ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – With dozens of election races taking place for Tuesday’s Consolidated General Election, election officials in the region hope more voters will turn out to cast their ballots following a relatively slow morning.
“This is very important especially since they’re all local candidates,” said Jorge Paredes, the Rockford Board of Elections executive director.
The 2024 Presidential Election brought in a steady stream of voters, ready to make sure their voices were heard. But, area polling places are noticing a difference for the April 1 Consolidated Election.
“Were just hoping to get as many people to vote as possible, I mean we’re sad to say we’ll never get 100 percent turnout but we just want to get as many people here in Rockford to vote,” said Paredes.
Early voting numbers in Rockford for the Consolidated General Election already exceed the total voter turnout for the Consolidated Primary Election, but it’s still just a fraction of the 90,000 people registered to vote. Paredes says around 2,600 people voted early and out of 9,500 vote by mail ballots, 3,600 have been processed.
“So at this point, we have about 6100 ballots that for sure we will be posting after 7 o’clock,” explained Paredes.
Election officials explain it is hard to say why more voters turn out for the Presidential Elections because, local elections hold a lot of importance too. It’s the local elections that often have a bigger impact on our community.
“You know get their vote out for the people that are representing their ward specifically. If they want to add stop signs, stop lights, different things within their actual streets where they live in, they’re voting for the people that actually represent them,” said Paredes.
Election judges at New Zion Baptist Church also reported a slow, but steady start. They say they hope traffic will pick up when the work day is done.
“Different precincts have different people coming in, you know they have large quantities coming in, ours is the slower group,” said Election Judge, Kathie Welte.
“You hear a lot of people that complain about the end results, and if they didn’t vote, they shouldn’t complain about it,” said Election Judge, Michael Diamond. “They need to get out and vote, everybody needs to get out and vote.”
If you haven’t cast your ballot, you have until 7 p.m. April 1. For more information on what you’ll be voting on and how to find your polling place, visit the Illinois State Board of Elections website.
Once polls close, WIFR will have live preliminary election results on its on-air and digital platforms.
Official results will be available April 15.
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