Voter registration by county hovers at 2008 election level
By Erika Wurst and Susan Frick Carlman ewurst@stmedianetwork.com, scarlman@stmedianetwork.com September 26, 2012 3:12PM
Chicago’s total number of registered voters has fallen 225,000 to 1.27 million, since the presidential election four years ago. | Sun-Times Media File
Voters registered
on election day
County 2008 Sept. 26, 2012
Kane 214,479 218,141
DuPage 551,280 542,271
Kendall 64,758 64,054
Will 373,847 376,624
Updated: October 29, 2012 6:25AM
Compared to the last presidential election season, voter registration is either up or just about steady in the Fox Valley.
The last day to register to vote for the Nov. 6 election is Oct. 9, and early voting runs from Oct. 22 to Nov. 1.
According to the Kane County clerk’s office, the number of the county’s registered voters is actually up from 2008. The total number of voters exceeds 2008 totals by more than 4,000. In 2008, the number of registered voters clocked in at 214,479. As of Wednesday, 218,141 residents were already registered to vote in the county.
Kendall County numbers are hovering right around the same as in 2008, with just about 700 voters separating the totals.
In 2008, 64,758 Kendall voters were registered. This year, 64,054 active registered voters are already on the books.
Bob Saar, executive director of the DuPage County Election Commission said that as of Wednesday morning, 542,271 voters were registered in the county, down slightly from Election Day in 2008, when numbers were at 551,280. Saar added that in 2004, the total was 530,732.
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, “fondly known as ‘motor voter,’” managed to get a larger percentage of the voting age population registered to vote, Saar said. Before then, the numbers were in the 300,000s.
“It has increased the percentage of the voting age population who are registered to vote,” he said.
“Registration’s picking up. We’re getting about 700 a day now,” Saar said.
DuPage has had about 15,000 new registrations so far this year.
As of Wednesday in Will County, 376,624 people were registered to vote — with 28,367 of those in the Naperville portion of Will. In November 2008, the total was 373,847, according to Will County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots,
“It’s nothing like the last presidential” election, when there was a huge flurry of people registering right about now. The county has plenty of registrars and issues a lot of press releases, so Schultz Voots is hopeful that the registration process is more spread out than it was in the past.
Schultz Voots noted that this year, a lot of people are already registered, so the target population is smaller.
Also changing the numbers will be the voter grace period. The grace period allows people to register and vote from Oct. 10 to Nov. 3. It’s an option in every Illinois county, and those votes are counted after Election Day, along with the provisional ballots.
