Clerk’s Office Begins Promotional Campaign for Early Voting in November Election
- Editor’s Note: This is the first of a multipart series on early voting and voter registration for the Nov. 8, 2016, election.
The General Election is the Big Kahuna when it comes to the numbers of voters who come to the polls. In fact, Kane County Clerk John A. “Jack” Cunningham says the presidential elections bring out as much as 50 percent or 60 percent of Kane County’s registered voters.
And while voter participation generally has declined over the years when looking at those percentages, Cunningham points out that the total number people who vote actually goes up year after year — meaning there’s continued stress on the local government offices that have the responsibility of making sure Election Day runs seamlessly.
That’s one of the reason’s Cunningham’s office will be promoting early voting and voter registration for the Nov. 8 election harder than it ever has before.
The office’s first step is to ask other government and community organizations to help to get the word out.
“We’re going to reach out to as many people as we can, asking them to use their outdoor (electronic) signs to say, ‘Vote early,’ ” Cunningham said.
One of the early participants is the Elburn and Countryside Fire Protection District, 200 E. Route 38, which will post reminders about voter registration and early voting on the electronic sign outside the department. Pictured in the feature photo of this article are Cunningham, Kane County Supervisor of Elections Raymond Esquivel, Elburn & Countryside Fire Chief Kelly Callaghan and Elburn & Countryside Office Assistant Merry Morris.
Other organizations that already have agreed to use their signs to promote early voting include Kishwaukee College, Dundee Township, the East Dundee Fire Department and Fox Valley Ice Arena.
Cunningham said Monday (Aug. 29, 2016) that states such as California, which have had early voting in place for a decade or more, see as much as 30 percent of the votes cast prior to Election Day. That’s not a percentage Kane County is likely to record in the upcoming election, but it is a goal worth striving for over time, Cunningham said.
It’s important to note in any election story that there are two agencies responsible for elections in Kane County: the Kane County Clerk’s Office and the Aurora Election Commission.
Here are some links to the AEC site:
Here are some links to the Kane County Clerk’s website:
- Clerk’s Office Elections Homepage
- Click Here For a PDF of Kane County Early Voting Sites, Dates and Time.
- Click This Link to Learn More and See If You Are Qualified to Vote by Mail.
- Click Here To Download a Vote by Mail Application.
SOURCE: Kane County Clerk’s Office and Aurora Election Commission websites
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