During the pandemic, Rock Island and Scott county officials will help voters stay safe during the November election.
Auditor Roxanna Moritz says around 116,000 residents are active registered voters in Scott County. And she estimates 30% of them will vote in person on election day.
County Clerk Karen Kinney expects about 40% of Rock Island County's 86,000 registered voters will go to the polls on November 3rd.
So far, the Rock Island County Clerk's office has received 22,000 requests to vote by mail, and ten employees have been working overtime, seven days a week to process them.
So far, the Scott County Auditor's office has received 34,000 requests for absentee ballots.
Moritz says this year's election presents challenges because of COVID-19, cybersecurity, civil unrest, and confusion.
Some people have told her they received several absentee ballot applications.
But Moritz says each voter will only receive one ballot no matter how many applications they may send.
Both county election officials say they have plenty of PPE, hand sanitizer, and cleaning supplies for their early voting sites and polling places on election day. And election judges have been trained to follow CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Both county administrative buildings have dropboxes where completed ballots may be delivered.
In Illinois, early voting starts tomorrow (Thursday, September 24th, 2020). Absentee ballots will also be mailed starting tomorrow. More Rock Island County information is HERE.
In Iowa, absentee ballots will be mailed starting on Monday, October 5th. That's also the same day early voting will begin. And more Scott County information is HERE.
