Illinois election judges report low voter turnout
Originally published in the News-Gazette
Election judges report low voter turnout
By JULIE WURTH
Published Online March 16, 2004
CHAMPAIGN – Undaunted by the morning snow, Andrew Jones stopped during his daily walk to cast his ballot in the Illinois primary – in shorts.
"I vote every time," Jones said as he headed back outside.
He was among a select few this morning as a late-winter snowstorm and John Kerry's lock on the Democratic presidential nomination contributed to a lower-than-normal turnout at many precincts.
Election judges reported gaps with no voters at all during the usual morning rush between 7 and 8 a.m., prompting Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden to predict a low turnout. Shelden had hoped to see 25,000 voters today, about 24 percent of those eligible, but he wasn't optimistic early today.
"If you go to a polling place between 7 and 8 and there isn't a little bit of a wait, that means that the turnout's not going to be very good. That's one of our busier times," said Shelden, who had visited five county precincts by 8 a.m. "Just nobody there at 7 a.m. – that's unusual."
In Ludlow, where residents were deciding on a school tax increase, just 34 people had voted by 8 a.m., and "that's very low," he said.
"It will certainly be the lowest of my four general primary elections," he said.
However, one southeast Urbana precinct – Cunningham 14 – saw "above average" turnout this morning, with 117 voters by 9:30 a.m., said election judge Rupert Evans.
"Quite often we only have about 200 in a primary," Evans said, working at Clark-Lindsey Village, 101 W. Windsor Road, U. "It's been a fairly steady stream. We didn't expect it because of the snow."
At Champaign's Mellon Administrative Center, turnout was fairly light through midmorning. A total of 109 people had voted by 10:30 a.m.
"It's a little disappointing," said election judge David O. Lawrence.
Shelden said the weather likely deterred some voters who decided to head straight to work and vote on their way home instead.
"There's some chance the rush will happen at 5 and 6 o'clock," he said.
The snow had tapered off by 10 a.m., with roads mostly wet, which encouraged voters like Eleanor Adkisson of Champaign to venture out at midmorning.
"If it hadn't, I wouldn't be here," she said.
The fact that the presidential nominees for both major parties are essentially decided, and the lack of many "hotly contested" statewide races, may have also hurt turnout, Shelden said.
But that just made some voters more determined to make their voices heard.
Catherine Miller of Champaign backed Dennis Kucinich in the Democratic primary, saying she heard him speak Monday night on campus and liked his stand on the issues.
"Even though he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning, I want the people who determine what the platform is going to be ... to take note of that," she said. "I still want them to know people agree with him."
"It's not a democracy if everyone didn't vote. It's my job. Otherwise I don't have the right to complain later," added Miller as she dropped off her ballot at the Mellon building, 703 S. New St., C, polling place for City of Champaign 13.
As for the snow?
"I brought my camera," laughed Miller. "It's a beautiful day."
The weather didn't bother 89-year-old Emmett Kirby, using his walker to maneuver through the snow with his wife, Evelyn.
"I've seen worse," said Kirby, who hasn't missed an election since he was old enough to vote – "and I had to be 21."
Some voters said the open U.S. Senate seat and the local judge race prompted them to vote. Weather won't deter people who want to make a statement with their vote, "and I think people want to make a statement in this election," said Sari Schnitzlein, who cast her vote for Democratic Senate candidate Dan Hynes.
Clayton Stallbaumer chose a Republican ballot to vote in the Senate race.
"This is one of the races I was able to develop a preference," he said, voting at Faith United Methodist Church, polling place for two City of Champaign precincts.
Turnout there was slightly lower than usual. Sixty-one voters had cast ballots for City of Champaign 15, while 42 had voted in City of Champaign 23.
"It's usually more than this," said election judge Jean Smith.
Richard Dickerson said he stopped by to cast "a vote for ol' George" but didn't have any other races in mind.
"It's the American thing to do," he said. "If I vote, I can gripe."
The weather and other factors prompted a shortage of election judges throughout the county, though at least four were stationed at each polling place, Shelden said. He said he had to do some "scrambling" to get at least four judges in each polling place.
"We had a few cancellations because of the weather," he said, as well as "a few more than normal call in sick." Fewer new judges signed up to work, and some older judges retired, he added.
Technically, the state requires five judges at each precinct, but "you can't make judges where there aren't any," Shelden said.
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