Politics & Government

The Polls Are Alive, The 2011 Consolidated Election Has Begun

Stay with Naperville Patch today for live coverage from the polls and the streets, as Local Editor Carrie Frillman makes her way from place to place.

7:13 p.m. the doors have closed

Although voting has now ended, our coverage certainly hasn't.

Stay with Naperville Patch tonight for up-to-the minute election results. We'll be charting the votes as often as possible to ensure you have the most accurate information.

Find out what's happening in Napervillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We'll also be talking with your winners—and losers—for their reactions to the results. We even plan to sneak in a little time for some candidate celebrations.

So rock back, put your feet up and let us do the work!

Find out what's happening in Napervillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

6:56 p.m., Last call!

With the sun beginning to set and not long before the doors closed, a handful of last-minute voters scampered in to Word of Life on Brookdale Road to cast their ballots.

At 6:58 p.m., a judge stuck his head out the door and belted, "Two minutes left 'til the polls close!"

A total of 243 had voted at the precinct and six people were waiting in line. A few stragglers were walking in as I walked out. Election judge Richard Benson said he had no idea what to expect today when it came to voter turnout. About 1,900 voters were assigned to report to Word of Life.

"Some people were saying 18 percent, some 20," he said. "I really didn't know. At this point, we're moving along. It's been fun."

6:25 p.m.,

There were more election judges than voters at River Glen, where one woman was in the ballot box just before 6:30 p.m.

And it had been that slow all day, said Virginia Pollaro, the site's technical election judge.

"I think the big turnouts are with the presidential elections," she said. "But it's sad that for whatever reason, people don't believe it's important to vote.

About 80 ballots had been tabulated with just 30 minutes left before the polls closed.

5:56 p.m.

Two of the most cheerful election judges around were found at Trinity Church on Raymond Drive, where the voter turnout was lookin' spiffy close to 6 p.m.

"What we've heard is that is having a higher turnout than other nearby areas because of the specific races that are on the ballot," said Scott Smith, a friendly, helpful judge who was guiding voters.

Taking into consideration the 63 from the precincts who voted early, the turnout was looming around 20 percent, Smith said. A total of 196 had voted in person.

The Trinity Church polling place included those from unincorporated DuPage County and subdivisions along Ferry Road in Warrenville.

Pat Brown, 57, showed up from Warrenville to vote. She said only a few races on the ballot applied specifically to her community, including the College of DuPage Board of Trustees and a couple of ward issues.

Regardless, you must exercise your right to bubble in the circles on the ballot, she said.

"I'm one of those people who dearly believes that if you don't vote, you can't (whine)," Brown said, using a less family friendly word for "whine."

Brown also noted that she comes from a military family, including her now 28-year-old daughter who just returned from her second tour in Iraq. Patriotism has a tendency to bring people to the polls, she said.

"It gets me here every single time," she said.

Residents of two nearby retirement centers, Monarch Landing and Tabor Hills, also voted there.

"That population of people tends to vote," Smith said, asked why he thought their toll was faring well.

Senior citizens were bused throughout the day from the two facilities, he said.

5:16 p.m.,

Despite a so-far low voter turnout, election judges were chipper at Brookdale, where about 14 percent of potential voters showed at the polls.

"It's a little slow," said election judge Tom Fogarty. "Sometimes it can make you antsy to go home."

Like most judges, Fogarty reported for duty around 5 a.m. He smiled and joked with voters as he got them ready to take their ballot boxes.

A total of 91 had voted electronically shortly after 5 p.m. and 267 had voted on paper. There are about 1,900 residents registered at the Brookdale site.

3:05 p.m.,

The flow of residents has been slow but steady at the Naperville Police Department, where about 1,400 are assigned to vote, said Walter Wisniewski.

As of about 3 p.m., bubbles on 142 ballots had been darkened. Wisniewski said that typically, the electronic voting option is preferred by younger voters and since he hadn't seen many today, it hasn't been used as much.

"It's not as popular today as the regular ballots because more of the senior people are voting," he said. "We've had almost no turnout among the younger demographic."

1:30 p.m.

Karen Hughes, 39, votes in every election because it's her civic duty.

"Too many sacrifices have been made for the right to vote," she said, while leaving the Riverwalk community center with her nearly 2-year-old son.

Election Judge Janet Frye said that 140 of 1,400 residents who are registered at the community center had so far cast their ballots.

"I'm actually surprised," she said. "I thought we'd be under 100 (voters). I've seen years like that before."

Either way, the turnout around 1 p.m. was less than ideal. Frye recalled lines out the door during both the gubernatorial and presidential elections.

"I think people should be more interested in what happens in their individual city," she said.

12:15 p.m., , polling site for precincts 4 and 11

Election judge Bob Morris wasn't sure what was bringing people out to vote today, but they were coming.

"We're surprised that we have as many as we do," he said.

Of the 1,288 in the two precincts, about 128 ballots had been cast.

10:55 a.m. polling place at the City Municipal Center

So far, 104 ballots have been cast at the polling place, where a few voters trickled in and out.

"It seems slow, but I guess we have 10 percent so far," said Jay Mitchell, election judge. "I've heard they're expecting 22 today."

Mitchell has been a judge for about 15 years, he said, and has typically been stationed at the municipal center. The precincts there include about 1,100 voters.

He said he's expecting a low turnout, judging by past municipal elections.

"I've worked some that are in the single digits," he said, referencing a year where his precincts' turnout was about 9 percent. "I wish it was higher. We'll have to see."

Incumbent candidates are in and out of their offices today. None were there around 11:30 a.m. and the secretary said, "They usually lay low other places on election day."

8:10 a.m., Downtown Naperville

Foot traffic in downtown seems busier than usual today. One after another scampering into Starbucks to wait in line for that morning fix—me included—without a 15-minute parking spot to be found.

Perhaps it's because of election day? Nahh ... Who am I kidding? It's just downtown Naperville—the hub of our community.

Some residents, though, said they did have voting on the brain.

"I'm actually just coming back from (the polling place)," said Kent Barasik, 52, of Naperville. "I know they're local elections but I hate when people don't take them seriously."

Although she had 't yet voted today, Annie White, 38, said she wouldn't miss the opportunity to vote for mayor. Incumbent George Pradel and City Councilmen Kenn Miller and Doug Krause are all vying for the seat.

"Just because we aren't voting for the president or governor doesn't mean these decisions aren't going to affect our future," she said. "It's important to get out there and have your say today."

6:03 a.m., the polls are alive!

Consolidated Election 2011 is Here: The time has come to cast a vote. Today, we’ll be visiting key points in Naperville, as well as polling places to talk with judges, voters and candidates (if we see them), to see how the day is going. Early voting and registration numbers are a bit down compared to 2009, so we’ll see how that plays out at the polls.

Remember to go to our Election Central page for polling locations and links to information .

Later tonight, starting between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., we will be posting election results in real time as soon as we get the numbers. We’ll be adding all the way to the end. We will then be reaching out to the various candidates for a final word.

If you see us around, say hi. Let us know your thoughts on the day.


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