‘A strong start’: Suburbanites voting by mail in record numbers for midterm elections

With Election Day nearly a week away, people voting by mail are setting midterm records in several suburban counties.

In Kane and McHenry counties, vote-by-mail totals have exceeded those of the 2018 midterm election. DuPage County’s vote-by-mail total was nearly at its 2018 mark by last week, too.

McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio credited the increase to the state-mandated distribution of permanent vote-by-mail applications to all registered voters earlier this year.

The COVID-19 pandemic likely is a factor as well, Tirio said. Voting by mail and early, in-person voting allow people to avoid crowded places.

“(It has) contributed to a change in voter preference,” Tirio said.

Increasingly popular

Once limited in Illinois to people who were unable to vote on Election Day due to illness, being out of town or other factors, early voting and voting by mail have become increasingly popular since access to each was expanded more than a decade ago.

Many who vote early or by mail do so to avoid long lines on Election Day. Others consider voting early or by mail if they can’t make it to polling places on the big day for any number of reasons.

“I started voting early years ago and truly appreciated the weekend hours, flexibility and generally short lines,” Buffalo Grove resident Darcy Gans said. “During the 2020 election, I voted by mail primarily due to COVID-19 precautions in the pre-vaccine era. This option seemed so safe and convenient that I requested a mail-in ballot be sent to my home before each election.”

Gans isn’t alone. As of Thursday, nearly 21,700 Lake County residents had voted by mail, Lake County Chief Deputy Clerk Todd J. Govain said. With more than 48,000 ballots mailed to potential voters, Govain said this year’s vote-by-mail total is on pace to exceed 2018′s mark of roughly 34,000.

Additionally, more than 15,200 Lake County residents had voted early as of Thursday. Nearly 74,000 voted early in the November 2018 midterm election, but there’s plenty of time for folks to close the gap.

Govain said he expects “a healthy turnout” once all the counting is done next month.

Setting records

The vote-by-mail numbers so far this year in Kane County are better than healthy -- they’re record-busting.

As of Thursday, nearly 17,400 Kane residents had voted by mail, up from about 14,500 in 2018.

As for early, in-person voting, more than 11,100 Kane residents had chosen that option as of Thursday. By the time the counting was done in 2018, more than 64,500 people had voted early in Kane.

A record for midterm voting-by-mail will be set in McHenry County this year, too. As of Wednesday, about 10,500 McHenry voters had mailed in ballots, up from more than 8,100 in 2018.

Additionally, nearly 4,700 people had cast early, in-person ballots as of Wednesday in McHenry County. Nearly 33,000 voters did so by the end of the 2018 election.

In DuPage County, nearly 37,000 people had voted by mail as of Thursday, That’s just short of the roughly 39,500 vote-by-mail total for the 2018 election.

More than 16,600 DuPage residents had voted early by Thursday. More than 89,700 did in 2018.

“I’m pleased with the numbers, but not surprised,” Clerk Jean Kaczmarek said in a news release. “Promoting mail voting and doubling the number of early voting locations has us off to a strong start.”

In suburban Cook County, nearly 50,000 people had voted by mail as of Thursday, more than half the roughly 95,100 who did in 2018. Additionally, about 41,600 people had voted early by Thursday; nearly 255,800 did in 2018.

Both early voting and voting by mail have increased as portions of the total turnout in each election since they’ve been introduced, said Frank Herrera, a spokesman for the Cook County clerk’s office.

“We expect voters to follow that trend this election as well,” Herrera said.

Delayed results

The increasing popularity of voting by mail could result in winners of some close races not being known on election night.

That’s because ballots must be postmarked by Election Day but have up to two weeks to arrive at a county clerk’s office to be counted.

Voting by mail and early voting typically favor Democratic candidates. In the 2020 election, several suburban Republicans who led on election night fell behind as votes cast by mail were added to tallies.

They included congressional candidate Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove, who ultimately lost to Democratic incumbent Lauren Underwood of Naperville in the 14th District, and Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim, who lost to Democratic challenger Eric Rinehart.

The count so far Here’s where people have been voting by mail or early in person so far this election, as of Thursday.

Cook County: 49,909 by mail, 41,565 early in person

DuPage County: 36,941 by mail, 16,651 early in person

Kane County: 17,394 by mail, 11,130 early in person

Lake County: 21,691 by mail, 15,247 early in person

McHenry County*: 10,515 by mail, 4,698 early in person

*As of Wednesday Source: County clerk offices

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