Turnout predictions not met

From the Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Turnout predictions not met
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

Despite high expectations, Tuesday’s voter turnout rate in McHenry County just about matched the turnout rate in the 2004 presidential election.

About 70 percent of the 199,378 registered voters in the county cast a ballot, compared with 69 percent of registered voters who participated in the last presidential selection.

“I really thought it would be higher,” McHenry County Clerk Katherine Schultz said. “People weren’t lining up tonight like I thought they would be.”

As late as election morning, Schultz said she expected the voter rate to reach 75 percent. Across the county, election officials saw long lines when polls were opened but not throughout the day.

Walt Hempenius, an election judge at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Cary, said 240 votes were cast between 6 and 7 a.m., but throughout the rest of the day about 100 votes were cast each hour.

Meanwhile, at the Algonquin Public Library, 77.8 percent of about 1,178 registered voters already had cast their votes with an hour to spare, causing officials to believe that the turnout rate in the county would climb.

“We’ve seen lots of new voters,” said Tamara Miner-Corso, an election judge at the library. “It’s both brand new voters who just turned 18 and people who just haven’t voted before.”

Other officials thought the option of early voting would increase the numbers. A total 23,404 early ballots were cast.

“Early voting does not increase the number of people that vote,” she said. “You’ll just see the votes redistributed [over time],” Schultz said.