UPDATED: 'Everyone's behaving' at Local Voting Precincts, Will County Clerk Says

No Surprises: Voter Turnout Hasn't Improved Later in the Day

(6:18 p.m. April 5)--Apparently, voters weren't waiting to get off of work to fill out their ballots. Frankfort precincts were still seeing low turnout.

"It's disappointing," said Carol Martin, an election judge at the polling place at Hickory Creek Middle School.

At around 5:30 p.m., the polling place had only logged 80 voters, said election judge Bill Lubben. He said he thought turnout would land somewhere between 5 percent and 10 percent for the day.

And what does Lubben attribute the poor turnout to? A lack of a draw that interests voters.

"Want me to put things in perspective for you?" he said. "In the first two hours of the presidential election two years ago, we had 275 voters in one precinct alone."

No Irregularities at Local Polling Places: Will County Clerk

(4:57 p.m. April 5)--Will County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots said there haven't been any reports of problems at polling places in Frankfort, Mokena or New Lenox today.

"Everyone's behaving," she said.

The State Attorney's Office sent two-person teams to polling places throughout Will County today to check in and report any issues, but Voots said there weren't many. 

She mentioned that there was a case of passing out campaign literature too close to a polling place in Joliet, but that the Lincoln-Way suburbs have "been very quiet."

Indeed, the voter turnout has been low today. Voots predicted a 20 percent turnout today, but many election judges in New Lenox doubted their precincts would come close to even approaching that level.

In the 2009 consolidated election, voter turnout across Will County was at 18 percent.

If you do encounter any issues when you vote, the Election Fraud Hotline number is (815) 727-8872.

--By New Lenox Editor Michael Sewall

How to Pass the Time When No One is Voting

(4:01 p.m. April 5)--We asked some Frankfort poll workers what they do to keep themselves entertain when voters are few and far between. Here's what we heard:

• Shirley Strauch, Lincoln-Way East High School polling place: "Drink coffee."
• John Schipitch, Franciscan Sisters polling place: "I harass the nuns."
• Cheryl Maas, Lincoln-Way East High School polling place: "Talk. Read."
• Eleanor Morrey, Franciscan Sisters polling place: "We wait for reporters to come in."

First-timers Learn the Ropes on Slow Election Day

(3 p.m. April 5)--There is a benefit to an election with low voter turnout: It gives precinct veterans ample opportunity to train newbies on what's it's like to staff a polling place. 

"We use this time to do training sessions for first-timers," said John Schipitch, an election judge at the Franciscan Sisters polling place. "That way they know what to do when they leave here and go somewhere else."

First-time election judges learn how each of the stations at the precinct work, as well as finding out about the ins and outs of how the voting machines operate.

"If something breaks, you got to fix it," said Schipitch, who has worked as an election judge for 15 years. "No one is going to come out (and fix it)."

For Donna Lang, becoming an election judge was part of a family tradition she wanted to continue.

"My mother was a judge in New Lenox, and I wanted to follow her," she said. "It's new. It's exciting."

Michael Sinks decided to volunteer as a way to meet people in the community and just get out of the house.

"I'm retired," he said. "It gives me something to do instead of sitting in front of the computer while my wife is working." 

And the most important thing a new election judge learns on the job?

"They certainly get to know their ABCs," Schipitch said, joking about the essential part of an election judge's job: looking up the last names of voters.

Your 'I Voted' Sticker Could Win You a Kohl's Gift Card

(2:15 p.m. April 5)--Voter turnout has been dismal to say the least. That's why we at Frankfort Patch decided to reward those staunch supporters of the democratic process.

Upload a photo of you with an "I Voted" sticker to our site, and we'll do a random drawing Wednesday to pick a winner of a $50 gift certificate to Kohl's in Frankfort. 

Go out and vote. And then come back here and show us you did.

Voter Turnout Low Even for a Slow Year, Some Precincts Report

(1:33 p.m. April 5)--It's not uncommon for polling places to be less crowded during elections that don't have the benefit of a presidential or heated state or national congressional race.

But even by those standards, voter turnout in Frankfort has been dismal, according to some election judges.

"This has been the lightest day (I've worked) so far," said Priscilla Gilroy-Green, an election judge at the Founders Center polling place who has been doing this for about eight years. "We'll be lucky to get 10 percent (turnout). I'm hoping for 15 percent."

Even the regular, "steady Eddie" voters--the regulars who always show up for elections--weren't coming out this time, Gilroy-Green added.

As of noon, the had only had 46 people vote. At the precinct at , turnout was 43 voters, and the polling place had 50.

"This is one of the largest precincts, and we have high turnouts even during slow elections," said Betty Kranik, who has worked as an election judge at the Frankfort 29 precinct for about eight years. "Even during the primaries, we get a lot of turnout."

Judges claim the lack of a hot-button ballot issue could be a contributing factor for keeping people away from the polls.  

"There' s no real issues or referendums, which is a good thing," said Sylvia Tewes, an 18-year veteran election judge working at the Founders Center polling place. "That's what gets people out."

Also, the candidates in the competing races haven't been conducting large-scale campaigns that draw voters' attention. 

"You can tell by the fact that there aren't a lot of signs out there," said Sue Crumb, a four-year veteran at the Lincoln-Way East polling place.