Kane County early-voting numbers in the March 20 primary were huge compared to previous years, but voter turnout was relatively low.

According to the Kane County Clerk’s Office website, 56,354 voters of 253,841 showed up at the polls, for a total of 22.2 percent.

Perhaps what was most interesting, however, is that in Kane County — historically considered a Republican-leaning county — more Democrats than Republicans showed up at the polls.

According to PDFs on the Clerk’s Office website, which include totals from 15 Aurora precincts, there were:

• 28,597 Democratic voters — 11.27 percent all voters.
• 27,387 Republican voters — 10.79 percent of all voters.

Early Voting Was Big Success

Kane County’s efforts to encourage early voting seem to be working quite well.

The Kane County Clerk’s Office tweeted March 19 that more than 12,500 voters had cast ballots as of Sunday, March 18.

According to the tweet, that early-vote total is more than double the amount cast in 2014, the last mid-term election.

The Clerk’s Office began an early-voting and voter registration promotional campaign in 2016, reaching out to local government and community organizations to help to get the word out using outdoor electronic signs to encourage voter participation.

One of the early participants was the Elburn and Countryside Fire Protection District, 200 E. Route 38. But the program has gained traction, and many more are participating in the public-information-sharing effort.

This spring, early voting started Feb. 8 at the Kane County Clerk’s Office and Aurora Election Commission offices. The number of early-voting sites expanded dramatically Monday, March 5, and included multiple stops by the Kane County mobile-voting vehicle.

Looking Ahead To November

The General Election will take place this year on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections website, the first day for early voting at the office of the election authority and temporary locations will be Thursday, Sept. 27.

For more information on early voting in Kane County, visit the kanecountyelections.org website.

Clerk Cunningham announced this morning that more than 12,500 residents have cast early votes as of Sunday 3/18. That number is more than 2x as many early votes as was cast during the last mid-term primary election in 2014, where just over 6,000 votes were cast!#EveryVoteCounts pic.twitter.com/4PODlDoy8g

— Kane County,IL Clerk (@KaneCoILClerk) March 19, 2018