Early voting polls are set to open Thursday across Illinois, giving voters more opportunity to cast their ballots ahead of Election Day.
Bloomington Board of Election Commissioners [BEC] Executive Director Will Nesbitt said preparations for the election are complete. Voting equipment testing took place last week.
“We code the election here ourselves with the software, so we tested everything from start to finish to ensure everything was counting correctly,” Nesbitt said. “We have electronic poll books that we reused for our voter registration data. We tested that with everybody's information, to make sure everything was in there correctly.”
Nesbitt, who began his position about two weeks ago, said his previous experience working with election systems has helped make an easy transition.
“It's been as smooth as it can be,” Nesbitt said. “I worked on the private side and the vendor side, so the equipment we have here, I'm very familiar with, as well as the election process.”
Voters will use the same voting system as in previous elections. Nesbitt said there have been no changes to the software and machines.
The polls are continuing to use paper ballots. Voters can fill out a traditional paper ballot or use an ExpressVote machine, which allows voters to make their selections electronically before producing a paper ballot that is inserted into a tabulator.
“I'm a big proponent of paper ballots. I think you always have an audit trail,” Nesbitt said.
The commission’s voting equipment is about 11 years old. Nesbitt said officials may consider replacing or upgrading the equipment after the April consolidated election.
“There's nothing wrong with the machines. They’re working just great,” Nesbitt said. “Just like everything else, you want to maintain and obviously upgrade as technology changes within five to 10 years.”
Any equipment replacement would be funded through the election commission’s existing budget and fund balance, according to Nesbitt.
Officials would not seek additional tax levy for the purchase.
Early voting at the Election Commission Office, located in the The McLean County Government Center, begins Thursday, Sept. 24.
The Election Commission Office, 121 N. Main St., will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays until Oct. 23.
Starting Oct. 24, the Election Commission Office will be open for Bloomington early voting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
The McLean County Clerk's Office, which handles all voting in the county outside of Bloomington, will have the same early voting hours at its offices at the Government Center in Bloomington.
Early voting at the Parke Regency Hotel and Conference Center will begin Oct. 19 and will be open from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays until Oct. 25 for Bloomington early voting.
After Oct. 25, the Parke Regency Hotel and Conference Center will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
The Central Illinois Regional Airport will open starting Oct. 26 and will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays until Nov. 1.
The Illinois State University Bone Student Center will be open to Normal residents starting Oct. 27 and will be open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until Election Day, when the polls will be open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Nesbitt encouraged voters to take advantage of the additional opportunities to cast a ballot before Election Day.
“People have more opportunity to get there instead of just the one day, and then less lines at the polling places as well for everybody too,” Nesbitt said.
Voters who arrive without being registered can register at the election office. Voters registering at the office need two forms of identification, including one with a photograph and one showing their address.
Once checked in, voters can receive assistance navigating the ExpressVote machine if needed. The machine also provides audio instructions through headphones.
“It is very straightforward,” Nesbitt said. “Once they're done, they just hit print, and it's going to print out their selections. They're able to touch it, feel it, the paper ballot, look at their results. If they made a mistake, they can always spoil it and get a new ballot.”
On the ballot
U.S. Senate, U.S. House 17th and 16th Congressional District representatives, governor and lieutenant governor, McLean County Clerk and seven contested county board races will all be on the ballot.
Three advisory referenda questions will be on the ballot in Bloomington, asking for a repeal of the city's grocery tax, a permanent moratorium on data centers and a federal ban on providing weapons to a dictatorship, apartheid state or "major violator of human rights."
Normal Township has a similar ballot measure that specifically calls for divestment from Israel.
Nesbitt said the growth of early voting and voting-by-mail has changed the way election offices handle ballots. More voters have registered for the permanent vote-by-mail list, which has helped reduce pressure at polling places on Election Day.
“That's also taken away some of the stress on election day with the polling locations and any lines or anything like that too,” Nesbitt said.
Nesbitt said he does not anticipate major problems with the election.
“I've done four elections as a director,” Nesbitt said. “I've worked in numerous dozens of states in terms of providing support on election day, so I'm not going to say I've seen it all, but I've seen a lot.
“I feel like I have a good foundation, a good footing on anything. I don't anticipate anything going wrong,” Nesbitt said.
Nesbitt estimated overall turnout could be between 60% and 70%, with more than half of those voters casting ballots before Election Day. He said the commission will continue to monitor early voting and vote-by-mail participation as ballots are returned.
For Election Day, Nesbitt said his goal is to have results posted by approximately 9:30 p.m. As precinct results arrive, officials plan to update results periodically rather than waiting for every precinct to report.
“We try to do no more than every five precincts at the most, and do an update so people can kind of see the influx and not just all one big dump,” Nesbitt said.
Nesbitt said the focus is on giving voters flexibility.
“I do like our early voting,” Nesbitt said. “I like the fact that we give people a long leeway in terms of being able to get when it's convenient for them.”
