Tuesday will be cold – the daytime high will hover around freezing – which surely won’t boost voter turnout. Even if it were spring-like, however, election officials doubt the polls will be very busy.

Except for Bureau County, where the polls could get a boost from a contested race for sheriff, county clerks in the Illinois Valley don’t foresee long lines at the polling places.

Jim Reed opted not to seek reelection as Bureau County sheriff, which ushered in races on both the Republican (Tom Kammerer vs. Ed Jauch) and Democratic (Mike Wittig vs. Joseph Flanagan) sides of the ballot. The twin contests could spark voter interest.

Bureau County Clerk and Recorder Matt Eggers looked at the past three mid-term elections and, mindful of the sheriff’s race, is betting on turnout of 15% to 25%.

“It would be great to have more,” Eggers said, “and there could be a better turnout due to the sheriff’s race.”

Eggers said there could be a spike in LaMoille, which could get “a little higher turnout” due to a referendum on the high school.

Turnout of 25% isn’t great, but it would likely exceed voter participation elsewhere in the Illinois Valley.

While the field is packed for Dick Durbin’s seat in the U.S. Senate and for the Republican nomination for governor – incumbent JB Pritzker is expected to win the Democratic nod – there aren’t enough local races to put any sizzle into Tuesday voting.

In Putnam County, Clerk and Recorder Tina Dolder said 2022 (the last mid-term cycle) produced 24.86% turnout, which was “higher turnout than normal.” This time, Dolder is betting on lower turnout.

“During that (2022) election, there was a county board race that drove up the percentage,” Dolder recalled. “I am predicting a 19.2% turnout for this election.”

Dolder said statewide races for comptroller and governor might attract voters. Increasingly, however, voters are turned off at having to declare a political party, and this in turn has driven down participation at primaries.

Locally, there aren’t many races of interest save for Senachwine precinct, where the Tiskilwa Fire District question is on the ballot.

La Salle County Clerk Jennifer Ebner said she anticipates just one in five registered voters will cast ballots Tuesday, if even that.

“For the General Primary elections, voter turnout has been 17% to 22%,” Ebner said. “I hope that we have a bigger and better turnout, but I’m not expecting it.”

There are no contested primary races for La Salle County’s constitutional officers and just one referendum impacting the Streator area, specifically parts of Eagle 2, Eagle 3, Richland, and Vermillion townships.