The trend of strong early voting in Monroe County ahead of the Nov. 5 general election continued Saturday, with solid turnouts at both the Monroe County Courthouse and Columbia American Legion.

Monroe County Clerk Jonathan McLean reported that over 500 residents took advantage of Saturday early voting at both locations.

“The wait in Columbia was 30 minutes during the first hour of voting,” McLean said.

In addition to the race for U.S. president between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, a contested race on the Nov. 5 ballot is for U.S. representative between incumbent Republican Mike Bost of Murphysboro and Democrat Brian Roberts of Carbondale.

There are also three advisory referendum questions on the ballot. The results of these questions are not binding but will be taken into consideration by state legislature.

The first asks whether any candidate appearing on an Illinois ballot for federal, state or local office should be subject to civil penalties if they interfere or attempt to interfere with an election worker’s official duties.

The second question asks whether the Illinois Constitution should be amended to create an additional 3 percent tax on income greater than $1,000,000 for the purpose of dedicating funds raised to property tax relief.

The third asks whether or not all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatments including, but not limited to, in vitro fertilization should be covered by any health insurance plan that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments.

Monroe County residents can vote early at the courthouse Monday through Friday during normal business hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In addition, the courthouse will be open this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon for early voting.

In the 2020 election, with the COVID-19 pandemic gripping much of the nation, Monroe County saw a total of 5,782 early voters.

As of the end of day Saturday, McLean said the early voting total for this election is already at 4,087. 

“I think there is a good chance we exceed the 2020 early turnout,” McLean said. 

Even with the high early voting turnout, McLean is still expecting local polling places to be busy on Election Day.

For more information on the election, visit mococlerk.com or call 618-939-8623.