Kendall County residents embracing vote-by-mail ballot option

Kendall County residents are embracing the vote-by-mail option when they cast their ballots, figures from the Nov. 8 general election show.

And while early voting at brick-and-mortar locations remains popular, Kendall County Clerk Debbie Gillette said it is likely that vote-by-mail contributed to a slightly lower number of early-voting ballots cast, compared to the 2018 election.

In a report to the Kendall County Board on Nov. 15, Gillette said total voter turnout among the county’s 84,619 registered voters was 53%, or 45,165 ballots cast.

Of these, 5,971 were vote-by-mail ballots, about double the number cast in the 2018 contest.

Meanwhile, early-voting at the clerk’s Elections Office in Yorkville and at other locations around the county produced 9,503 ballots cast, Gillette said, down from 9,915 four years ago.

“Vote-by-mail probably took away from early-voting,” Gillette told county board members.

There are still 618 vote-by-mail ballots that have not been returned, Gillette said. Those that yet trickle in must be post-marked no later than Nov. 8 to be counted.

On Nov. 22, any qualifying additional mail-in votes received will be added to the election total and the final results will become official, Gillette said.

Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis said his office received no Election Day complaints and Gillette said the election was routine.

“Same thing; different election,” Gillette told county board members.