Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills Voters Cast Their Primary Ballots

Jan Stern was excited after casting her primary ballot and exiting the in Hinsdale Tuesday afternoon.

“This is so cool,” Stern said. “This is what we’re supposed to do. Some people say your vote doesn’t count, but it counts to me.”

Stern, who thinks election days should be national holidays, said Tuesday is special because it’s when everyone can make their opinion official and make a difference. But based on the voter turnout around 3 p.m. at Salt Creek, about the time Stern voted, a lot of people aren’t as excited about the General Primary, which features a notable presidential race and state senate race on the Republican ballot.

As of 3:18 p.m., still with a likely post-work afternoon rush ahead, Salt Creek had 359 voters out of a possible 1,290, according to the site’s election judges.

About two hours earlier, at 12:55 p.m., election judge John Klempir at in Hinsdale said he had 237 ballots cast.

“Turnout is a definitely less than I expected,” Klempir said.

Primary crowds are almost always smaller than general election crowds, Klempir said, but he noticed Tuesday’s ballots weren’t bringing in the same numbers as the last presidential primary, which featured races in both parties and Illinois’ own Barack Obama on the Democratic ballot.

“This is nothing like 2008,” Klempir said. “It’s completely different.”

In Clarendon Hills, however, election judges seemed happier with turnout and credited a controversial referendum with bringing in voters.

“Home rule is what’s doing it; that’s my guess,” election judge Dick Carr said at , where 360 people had voted as of 1:50 p.m.

Among the steady stream of voters at Prospect was Brian Schaffer, who said voters are usually inspired by one “polarizer” each election, such as Obama’s health care plan in 2010, when Republicans took over Congress.

“There’s usually one issue that motivates people to come out and vote,” he said.

In 2012 Clarendon Hills, Schaffer said, that issue is home rule, which if attained would give the some powers not automatically provided by the Illinois Constitution for towns with populations under 25,000, including the ability to raise property and sales taxes without referendum.

Schaffer voted against the referendum.

“I think it takes a level of transparency from the government that we don’t need to take away,” he said.

Peggy Quinn and her husband Bernie, a couple who say they always vote, also opposed the home rule referendum at Prospect.

“It’s very upsetting that [the village] would want that power,” Peggy Quinn said.

At the nearby Community Center, though, Brian O’Meara voted in favor of home rule.

“I’m not opposed to it,” he said, noting that the village would have more flexibility with the additional powers. “I like the idea of [the village] being a little more nimble.”

Back in Hinsdale, the only referendum on the ballot was for aggregation of the village’s electric accounts for the purposes of collective negotiation with energy suppliers. To 85-year-old Robert Nickoley, it was a no-brainer.

“I believe there’s only one way to vote on that one—yes,” Nickoley said as he left The Community House.

Nickoley said he’s voted in nearly every one of the last 64 he’s been eligible for. The only time he’s missed a vote or two while serving in the military.

“If you’re eligible to vote, you should vote every time there’s an election,” Nickoley said. “It’s the duty of every citizen.”