Politics & Government

Election Judges Note Low Voter Turnout at Chicago Heights Precincts

One judge believes many voters are unaware of how important the primary elections can be for some offices.

Visiting the polls to see what voters have to say about the candidates can be quite a task with no voters in sight. 

Many locations were practically empty if not for the group of election judges overseeing each precinct. 

Kimberly Beatty, a longtime judge in the Chicago Heights area, said she is surprised at how low the turnout has been at on Joe Orr Road, which had a grand total of 62 voters as of 1:15 p.m.

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

But Beatty said she's heard worst than she's seen.

"I've heard from (Cook) County that some of the other precincts were still in the single digits as of about 10 a.m.," Beatty said.  

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

was doing slightly better around the same time, with 81 voters, though election judge Angela Nickerson, said she's not so shocked. 

"It's the primaries, and the turnout is always lower," Nickerson said. 

Election judge Alberto Mendoza at said the same, but noted an even lower turnout at that precinct.

"We've only had 35 voters," Mendoza said. "I think the area is averaging between 35 and 80 voters so far. We expect to have a crowd when people get off work."

Beatty said she sees the low turnout as a direct result of voters not realizing the importance of some of the primary races. 

"People think that the primary is just to weed out candidates for the general election," Beatty said. "They don't always realize that this is the election that, in some of the races, they are choosing their representative."

Beatty also noted several questions about the , although Mendoza said the Wilson School precinct had not received a single question. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here