PEORIA, Ill. — Illinois Central College was the voting location for seven precincts Tuesday night, including two polling locations, and COVID-19 was very clearly on peoples’ minds.
Independence Village is usually its own polling place but was moved to ICC amid coronavirus concerns. One voter said that they believed it was a smart decision to move Independence Village’s polling place considering the elderly population that lives at Independence Village.
One worker at the Independence Village polling location, who has been working elections for 11 years, said that the turnout was less than expected. However, they also said that early voting was more popular this year than in previous years.
As voters rolled in to cast their ballots, most took advantage of a hand sanitizer stand set-up upon entering the building. There was also hand sanitizer located near the voting booths.
Some voters even came wearing gloves and masks to make sure they did everything they could to protect themselves amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The workers also played their part in keeping voters safe. Another worker at the ICC polling location said that every 10-15 minutes they were sanitizing voting booths along with the door handles to enter the building.
Throughout the evening, no lines built up, and most voters were in and out within minutes of entering.
No lines built up at Ro-land Manor Baptist Church in Washington either, but election judge Patricia Short said the traffic flow of voters was still steady this year.
“Overall, I think we’ve had a great turnout considering what we’re going through,” Short said.
Short was located at the Ro-land Manor Baptist Church, where Washington Precinct 12 was moved to due to concerns of COVID-19. She said it was a good idea to have the location moved from Leisure Acres.
“It’s very important, especially because that’s a senior facility,” Short said. “And, that could be compromising on some of their health issues.”
Short said that the polling booths were cleaned regularly.
“Probably about every one to two people that actually fill out the ballots, we’re going through with the sanitzer and wiping pens [and] anything that’s really been touched,” Short said.
