Early voting was available in Sun City from October 26-29. More than 80 million Americans have cast ballots in the U.S. presidential election, by Thursday, October 29. This was a record-breaking turnout, accounting for more than 58% of the total voter turnout of 138 million from 2016. Only 47 million voted before Election Day in 2016.
Depending on the day and time, Sun City residents experienced both long and short wait times for early voting. (Photo provided)
Due to COVID-19, all 2020 General Election voters were encouraged to cast a ballot before Election Day, either by mail or during early voting.
Geri Levine, a poll watcher for the early voting in Sun City, said, “I was so impressed how organized and helpful the Kane County Clerk’s office was. I got here at 9 a.m. and by 10 a.m. On Monday, October 26, we were ready for voting.”
Levin has been a poll watcher for 2 years. She also serves as a precinct chair. In this position, Levine has studied and become very familiar with the local election laws.
“I help ensure that the process is going smoothly,” Levine said.
Election judges are the unsung heroes during the election process. Their days are long sometimes working a 14-hour shift that begins well before dawn. To qualify, they must complete a four-hour training course that covers how to manage the polling station, operate the machinery and identify and sort all the forms.
Hugh and Connie McGowan have served in the position of election officials for more than 18 years.
Connie said, “We were here the first time there was voting here in Del Webb. We’ve been doing this for a long time. We saw the process progress from the paper ballots to the voting machines.”
Across the country, long lines to vote early were common.
Hugh said, “There were long lines here the first day also. Voters waited as long as 2 hours to cast their votes. Tuesday was a little better, but still, lines were over an hour at times.”
Teenah Gannon Hinman said, “We voted on Monday and the line wasn’t too bad. We went early around 10 and the line moved slowly, but smoothly. The only issue was that at times the social distancing was not being observed.”
Poll workers echoed the same sentiment. The biggest challenge was enforcing social distancing. The voters in line were mostly cooperative with very few issues. Masks were worn, only a few came with political statements on their attire. There is a dress code for elections, and you can be turned away for wearing attire that endorses a political candidate.
Connie said, “Wednesday and Thursday have had low turnouts. People are just walking right in to vote.”
Voting by mail is an easy option for voters and many Sun City requested a vote by mail ballot. Some residents changed their minds worried about Postal delivery times. Illinois allowed Early Voters to change their minds.
Connie said, “Voters can bring their ballots in and spoil their ballot to vote during early voting. You line through their ballot and write ‘Spoil’ on the ballot and complete a form.”
Around 100 early voters did spoil their returns during Sun City’s early voting. Approximately 2000 registered voters took advantage of the early voting offered in Sun City.
Concerns of the combination of the pandemic and election infrastructure concerns led initially to concerns of low turnout. It appears though that the 2020 early voting indicates that there will a record turnout.
