Avoid long lines, vote early, officials recommend

Officials expect long lines on Election Day and want voters to take advantage of the early voting period, which starts on Monday, Oct. 13.

Most early voting places, but not all, are open Monday, even though it's Columbus Day. Those who are registered can vote early in any of the designated places in their county, though the number of polling places is fewer than on Election Day.

To find an early voting site, go to elections.il.gov/VotingInformation/EarlyVotingLocations.aspx and select your county. You must bring along a photo ID to participate in early voting, which ends Thursday, Oct. 30.

"This is a very, very historic election. The interest is very high," said Bob Saar, executive director of the DuPage County Election Commission.

Illinois started "no-excuse" early voting in 2006, meaning voters don't need an excuse for filling out their ballots before Election Day, Nov. 4. Ballots cast early are not counted until that time.

Kane County Clerk John Cunningham hopes 20,000 to 30,000 vote early in his county. He said most voters will be in and out of the booth in six minutes. He's recommending early voting especially to those who commute.

"We're trying to at least double what we had during the last election," he said.

In suburban Cook County, about 51,000 voters cast ballots early in the February primary, up from 15,600 in March 2006.

Cook County voters will use touch screens, reminds county Clerk David Orr. Previous years have seen problems with the paper audit mandated by law to record each vote, but Orr said his staff is ready. He said more than 100,000 suburban Cook County ballots could come in early.

Technology continues to improve. Orr is confident that the data uploading problem the caused slow results in 2006 general election has been resolved. Orr said more than 98 percent of early voters are pleased with the system, according to surveys his office commissioned in previous elections.

"That's very good, and kind of shocking to me," he said.

In DuPage, 40,000 to 50,000 early ballots are expected to be cast, Saar said.

He said the 2006 general election saw a 50 percent voter turnout and 21,232 early voters. He expects the presidential campaign to bring a 75 percent turnout.

Lake County Clerk Willard Helander said she hopes for 90,000 early voters, based on 450,000 registered. She said coming to the polling place early - as compared to mailing in an absentee ballot - gives voters a better chance to make sure the ballot is filled out correctly. The optical scanning system detects if a ballot is filled out incorrectly and warns in-person voters.

"It's a better option," Helander said.

Though the Oct. 7 voter registration date has passed, there is one last chance for citizens.

Grace period registration began Oct. 8 and extends through Tuesday, Oct. 21, at locations across the state, including county courthouses. Citizens should bring the requisite two forms of identification, one proving your current address.

Those who take advantage of grace-period registration, though, also must cast their ballot when they register. That's a security measure to prevent fraud.

Streamwood resident Jay Gershon said he tried to register at his local village hall last Tuesday and that village officials turned people away if their two forms of ID didn't each have their addresses on them. Streamwood officials confirmed this, saying they've been following this practice for 20 years, though county official say only one form of ID must have an address.

Any citizens turned away can still register through the grace period.

County early voting Web sites:

• Cook: voterinfonet.com/sub/early_voting.asp

• DuPage: cms.dupageelection.com/pages.asp?pageid=1130

• Lake: co.lake.il.us/cntyclk/elections/voterservices/earlyvoting.asp

• Kane: kanecountyelections.org/EarlyVoting/EarlyVoting.asp

• McHenry: co.mchenry.il.us/common/CountyDpt/Countyclerk

• Will: willclrk.com/earlyvoting