Rockford-area election officials point to lots of reasons for low voter turnout

As of Wednesday, 1,113 Rockford residents have voted early and of about 6,000 vote-by-mail applications sent out, with 3,159 having been returned.

The combined total accounts for only about 4.7% of the city's 89,900 registered voters.

Rockford Board of Elections Executive Director Jorge Paredes said low voter turnout during primaries can be attributed to several factors, including voters not wanting to declare a party to cast a ballot and the high number of uncontested races.

"It can also be affected by other states having their primaries early and their candidate is already winning or is no longer on the ballot," Paredes said.

In 2004, the voter turnout in Rockford was 23.94%. In 2008, it was 38.60%, followed by 22.74% in 2012, 40.08% in 2016 and 24.15% in 2020.

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In Winnebago County, 524 people have voted early and 3,076 have returned mail-in ballots.

Clerk Lori Gummow said she too is anticipating a low turnout.

"There's not a lot of contested races locally," she said. "It seems that our national races have already been determined."

Bob Evans, a Rockford University economics, business and accounting professor, said the anticipated low turnout is not a matter of voter apathy, but rather an indictment on the current office holders and the candidates running to unseat them.

"Voters are generally and thoroughly dispirited and disgusted," he said. "Look at every public opinion poll, every focus group, every interview. By every measure, voters are turned off," Evans said. "Voters in such a mood or funk tend to be non-voters.

Voters are identifying deep and urgent problems, Evans said, but they don't believe the current office holders and candidates have solutions.

"Politicians seem to be more at odds with with each other and more interested in merely scoring points than ever before," he said. "Political scientists have a term for this malady, 'hyperpartisanship.' It is the opposite of a genuine desire to solve problems."

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Laura Bettis, Boone County's chief deputy clerk, said 645 people have voted early and another 550 have done so by mail.

Bettis said presidential primary voter turnout typically hovers in the 20% range. She does not expect that to change this year.

In Stephenson County, 565 people have voted early and another 630 have done so by mail.

Clerk Jazmin Wingert also is expecting a short night of ballot counting as there are only two local contested races, both of which are on the Democratic ballot.

Chris Green is a Rockford Register Star general assignment reporter. He can be reached at 815-987-1241, via email at cgreen@rrstar.com and Twitter @chrisfgreen.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford-area officials expect to see small number of voters Tuesday