Illinois’ Primary Brought Out Voters in Droves, Election Officials Say
ICPR Executive Director Sarah Brune was quoted in this article
via Illinois Business Daily
“Although a final tally of the number of votes cast in Illinois’ primary won’t be completed for a few weeks, election officials have indicated that this year’s primary brought out so many people to the polls that some polling stations reportedly ran out of ballots.
Polling stations in Adams and Sangamon counties reportedly turned some voters away temporarily due to ballot shortages. Both counties eventually printed more ballots and extended their voting hours. This year’s election marked the first time Illinois residents could register and vote on the same day, which some election officials believe increased voter turnout.
‘I think we saw there were some really hot state-level races and I think that did bring out new voters in various districts across the state,’ Sarah Brune, executive director for the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) told Illinois Business Daily. ‘Also, the presidential race being competitive on both sides I think really brought out some voters that maybe upset some of the state- level races — unpolled, untested voters. But we’re happy to see people are turning out and many of them registering to vote and voting on election day.’
Brune said although she wasn’t surprised to see more people head to the polls this year because numbers tend to fluctuate with each election cycle, she was pleasantly surprised to see an impressive 45 percent turnout when the average for a primary is 22 percent.”
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