This is a cool story.
It's here.
Last becomes first: Cal City voter makes history
LaRhonda Shorter went to the Cook County clerk's office Wednesday morning hoping to change her address so she could vote in the March 21 primary.
The Calumet City woman left the office as a history-maker.
Shorter cast the first vote in that primary Wednesday, as she was the beneficiary of a first-time voter registration feature.
Though registration officially closed Tuesday, the state is allowing qualified residents a "grace period" until March 7 to register -- with the caveat that they must either vote right there or have an absentee ballot mailed to their home.
Shorter said she had no idea she'd missed the registration deadline and was taken aback by the significance of her 9:30 a.m. vote.
"I just threw something on, figured I'd go down, change my address," the former Chicago resident said. "This is just funny -- the whole thing is amazing."
Five county voters took advantage of the late-registration rule, while nine registered and voted with the Chicago Board of Elections, officials said.
The late-registration benefit is separate from the first-time early-voting provision, which allows anyone already registered to vote beginning Monday.
1 comment:
I wasn't even aware that they were allowing late registration... Must be a northern Illinois thing.
It would be nice if they could find some way to do same-day, or at least same-week, voter registration, while at the same time, devising a system that could prevent fraud.
Last I heard, six states allowed for same-day voter registration. And three of them have recently elected Governors who were not members of either major political party.
Post a Comment