10,000 strong join Kane Co. voter rolls
Today is the last day to register for election
GENEVA -- There will be about 10,000 more people eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election in Kane County, outside of the city of Aurora, than there were in 2004, election officials are estimating.
Today is the last day to register to vote for the Nov. 4 election.
Marianne Mather | Staff Photographer
"Yeah, it's been moving pretty good," said Jay Bennett, Kane County deputy county clerk. "Activity's picked up."
Besides registering at the clerk's office, libraries and other sites throughout the area, people also are able to register through the Secretary of State's motor vehicle license offices and through the state Department of Elections, by downloading a form online and mailing it to the state.
Bennett said Kane County and the Aurora Election Commission, as well as other jurisdictions, should have all their information from those outside sources by Friday.
At the Kane County Clerk's Office, officials saw an increase of about 1,220 voters for the first half of 2008, compared to the first half of 2004.
Registration has taken off since July, and Bennett said the total number of registered voters right now is just over 208,000 people. That not only includes new registrations but the culling of about 34,000 from the rolls of people listed as suspended for non-activity.
Bennett said that after today, when final numbers are in, officials expect there to be 212,000 registered voters in the county, up by about 10,000 from 2004.
And even though voter registration ends after today, there is a registration grace period starting Wednesday through Oct. 21.
If you register during the grace period, you can only do so at the election jurisdiction -- such as the county clerk's office or the Election Commission -- and you must vote right then, after you register.
With the early voting system now in place in Illinois, people actually can cast their vote in the Nov. 4 election beginning on Oct. 14 at election offices and other sites throughout the region. Early voting runs through Oct. 30.
Technically, early voting begins Oct. 13, but that is the Columbus Day holiday and most government offices where early voting takes place will be closed.
