Perry County clerk gears up for opening of voting next week

Voting for the Nov. 3 presidential election begins in earnest next week, and Perry County Clerk Beth Lipe and her staff are busy, but ready.

Early voting starts on Sept. 24, and on that day the clerk's office will also mail out the absentee ballots to the fewer than 1,000 people who requested them.

"From what my employees say, (the number of requested absentee ballots) is probably kind of comparable," to previous presidential elections, Lipe said. "Maybe a bit higher."

Under legislation passed this year that expanded mail-in balloting, county clerks were required to send absentee ballot applications to all voters who cast a ballot in the 2018 general election, the 2019 consolidated election or the 2020 general primary election, as well as to voters who registered or changed addresses after the March primary.

Lipe said her office sent out more than 9,300 applications. But as she suspected from the beginning, there was no big swell of Perry County residents eager to take advantage of it.

"They want to come in person (to vote)," Lipe said.

The office has gotten a lot of calls about early voting, however, the clerk said.

Early voting will be done at the Perry County Clerk's office in Pinckneyville on weekdays and three Saturdays between Sept. 24 and Nov. 2, she said. On Tuesdays and Thursday, the office's hours will be extended to 7 p.m.

Also, on Tuesday, Oct. 27, early voting will be held at Du Quoin City Hall from 4 to 7 p.m.

On Election Day, Nov. 3, the clerk's office is expecting brisk business at its polling places. So far, Perry County is in good shape for election judges - only two or three with health issues have bowed out, Lipe said. That's a change from the March primary, when a number of election judges backed out, fearful of the coronavirus.

Lipe said they are expecting a shipment from the Illinois Emergency Management Association - a "care package" she calls it - of COVID-19 supplies.

"We're not sure what exactly will be in it," Lipe said, but her expectations are masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. They aren't sure about disinfecting wipes, so the county placed a separate order for those. "We just want to be on the safe side," she added.