Monroe County Clerk Jonathan McLean reported Saturday that there have been 837 early voters and 183 mail-in ballots turned in for the Nov. 3 election.

A total of 4,399 ballots were mailed to voters who had requested them, McLean said.

“We are off to a very strong start,” he said.

The deadline to register to vote or to change your address ahead of the election is this Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Early voting began Sept. 24 in the county clerk’s office at the Monroe County Courthouse in Waterloo. Early voting is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There will also be early voting Saturday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 31 from 9 a.m. until noon. Early voting ends Monday, Nov. 2.

For more information, call 618-939-8681, ext 305.

Candidates for contested offices serving residents in Monroe County include U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Springfield) running against Mark Curran (R-Waukegan), U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) running against Ray Lenzi (D-Carbondale), State Rep. Nathan Reitz (D-Steeleville) running against David Friess (R-Red Bud), Democrat Duane Langhorst running against Republican George Green for Monroe County Board, and Democrat Celeste Korando running against Republican Lucas Liefer for Monroe County State’s Attorney.

There is also a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot that would change Illinois’ income tax structure from flat to graduated.

McLean said a new clerk’s office website, www.MoCoClerk.com, offers a voter lookup function.

Voters can confirm registration status and polling place location. Voters who opted for vote by mail can confirm that the clerk’s office has received their application. Voters can use the site to see when their ballot was mailed. Additionally, when their completed ballot has been received in the clerk’s office for counting, the system will update to show the ballot was received and processed.