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Record turnout for primaries, bad weather in Galesburg made for late election night

Elections can’t happen without election judges but those who oversee polling places had some new challenges to contend with for Tuesday’s primary elections.

Galesburg saw a record voter turnout for a primary with 7,125.

What may have aided that increase but what was also a part of what took Galesburg’s election returns almost to 11 p.m. to come in is Illinois now allowing same day voter registration.

Glen Busse who was a veteran election judge stationed at Northwoods Community Church Tuesday tells Galesburg’s Evening News on WGIL the new law likely slowed things down at City Hall.

“A couple of the election officials were coming by and they said down at City Hall it was crowded,”Busse say. “In fact, they had to separate those who were voting from those who were looking to register.”

That line didn’t clear up until about 8 p.m.

Storms that threatened Knox County close to time the polls closed forced election judges to prepare contingency plans.

“We were set up that if all of a sudden they would go off, we would use the bathroom–run the tabulator inn, grab the ballots and throw them in a grey case that we have,” Busse adds. “That was added on top of all of the other things.”

Busse says voter turnout was also aided by the Presidential races, which in Knox County were carried by Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.

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