Election Day Turnout Predictably Low…In Spots

Turnout ranges from very light to steady in the Champaign-Urbana area.

Spirited races are bringing more voters out than a typical consolidated election in some precincts, including at least one in Urbana. At city hall, Sylvia Hallowell says her staff has kept slightly busier than first expected. "We always bring something to do, like a book to read, but we haven't had too much time to do that" Hallowell said.

But in Champaign, the polling place at the McKinley Foundation on the U of I campus has been nearly empty - by 11 a-m, only three voters had come in. However, election worker Chris Wright expects a few more students and neighbors to get to the polls later in the day, as is typical for a campus precinct.

"We were talking earlier about how we experienced probably the highest demand in the last election, and now we're experiencing a fairly low turnout so far this morning," Wright said. "But we're on campus, so we're expecting to have more people as the day evolves."

Another poll worker in Urbana agrees that last fall's historic presidential election has translated into more people taking their voting responsibility seriously - she also says the economy may be getting more voters interested.

Polls are open until 7:00 - AM 580 will have election results during the evening.