1 in 3 Campton Hills voters have already voted

More than a third of Campton Hills' registered voters hit the polls early for what could be the village's last election, early voting totals showed Friday.

The Kane County Clerk's Office reported that 3,189 of the village's 8,768 registered voters, or 36 percent, decided to bypass Election Day by casting their ballots early.

The large turnout comes as villagers weigh in on not only a historic presidential race, but also a local referendum on whether Campton Hills should be dissolved.

Chris Baldwin, a dissolution proponent, interpreted the early voting totals as a positive sign for his political camp.

"We think the voters out here are engaged, that they understand what's going on," he said. "I think it's good."

Village Trustee Jim Kopec, who opposes dissolution, agreed that voters probably are flocking to the polls because of the referendum, but not to dissolve the municipality, which incorporated just last year.

"People are passionate about the village," he said. "I think a lot of them are coming out early to make sure the village will be around to serve them in the future."

By comparison, early voting totals in Campton Hills ran about 10 percent ahead of those in the Batavia Park District, where there's a $36 million referendum on the ballot, and the Sugar Grove Library District, which is asking voters to increase its operating budget.

The Batavia district is a little more than twice the size of Campton Hills in terms of voters, while the Sugar Grove district has about 1,000 registered more than the village.

In all, 24 percent of about 214,000 registered voters in Kane County voted early this month. County Clerk Jack Cunningham on Thursday attributed Campton Hills' turnout largely to the dissolution referendum.

"It's an emotional issue," he said.