Voter turnout in Illinois was on par with previous years despite coronavirus fears
Voter turnout in the metro-east Tuesday was just slightly below average despite fears of the coronavirus pandemic.
While fewer voters headed to the polls than during the historically high 2016 presidential primary, turnout wasn’t far behind previous elections.
In Madison County, 22% of registered voters cast ballots Tuesday compared to 43% in 2016. St. Clair County saw 23% voter turnout compared to 39% four years ago.
But the 2016 primary, which drew one of the largest voter turnouts since 1950, had both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates vying for their party’s nomination.
No one expected a repeat of that kind of turnout, said St. Clair County Clerk Thomas Holbrook.
“(Coronavirus concerns) affected our judges but not the turnout,” said Holbrook, whose staff worked until 10:30 p.m. Monday night to recruit more election judges.
Hundreds of volunteers quit out of fear of catching COVID-19. As a result, polling places operated with “bare bones” staff, Monroe County Clerk John McClean told the BND Tuesday.
Similar fears might have kept some Illinoisans from the polls, but not in droves, State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich said. On average from 2000 to 2016, just over one-third of registered voters cast ballots in the presidential primary statewide, he said.
This year, unofficial results show an average of 24% voter turnout statewide, a percentage that might be slightly low.
“I’m sure it’s somewhat lower because people stayed away due to coronavirus,” Dietrich wrote in an email. “With no presidential contest on the Republican side, I would not have expected a repeat of 2016, but I would have expected that we at least hit the 33% average of the last five (presidential primary elections).”
Election authorities will begin compiling an official record of votes cast on April 1, Dietrich said.
Early voting and vote-by-mail proved a popular alternative both locally and statewide.
More than 7,000 people voted early in St. Clair County, Holbrook said, more than expected in a year when the Democratic presidential nominee was still not entirely clear on Election Day.
Statewide, voters cast 600,000 early ballots compared to 423,000 in 2016, unofficial results showed. In 2020, 296,000 vote-by-mail ballots were sent to voters, compared to 162,000 in 2016.
Judges took extra precautions to clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at polling places. In Monroe County, McLean allowed voters at higher risk to request a ballot be brought to their car.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
