Politics & Government
Voter Turnout Low in McHenry County, Area Counties
Area voters reported little to no wait at polling places during Tuesday's local election.
On Tuesday, 16.15 percent of voters made it out to the polls to cast their ballot in this year's local election, according to the McHenry County Clerk's office.
The turnout is par for the course for area local elections. Since 2005, turnout in McHenry County has ranged from as low as 12.55 percent of voters casting their ballot in 2011 to as high as 20.25 percent voting in 2005.
Comparably speaking, during last fall's presidential election, 66.21 percent of registered voters made it to the polls.
Find out what's happening in Algonquin-Lake In The Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Voter Turnout for McHenery Co. Local Elections
Date Votes Total Voters Percent of Voters April 9, 2013 32,955 204,062 16.15% April 5, 2011 25,422 202,494 12.55% April 7, 2009 31,659 200,853 15.76% April 17, 2007 32,228 188,534 17.09% April 5, 2005 38,146 188,355 20.25%One upside to the low turnout is that voters in McHenry County reported little to no wait at the polls on Tuesday.
"(There was) no lines—I was only the 25th voter at around 3 p.m. so it's definitely been a slow day," according to a comment on Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Patch Facebook page.
Find out what's happening in Algonquin-Lake In The Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Others said their precinct did get busier later in the day.
"Voted at 9 this morning and there was only one person ahead of me and I was only number four to vote but when I went back to pick up my little one from Preschool there was about 15 people there voting," according to a comment on the Crystal Lake-Cary Facebook page.
Voter Turnout in Surrounding Counties
Other counties also reported a low turnout during Tuesday's election.
In Kane County, only 13 percent of voters made it out to the polls, according to unofficial numbers on the Kane County Circuit Clerk website.
Here is how other area counties compared:
County Ballots Cast Registered Voters Voter Turnout McHenry County 32,955 204,062 16.15% Kane County 29,338 225,967 12.98% Suburban Cook County 233,350 1,395,756 17% Lake County 72,305 410,397 17.62%The above information was updated at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 10, 2013.
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Original article: Posted on Tuesday, April 9, 2013.
Many area voters reported a slow day at polling places during today's local election.
April's local elections typically have low voter turnout. Here is the breakdown of voting tallies during the most recent local elections in McHenry County:
Date Votes Total Voters Percent of Voters April 5, 2011 25,422 202,494 12.55% April 7, 2009 31,659 200,853 15.76% April 17, 2007 32,228 188,534 17.09% April 5, 2005 38,146 188,355 20.25%Patch readers sounded off today on the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills and Crystal Lake-Cary Facebook pages on today's election. Many stated they dealt with little to no wait in their precincts.
Around 6 p.m. Tuesday, poll workers in one local precinct said they believed today's turnout seemed much lower than past elections.
Here is what other readers had to say on Facebook in response to the question, "Were there any lines at your polling place?":
- "Voted at 9 this morning and there was only one person ahead of me and I was only number four to vote but when I went back to pick up my little one from Preschool there was about 15 people there voting."
- "No lines, I was only the 25th voter at around 3 p.m. so its definitely been a slow day."
- "No lines....not crowded, however, I was told this has been the biggest local election turnout!"
- "No lines. (I was) number 41 to vote at 3 p.m."
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