From voter turnout to processing, all went well for election

Although there were no local races to decide, voter turnout on Nov. 8 was pretty good, according to Livingston County Clerk Kristy Masching. There was beautiful weather and the state races offered incentive to get people out.

“Election Day turned out pretty good,” Masching said. “We had 61.4 percent turnout, which is higher than we've had in the past. Based on the last few midterm election, it was higher than most.”

Masching said that 56.79 percent of registered voters took part in the 2018 mid-terms and that 53.37 percent voted in the 2014 election.

“Precincts all had a steady stream of voters from the time the polls opened at 6 a.m. until they closed at 7 p.m.,” Masching added. “People got in and out and the weather was good, so they got out and exercised their right.”

The voting by mail, which is a controversial topic nationally, accounted for 1,381 of the nearly 13,000 votes cast that have been counted to this point. Masching said that there 1,532 ballot requests made with 1,381 coming through between Sept. 29 and Nov.7. As of Monday, there were 124 mail-in ballots still outstanding.

Another factor in the mail-in process is the chance to be permanently placed on a list to receive mail-in ballots in the future.

“When we sent those cards out, they could sign up if they wanted to be on a permanent vote-by-mail list,” Masching said. She noted that about two-thirds of the list — 1,074 — requested permanent status.

“What I have seen is that a lot of our older generation like that because they can get the ballot and then research and find out more about the candidates,” Masching said of the mail-in ballot method.

The mail-in is part of what used to be absentee voting. Another factor in absentee is early voting. This is when voters can come into the county clerk's office and vote, following the same procedure as if they went to he polls.

This election day was busy, as they usually are because of the all the goings on. Masching becomes a road warrior and hits as many polling places as she can during election day. Plus, there are voters who come to the county clerk's office to register and vote that day.

Registration officially closed on Oct. 11 and the grace period started Oct. 12. The grace period allowed voters to register but they then had to vote then and there. A person could also register to vote online before Oct. 23.

There are typically some issues, however, when it comes to registering. Masching said her office received calls regarding voters showing up at the polls, thinking they had registered, like through the Department of Motor Vehicles, but they never received a card.

“They're fortunate in that respect because if they call ahead of time, and know they have to bring two forms of ID, they can register here and vote here at the same time on Election Day,” Masching said, noting that about 80 people got their vote in in that manner.

“If they showed up at the polls, the judges would call here,” Masching added. “Or if on the voter list they would have an 'I,' which is inactive, there was an issue with that voter that they needed to check with us why they were inactive.”

In the past, there have also been questions regarding dual residency.

“We have those that come in and say, 'well, I live here six months and I live six months in Florida and I have a Florida license. But, I own property here so I should be able to vote here, too,'” Masching said with a chuckle. “It doesn't work that way.”

Another moment of levity is when young families come in to vote early.

“Sometimes when we're open on Saturdays, the mom and dad and the kids would all come in — some of the kids are smaller,” Masching said. “After their folks votes and they get ready to go, one of the kids would pipe in, 'you didn't vote for so and so' or 'did you vote for this person?' It's just us, it's like three of us standing here and they look at each other and they bust out laughing. You can tell they've heard the discussion and they announce, more or less, who their folks voted for.”

Pontiac Precinct 1 was the first to have their ballots to the county clerk's office while Dwight was technically the final to arrive. Masching said Dwight actually had been at the courthouse but had waited for someone to come and get them, like what was done during COVID. She said Pontiac 4 was actually the last to arrive.

“Judges, when they closed out, did a great job,” Masching said.

Then the counting began.

“You have to start early on some of that stuff or you won't get done,” Masching said. She added there was one ballot jam issue, but it was minor .

A retabulating of the votes took place on Wednesday morning with representatives from a Liberty Systems running ballots from four precincts through the machines from those precincts. Masching said that 5 percent of the machines are used for this process.

Masching pointed out that the Illinois State Board of Elections sends her an email with a list of precincts that need to be recounted. Ken Gibson, owner of Liberty Systems, and two of his employees set up the machines in the basement of the courthouse and ran tests before doing the actual retabulation. This is done to make sure there are no discrepancies.

The next election cycle will be in the spring with the Consolidated Election on April 4. There is speculation that Pontiac will hold a primary on Feb. 28.

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: From voter turnout to processing, all went well for election