St. Clair County clerk says letter from state about vote-by-mail caused confusion
St. Clair County Clerk Tom Holbrook on Friday said he had a message for residents confused by a letter they received about the vote-by-mail process: All polls will be open on Nov. 3 and all early voting locations will be open as scheduled.
The confusion resulted from a letter that state law required Secretary of State Jesse White to send to residents who had not already asked for an application to vote by mail, Holbrook said. The purpose of the letter was to let residents know that they could still ask for an application for a mail-in ballot.
Holbrook said his office was swamped with calls about the letter. Nine out of 10 of the calls were from people who thought they had missed a chance to vote because they hadn’t applied for a mail-in ballot and that polls would not be open, Holbrook said.
“They’re saying, ‘Aren’t your polls going to be open?’” Holbrook said. “Of course they are,” is the response Holbrook is telling everyone who calls.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Illinois and other states have made efforts to promote wider use of mail-in ballots to reduce the number of people going to vote in person.
Here’s what you need to know:
▪ All polls will be open on Nov. 3.
▪ You can go to the clerk’s webpage to see a list of all the early in-person voting locations that will be open beginning Thursday, Sept. 24. To get the webpage, go to www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/county-clerk.
▪ If you want to ask for a mail-in ballot, you can still do that as well. Clerks across the state were required to mail applications for ballots to the public. Holbrook said you can check the status of your application on the office’s website.
▪ The office will begin sending out vote-by-mail ballots on Thursday, Sept. 24.
▪ Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Election Day. The ballot also can be returned in person to the clerk’s office at 10 Public Square in Belleville.
▪ If you have questions about your vote-by-mail application, call the clerk’s office at 618-825-2708.
This story was originally published September 20, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "St. Clair County clerk says letter from state about vote-by-mail caused confusion."
