Election Day Blog: Polls Closed; Residents Await Results of District 113A Race, Referendum

7 p.m. — Polls Closed in Lemont

The polls are officially closed in Lemont, so head over to our 2011 Election Results page for minute-by-minute results, straight from Cook and DuPage counties.

The four seats on the District 113A School Board are the only contested seats. Nine candidates are seeking election, including write-in candidate Janet Hughes.

According to Cook County Clerk David Orr, the number of votes for Hughes will be reported in 14 days, when the official results are posted.

6:45 p.m. — Lemont Patch Facebook Fans Weigh in Throughout Election Day

Several Lemont Patch readers commented on our Facebook page throughout the afternoon Tuesday. Here are some highlights:

On the reported low voter turnout at several Lemont polling places:

• Larry Graves: I just hope there's enough YES Votes!
• Janelle Bittner-Kittridge: If it isn't a good turnout - I would be ashamed of Lemont with all the uproar on this Referendum.
• Elizabeth Sliwa Tomala: I'm sure people will start coming in more toward the evening.
• Jeff Rath: Go NO vote!
• Doug Bridwell: It was quiet this morning at the high school when I voted. I hope the citizens of Lemont come out and vote.
• Lauren Martin Camer: Vote YES!!
• Jackie Dearth Brown: My polling place was quiet too at Franciscan village.
• Marilou Purpura: working ppl?
• Brenda Monk Douglass: record number of early voters = less voters today?
• Shannon Gardner-Phelan: I agree, there were alot of early voters this time!
• Anne Madden: Maybe b/c it's a nice day... I almost forgot! But yeah, hardly anyone at VFW.
• Catherine Dopak Stukel: Good luck to all sides! Vote your conscience.

3:45 p.m. — Lemont High School

Things were quiet this afternoon at Lemont High School, the polling place for precincts 4 and 5, but election judges said turnout "is about what you would expect for an off-year election."

— A.L.

3 p.m. — Our Lady of Victory Convent

The most picturesque place to vote in Lemont has to be the sisters’ residence on the manicured rolling grounds of Our Lady of Victory Convent.

An election judge, eager to protect voters’ rights, wasn’t happy to see a reporter. After a phone call to an election supervisor, one photo was allowed: a figure of the founder of the Franciscan order of nuns, standing next to voting machines.

One judge was overheard saying that “not too much was happening” with just 120 voters in precinct 2 casting ballots.

A spokeswoman said the convent has always opened its doors to the public for voting.

One man was seen strolling up a steep hill toward the polling place. “I walked,” he said, waving to a starting point in the distance.

— T.K.

12:15 p.m. — Lemont Township

Election judges were eating sandwiches and chatting in an empty polling place at lunch hour. About 10 voters came in over a half-hour period.

“Although turnout is slow, a lot of people took advantage of early voting" in precinct 6, election judge Susan Donahue. The precinct had 140 early voters.

The turnout Tuesday was more brisk earlier in the day, Donahue added.

No supporters or candidates stood outside of the township office. A collection of candidates’ signs on a mound of grass across the parking lot was the only sign that an election was taking place.

Brisk early-morning voting--before Lemont residents began their work days--was reported by election judges at VFW Post 5819 and  the Lemont Township office. By late morning though, the number of voters had dwindled to a trickle.

— T.K.

Noon — AMC Loews Cinema in Woodridge

Woodridge Patch Editor Melissa Tussing observed the following at AMC Loews Cinema in Woodridge, where DuPage County voters are casting their ballots for the District 113A Board of Education and referendum:

Voter turnout has been higher than expected at Loews, according to election judge Lorianne Juskiewicz.

Almost 200 voters had voted by noon.

"We're ahead of where we thought we'd be," Juskiewicz said. "It's been steady throughout the day. We had a couple lines bulid up, and that was not because of slow service."

Juskiewicz credited the turnout to the District 113A referendum, which asks voters if the district should be authorized to issue $20 million bonds for a working cash fund.

Some Woodridge students go to school in District 113A.

— M.T.

11:30 a.m. — VFW Post 5819

“Turnout is  a lot less than expected with the school problems and the contentious [school board] races,” said election judge Dwayne Wojtowicz. The polling place serves three three precincts — 7, 8 and 10 on the west side of the old downtown area.

The VFW post is near the Metra station, so there was a nice influx of commuters voting in the morning, he said.

Wojtowicz said 81 residents had voted by late morning.

“That’s not even 10 percent” of the precinct population, Wojtowicz said.

The precinct had 110 early voters.

Wojtowicz said he has a child at Old Quarry and one at River Valley schools. He joked that he voted early, “but not often.”

Trustee Ron Stapleton stopped into the VFW as a poll watcher as he seeks re-election in an unopposed race for the Village Board.

Outside the VFW,  two board candidates stood with supporters.

District 113A candidate Andy Taylor, the current board secretary, said he had come out at 6 a.m. and had been going back and forth to polling places.

District 113A candidate Al Malley said he stopped at the VFW for just a few minutes because he had “to go back to work and earn money.” Malley and Joellyn Szymanski, a friend and supporter, lamented that the election had turned nasty with sign-stealing and other unpleasantness.

“We’re all adults, aren’t we?” Szymanski said.

— T.K.

11 a.m. — Centennial Community Center

Election judges at the Lemont Park District facility reported low voter turnout Tuesday morning for precincts 9, 11 and 13.

Judge Sandy Wall reported about 100 voters in precinct 11 just before 11 a.m. There were well over 100 early voters in her area, she said.

Members of the pro-referendum group Citizens for 113A stood outside the community center, urging voters to support the $20 million working cash bond on the ballot.

Candidates Cynthia Kelly and Michael Aurelio were also on hand, asking individuals for their vote in the race for the District 113A Board of Education.

Write-in candidate Janet Hughes was also at the park district campaigning for re-election. She handed out cards urging voters to shut down the referendum.

— A.L.