Kane County early voting so far double compared to 2021 consolidated election

Election Day is tomorrow, and so far, early voting in Kane County is double what it was in the 2021 consolidated election.

According to Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham, as of Monday morning, there have been 21,096 early votes cast in Kane County. That number includes in-person early voting and vote by mail ballots.

In the 2021 consolidated election, there were 10,665 total early votes cast. Total voter turnout in the 2021 consolidated election was 11.24%, or 35,770 votes cast.

Cunningham said he believes that voter turnout will be higher this year than in 2021, because more people are paying attention to the importance of voting for school boards and municipal offices.

“[The consolidated elections] affect your tax bills more,” Cunningham said. “Taxes go to school districts, villages, and these people will handle millions in property tax dollars. These election for villages and school boards are very important in getting competent people [in those offices].”

Cunningham said voter turnout for consolidated elections is usually much lower than for general elections. In the 2022 midterm general election, voter turnout in Kane County was 53.03%, which was down from the 2020 general election, which had 73% voter turnout.

“[The spring elections] are usually pretty low on turnout, and I’m not sure why because these are the elections that people need to be paying attention to,” he said. “We always like to see more people vote.”

Today is the last day for early voting. For more information about early voting in Kane County, and locations and hours, click here.

For more information about the candidates running in the April 4 election, click here.