Here’s the outlook for voter turnout for the midterm elections in southwest Illinois
While a steady stream of residents voting early is expected over the weekend and on Monday, local election officials predict either a lower or moderate voter turnout overall for this midterm election on Tuesday.
Traditionally, the voter turnout is lower in a midterm as compared to a presidential election and that trend is expected to continue Tuesday.
“That’s just the way it is,” said Kandrise Mosby, executive director of the East St. Louis Board of Elections.
“Most people can always associate with the president, the presidential office.”
Mosby predicted a turnout of 33% for Tuesday’s election but she cautioned that by saying, “You know you can never predict these things.”
St. Clair County Clerk Tom Holbrook, who oversees elections for the county outside Mosby’s jurisdiction in East St. Louis, expects a flat turnout rate similar to previous midterm elections.
“I think it will be moderate,” he said. “We’ll probably vote about 45% to 50%.
And like Mosby, he added a caveat, “That’s just a guess, anything can happen.”
In St. Clair County, the voter turnout was 67% in the 2020 presidential election and 66% in the 2016 presidential election.
In comparison, the turnout for the county in the 2018 midterm election was 52%, and in the 2014 midterm it was 45%.
In East St. Louis, the voter turnout was 53% in 2020 and 43% in 2018.
The overall voter turnout percentages in Madison County spike up in presidential elections like in St. Clair County.
The turnout in 2020 was 74%, and it was 72% in 2016. In the midterm election in 2018, the turnout was 58% and in 2014 it was 45%.
Early voting
As of Thursday, 12% of the state’s registered voters had already cast a ballot ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
This number is primarily fueled by the vote-by-mail participation, according to Matt Dietrich, spokesman for the state board.
In 2018, there were a total of 427,000 mail-in votes, and election officials have already received almost 500,000 mail-in ballots as of Thursday, with 377,000 that could still be returned.
These ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday and they must arrive by Nov. 22 to be counted.
Dietrich said election officials across the state expect to receive a crush of mail ballots to arrive as well as a lot of early voting to be done in the final few days before Tuesday.
While vote-by-mail interest has increased, the turnout for in-person early voting sites “seems to be a little bit less than four years ago,” Holbrook said.
“Overall I can tell, even with the increase in the vote by mail, we have less interest in this election by some people,” he said.
Holbrook reiterated a message he has delivered before previous elections: Give early voting a try.
“Please, vote early,” he said. “It’s easier on you. You can do it on your own schedule. You’re not tied up to one specific day and one specific location to go. It’s much easier.”
Holbrook said there haven’t been any lines in the early voting sites in the county.
Hours and services vary so check with your local election officials about the early voting services they offer over the weekend and on Monday.
In St. Clair County, the hours for early voting will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at three early voting sites: the clerk’s office on the second floor of the St. Clair County Building at 10 Public Square; The Rec Complex at 9950 Bunkum Road in Fairview Heights; and O’Fallon Township Office at 801 E. State St. in O’Fallon.
On Monday, the hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Holbrook said the county has new machines for the early voting sites that were first used for June 28 primary. The machines can be programmed to show a ballot for residents from throughout the county but he noted that these are not connected to the internet.
The county also has a ballot drop box in front of the county building.
The East St. Louis election office will be open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday on the third floor of the East St. Louis City Hall at 301 River Park Drive.
Mosby said she has seen a “steady flow” of residents voting early since the service became available on Sept. 29.
Madison County voters can go to multiple sites for early voting, including the County Administration Building at 157 N. Main St. in Edwardsville; the Scott Bibb Center (Formerly St. Patrick’s School) at 1004 E. Fifth St. in Alton; and the Granite City Township Building at 2060 Delmar Ave., Office B.
These sites will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; and 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday.
