Dakota Roberts of Waukegan cast her first-ever election ballot as soon as she could, arriving at the Lake County Courthouse and Administration Building with her mother within the first 20 minutes of early voting on Thursday.
“I’m very nervous,” Roberts said. “This is something I’ve never done before.”
However, when deciding who would receive her first vote, she was not nervous at all. It was Vice President Kamala Harris for president of the United States.
“I’m voting for Kamala,” she said. “She has an idea of what she is going to do, and she said what she’s going to do.”
Roberts was among 167 voters casting ballots by noon Thursday at the courthouse on the first day of early voting for the Nov. 5 general election in Lake County, making their choices for president as well as other federal, state and local offices, and a number of referendums.
Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega said vote-by-mail ballots were also sent out Thursday to those who requested them. This year, Vega plans to vote by mail because he knows the next 41 days will be busy for him.
“My focus is on running the election and making sure it goes smoothly,” Vega said. “I may not have time to vote early or on Election Day. I’ll vote at home after my ballot arrives, probably after 9 p.m., and then put it in a drop box the next day.
With a line approximately 15 people deep at 9:15 a.m., Vega said during a presidential election year there is usually a large crowd the first hour of early voting. He said members of his staff told him the line was even longer four years ago.
Roberts was a good example of voting early. She came with her mother, Pamela Lilly, who said she always votes on the first day.
Bill Weber of Lake Villa, the brother of state Rep. Tom Weber, R-Lake Villa, said he always votes early on the first day because it frees him to help his brother’s campaign the rest of the time until Election Day.
“I tell everyone to vote as soon as they can,” he said. “You never know if you might be sick, or be busy at work on Election Day. And, vote at the courthouse. You don’t have to worry about fraud there. If you vote at the courthouse, you know your vote will be counted.”
Sandra Chapman was also in line to vote during the first hour. She said it let her vote her conscience, and freed her and her husband to do whatever they want in the coming weeks.
“I voted for someone who is not crazy,” Chapman said. “You should know who that is. I voted for Harris.”
Vega said he anticipates 70% of Lake County voters will cast ballots by the time the polls close on Nov. 5. Though the turnout was 78% four years ago, he believes the situation is calmer this time.
“We were just coming out of COVID,” he said. “People’s lives were turned around. There is a lot of energy now, but I still think it will be 70%. I hope the voters of Lake County prove me wrong and it’s upward of 70%.”
Four years ago, 169,000 people voted by mail, and another 124,000 voted early.
Early voting continues at the courthouse between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. through Oct. 27. Starting Oct, 21, it will also be open on select weekend hours through Nov. 3, and 17 additional early voting sites will be open in all parts of the county. A full list of locations and hours can be found on the clerk’s website.
