Election Day is still a month away, but there has already been a strong turn-out of early voters in Danville and Vermilion County. Sandy Delhaye, Director of the Danville Election Commission, said Friday afternoon (Oct. 2nd) that 657 people had cast ballots during in-person voting that began a week ago. And the Danville Election Commission office had received requests for close to 2-thousand ballots to be mailed out.
Chief Deputy Vermilion County Clerk Lindsay Light noted over 600 people had already cast ballots in that office in advance of next month’s Presidential Election. And nearly 3-thousand people living outside Danville, but within Vermilion County have been sent ballots. Light told VermilionCountyFirst.com News that normally, for a Presidential Election, that number is around 900 for the six weeks leading up to Election Day. ”This year it’s been busy at times. It’s kind of just a steady flow,” added Light.
Both Delhaye and Light are encouraging voters to cast their votes early. Delhaye noted that in addition to weather being an unknown factor on November 3rd – Election Day – cases of the COVID-19 virus have also been rising. ‘’I have a whole sally-port full of COVID supplies,’’ said Light as she and Delhaye noted extra precautions are being taken to keep voters safe.
Delhaye adds that in addition to COVID-19, voters want to make sure their ballots are safe once they have been cast. ”People are serious. They want to know what’s going on. Ballots that are in our care are safe and secure,” she reassured voters.
In-person regular voter registration ends on Tuesday, October 6, 2020. Anyone who waits until Grace Period registration starts Wednesday, October 7th will have to cast their ballot when they register.
Light says voters can apply for a vote-by-mail ballot up until October 29th, 2020….but she recommends getting the request in by the 23rd. She added she has not seen any issues locally with using the U.S. Postal Service this election. ‘’Everything’s working,’’ added Light.
