Thursday is the first day for early voting at courthouses around the area.
Marion County Clerk Steve Fox says they are ready.
“Early voting starts 40 days before the election and so does sending out the vote by mail ballots. So we will be processing out the vote by mail ballots and we will have early voting going on here at the courthouse on the 2nd floor starting Thursday.”
Fox says voting will be from eight am to four pm any day the courthouse is open.
If you need to register or update your voter registration, you have until October 11th to get it completed. You can still cast a ballot in grace voting after that date where you are required to register and vote the same day in the County Clerk’s office. Grace voting is also available on election day, November 8th, at both the county clerk’s office and at the Centralia Township Office at 148 South Poplar in Centralia. Early voting will also be offered at the Centralia Township Office on Wednesday, October 26th, and Wednesday, November 2nd, from nine am to three pm.
Fox has also received 900 requests for permanent vote by mail. He feels that is the first step to Illinois becoming totally vote by mail, most likely in the next five years. However, he notes in states that have gone totally vote by mail, a few voting centers remain on election day.
There are no contested races for Marion County officials. There are races in three of the county’s five-county board districts.
Statewide, there is competition for all statewide offices and US Senator.
There is also a proposed amendment to add a new section to the Bill of Rights Article of the Illinois Constitution that would guarantee workers the fundamental right to organize and to bargain collectively and to negotiate wages, hours, and working conditions.
