts. “They’re eating their donuts while they wait in line.”
Once voters apply to vote by mail, she said they can learn the status of their ballot online at LakeVoterPower.Info. The site shows when the application is received, when it is sent and back in the clerk’s office.
“It’s our tracking system for your ballot,” O’Connor said.
With approximately 477,000 registered voters in the county, if the record turnout of 74.3 percent in 2008 is matched, 41.9 percent of the ballots could be cast by mail. Vote by mail ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 to be counted.
With new early voting locations in the mail hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake and the Highland Park Country Club, O’Connor said she anticipates the large buildings will provide plenty of room for social distancing. It is also less likely there will be a line outside if it is raining.
“They are much larger, and I think they will be well-received,” she said. “Parking will also be a plus.”
As O’Connor received calls from voters wondering when their ballots would arrive, she said some prefer voting by mail because they have time to see who is running for what office, so they can study candidates and issues before mailing the ballot to the clerk’s office.
“One person said, ‘I like vote by mail because I can really do my research,'” O’Connor said. “It’s really different.”
Along with depositing ballots in the United States Mail, O’Connor said there are currently four external drop boxes located around the county which do not require postage. Employees of the clerk’s office retrieve them daily with security provided by the Lake County Sheriff’s office.
The boxes are located at the county’s four branch courts in Mundelein, Round Lake, Park City and the Hulse Juvenile Detention Center in Vernon Hills. O’Connor said once the additional early voting sites open Oct. 19, there will be drop boxes there under the supervision of election judges.
Should a voter decide to vote in person after applying for a mail ballot, O’Connor said they should go to the polling place with their ballot, surrender it and then cast their ballot at the location. If they do not have the vote-by-mail ballot, they will need to sign an affidavit.
So far no one has come into the early voting location without a mask. Since Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said no one can be denied the right to vote because they refuse to wear a mask, O’Connor said accommodations will be made.
If a voter arrives to vote without a mask, O’Connor said they will be offered one or a face shield. If that is rejected, election officials will try to accommodate them with curbside voting. There is one sure way to vote without a mask.
“They can vote by mail,” O’Connor said.
