Clerk: Early voting began Feb. 9; 1,140 mail ballots mailed, 642 returned
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Summary
Grundy County's elections clerk told the committee early voting began Feb. 9, about 400 voters have used the courthouse and remote sites, the office mailed 1,140 vote-by-mail ballots with 642 returned, and the county completed a state-mandated equipment test and scheduled an additional public test to meet statutory timing.
The county clerk reported that early voting in Grundy County began on Feb. 9 and that staff had recorded roughly 400 early voters at the courthouse and remote sites, including about 50 voters at the Coal City Library and 40 at the Manuka Village Hall. "We began early voting on February 9," the clerk said.
The clerk told the committee the office mailed 1,140 vote-by-mail ballots and had received 642 of those back to date. "We've mailed out 1,140 vote by mail ballots, and so far, we've had 642 of those already returned," the clerk said. Vote-by-mail processing began the prior Wednesday with bipartisan processing judges present; processing sessions are held Wednesdays at 9 a.m. and are open to the public, the clerk said.
The clerk also described a state-selected, random special test of election equipment that the county hosted last week: staff said a state team and the vendor ran about 6,000 ballots through every scanner and that all equipment tabulated correctly. Because state statute requires a public test to occur within a narrow window after the special test, the clerk said the county will run an additional public test on Wednesday using the same test deck to ensure compliance. "They randomly pick various counties for their special test that is in the Illinois election law... Everything tabulated correctly," the clerk said.
The clerk distributed specimen ballots (printed in local newspapers and posted on the county website) and reminded the committee that the primary is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17; the retabulation and canvas are scheduled for April 1 at 10 a.m., the clerk said.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about turnout and mail returns; the clerk confirmed the 642 returned-mail figure and noted that general-election returns are typically higher.
The committee took no formal action on the report; the clerk encouraged members or members of the public to observe vote-by-mail processing sessions posted on the county website.