Election season is well underway in Monroe County, with many voters having already cast their ballots as the 2024 General Election process has begun fairly smoothly.

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.

Though Robert F. Kennedy has suspended his independent campaign for president, his name still appears on Illinois ballots.

Monroe County Clerk Jonathan McLean spoke about the current state of the election, reporting that, by the end of Tuesday, 865 early votes had been cast at the courthouse at an average of 96 per day.

McLean noted that this was a notably high number compared to previous elections, and this stream of early voters is expected to continue.

He said that, through discussions with a fellow county clerk, he is unsure whether or not this early turnout is simply due to early voting being advertised so heavily, though he does anticipate this will ease congestion somewhat on election day.

McLean also suggested, as he did previously, that overall turnout for the election will be quite high, perhaps reaching 80 percent turnout or more. He noted that presidential elections generally see a higher turnout and added his office is prepared for a wave on election day.

He added that high turnout is still expected despite a short ballot, with only two contested races.

“I think it is gonna be a high turnout even though there are not a lot of other races on the ballot other than presidential,” McLean said. “It’s possible that we’re just bringing demand forward so voters are just voting early. They’ve made up their minds already, and they’re voting early just to get it out of the way.”

Along with early voting, vote-by-mail has also been going on, with McLean putting the number of ballots mailed at about 2,200.

A number of these ballots for those in the military or other overseas voters have already been received, and those locals who have requested a ballot by mail should be getting theirs around the end of this week if they haven’t received it already.

Though McLean reported voting has so far been running smoothly, he did acknowledge that he anticipates some regular issues to come up, mainly when it comes to mailed ballots.

“Typically we do run into issues with the vote-by-mail ballots getting lost, not arriving,” McLean said. “Sometimes a husband and wife, the husband will get it and the wife won’t or vice versa. We have not started to deal with those issues yet, but we do have those that pop up… I hope that’s very minimal like it’s been in the past.”

He also said these issues should be somewhat abated given a new system the clerk’s office has implemented in which they are able to keep track of when a ballot arrives at a post office and goes out for delivery akin to a package delivery, though they cannot tell where exactly the envelope in question is.

When it comes to voter questions his office has fielded recently, McLean said he hasn’t heard any concerns about election integrity or security, though folks have asked about the three referendum questions which appear on the ballot.

These questions are all advisory, meaning the ultimate results are not binding but will be taken into consideration by state legislature.

The first of these 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.

Per McLean, voters have expressed concern primarily for the first question which seems to be written in a rather vague manner.

“There’s no supplemental information that we can provide the voter, so it is kind of what it is,” McLean said.

He added voters can simply leave this item on the ballot blank if they can’t decide how to vote on it, or they can simply read it at face value.

McLean did remark on the lack of security concerns, suggesting people aren’t exceptionally worried given the fairly simple ballot.

“It’s a very short ballot this year,” McLean said. “There’s not a whole lot on it other than the presidential race. It’s a boring election, so we haven’t had a lot of members of the general public in the office questioning processes and particulars because there’s just not a whole lot of competition on the ballot.”

He added that even as concern among the local public might not be high, his office will still be handling and processing ballots and the election with the same care as they would during any election, keeping in line with best practices.

McLean also said that a public test of a voting machine will take place next Friday, Oct. 18, to ensure votes are being tabulated correctly.

Altogether, McLean was quite positive about the election’s current progress.

“We are getting all the equipment ready,” McLean said. “We’re starting now to actually program the tabulators for election day voting, so we’re a little ahead of schedule getting prepared for the actual polling places on Nov. 5.”

For those looking to vote early, McLean said registered voters can stop by Monday through Friday during normal business hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Unregistered voters or those requiring an address or name change can likewise get help at the county clerk’s office so long as they bring a photo ID and proof of residency.

Early voting is also available Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for Saturday early voting. A temporary early voting site at the Columbia American Legion will also be available Oct. 26 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

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