Gray: Vote by mail ballots returned in county up significantly over 2019
Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray said there has been a huge increase in ballots returned by mail so far for the April 4 consolidated election.
Voters have until March 30 to request a vote by mail ballot.
Gray said Thursday that 6,458 ballots have been returned, validated and tabulated, marking a 162% increase over ballots cast by mail in 2019.
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Conversely, there have been only 486 in-office ballots cast to date, down 27% from the 2019 election.
Some 13,427 vote by mail ballots have yet to be returned, Gray said.
"The summary of the whole thing is this: the utilization of vote by mail has been the form of pre-election balloting that Sangamon County voters have embraced," Gray said.
This is the first election in which voters who have enrolled in the Permanent Vote by Mail program automatically received their ballot by mail without having to submit a separate application to do so, Gray said.
In addition to the Springfield mayor's race, voters will choose a new city treasurer. Five of the 10 wards in the city have contested races.
Voters will pick candidates for the District 186 school board, the Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority (SMEAA) board, the Springfield Park District board and the Lincoln Land Community College board.
The April election also will include races for regional board of school trustees; several municipal/township library districts; several fire protection districts; several area school boards and a number of propositions.
Gray thought the county was "on track" match the turnout from 2019, which was 25.8% or 35,517 ballots.
"The considerable amount of campaign activity (in the Springfield races)" could spur a larger turnout, said Gray.
More localized races, such as a number of school board contests that dot the county, and "interesting referendum questions," including whether cannabis businesses and growers will be allowed in Chatham, could also assist, Gray said.
"Administratively, we're well-positioned to be able to handle any influx of return of ballots by mail at any period in advance of Election Day," Gray said. "We have teams that are equipped and trained in number.
"Certainly, I think voters county-wide and specifically the jurisdiction of Springfield are still contemplating elements what they're learning about candidates and their campaigns and when their decisions are made, we'll start to see the ballots come back at a more readily rate, but we're ready for it."
Early voting information
The Sangamon County election office is temporarily located in the Sangamon South Building (the former State Journal-Register Building) on the first floor. The entrance is on Ninth Street, between Monroe Street and Capitol Avenue.
Parking is available in the main County Complex parking lot on Adams Street.
There are multiple voter processing stations in the office, said Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray.
Regular business hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. There are special weekend hours from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on March 25-26 and April 1-2.
Voting at UIS
There is also early voting at the University of Illinois Springfield Student Union Building, 2251 Richard Wright Dr., from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 29-31. That location is only for residents in Capital precincts 14, 37, 92, 93 and 99 and Woodside precinct 02.
Vote by mail
A vote-by-mail application can be obtained from the election office in person, by calling (217) 753-8683 or by printing out the vote-by-mail application, filling it out, signing it and mailing it back to the Sangamon County Election Office, 200 S. Ninth St., Room 105, Springfield, IL 62701.
A filled-out ballot can be returned by U.S. Postal Service, by using one of the secure ballot drop boxes on the south end of the County Building at Ninth and Monroe streets or at the Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center at 2201 S. Dirksen Parkway (by 7 p.m. on Election Day), or by hand delivery to the clerk's office.
Mailed ballots must be postmarked by April 4.
Election Day
Polls in Sangamon County open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
Voters who have received a ballot by mail can also surrender that ballot at their neighborhood polling location if they want to vote in person. The mail ballot will be spoiled and a new ballot will be issued.
Have more questions?
For more information, visit the Sangamon County Clerk's website.
Upcoming forum
The Faith Coalition for the Common Good, the League of Women Voters of the Springfield Area, Sustainable Springfield and the Springfield branch of the American Association of University Women will host a forum for Springfield aldermanic candidates at Union Baptist Church, 1405 E. Monroe St., at 6 p.m. on March 23.
League of Women Voters will have a voter registration table.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Return of vote by mail ballots outpace 2019 in Sangamon County
