Early voters not waiting for VP debate before casting ballot

ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ill. – There’s been a constant stream of voters coming into the St. Clair County Courthouse in Belleville over the first four days of early voting. Tuesday night’s debate between the vice-presidential nominees is apparently not a deciding factor for a lot of early voters.

Even before Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, got in their first digs on the debate stage, thousands of St. Louis-area voters had already tuned them out.

Early voter Dara Voss said her mind’s already made up.

“Oh, absolutely, but we are going to a debate party,” she said. “The country’s divided, so you’re either for Trump or against Trump. That’s really what it’s about at this point.”

“(Voters) are not waiting,” St. Clair County Clerk Tom Holbrook said. “They’re not waiting. I can tell you right now we’ve got over 20,000 vote-by-mails (ballots). They are already coming back in. We’ve already voted almost 700 people here (in-person) in the last couple of days.”

“My mind is made up already,” Chris Baumgartner said. “I know the direction of the country that I want it to go. I know the candidate I want is supported by (their) vice president (running mate). So, I don’t need to wait.”

Early turnout has been similarly brisk at the Madison County Courthouse in Edwardsville, with 1,145 in-person votes cast as of Monday, and more than 17,000 mail-in ballots requested.

FOX 2 News timed how long it’s taking voters to complete their ballots in Illinois. Voss finished her ballot in just 2:46, compared to more than 16 minutes across the river in St. Louis County last week.

Belleville’s ballots have just 20 races and issues, less than half the length of St. Louis County’s.

“I look for an enormous turnout and I encourage anyone to please, vote early,” Holbrook said. “Go after church. Go after you leave your rotary club, whatever it is; when you get off work, go vote early, and do yourself a favor.”

Fifty-three percent of St. Clair County voters voted early during the pandemic in the 2020 presidential election, he said.

Holbrook is hoping to beat that mark this time around to avoid long lines on Election Day 2024, now just five weeks away.

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