About 73% of registered Will County voters cast ballots in the 2024 general election, with a record-breaking turnout for early voting in the county, according to Will County Clerk Charles Pelkie.
Will County 2024 general election voting numbers
Pelkie said 120,000 people took advantage of early voting, setting a new record in the county. That’s about 8,400 more early voters than the county saw in 2020.
“The presidential elections always spark a lot of interest and as we get closer to the election, people come out and they want to take part in early voting. It was very busy in the last two weeks of early voting,” said Pelkie.
The use of mail-in ballots, however, dropped from 110,000 in 2020 to a reported 45,000 returned to the Will County Clerk this year. Pelkie said the high number of mail-in ballots in the previous election was likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Election Day itself, about 160,000 people voted, according to Pelkie, which was more than the 125,100 voters who came out in 2020.
But the overall total voter participation of 73% this year was slightly less than the 75.10% Will County saw in 2020.
Certified results coming in the next few weeks
Official Will County results for the 2024 election are still being finalized.
“We have two weeks to process our provisional votes and the remaining vote-by-mail ballots that are returned to the county. Those will happen on Nov. 19. The following Tuesday, we’ll canvass those election results and make them official,” said Pelkie.
Though this year did see a slight dip in voter turnout in Will County compared to 2020, Pelkie applauded the large number who did take part.
“It was great that people exercised their right to vote. It shows that they cherish their democracy,” said Pelkie.
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